Fla. Suit Alleging Race Bias In New Voting Districts Proceeds

By David Minsky

A Florida federal court has ruled that a lawsuit by five Tampa-area citizens accusing state officials of using race to redraw two new voting districts in their region can proceed, saying the residents do not claim vote dilution and are not required to allege a discriminatory effect.

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Florida Judicial Ethics Panel Split Over Personal Fundraising

By Madison Arnold

 A judicial candidate may distribute business cards and other campaign materials with a web address for his campaign site that includes an option to donate but cannot post a cover photo with that same URL on the candidate's personal Facebook page, the majority of Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has found.

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Peru Ducks $154M Claim Over Seized Gold Shipments

By Caroline Simson

Peru has fended off a Miami-based gold trader's $154 million claim accusing the country of unlawfully seizing its gold shipments, after an international tribunal ruled Tuesday that it lacked jurisdiction and that the trader should be on the hook for all costs in the proceeding.

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Russian Gas Ex-CFO Can't Nix $44M FBAR Suit, Judge Rules

By Anna Scott Farrell

The former chief financial officer of a Russian gas company who was sentenced to seven years in prison for hiding money in Swiss banks can't escape the government's civil suit seeking nearly $44 million in reporting penalties, a Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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EEOC Suit Over Vax Refuser's Firing Survives Dismissal Bid

By Patrick Hoff

Arkansas-based Hank's Furniture Inc. must face a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming it unlawfully fired a Christian manager who refused the COVID-19 vaccine, with a Florida federal judge ruling the agency plausibly alleged her beliefs conflicted with the company's inoculation policy.

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Law Firm Urges Reversal Of Malpractice Arbitration Award

By Carolina Bolado

The Ferraro Law Firm urged a Florida appeals court Wednesday to reverse a trial court order upholding a $1.5 million arbitration award against it over alleged malpractice, arguing that its opponent and former client improperly got a successor trial judge to reverse course after the first one vacated the arbitration ruling.

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Masters Employee Cops To Selling $5.3M In Golf Memorabilia

By Elliot Weld

A former employee of Augusta National Golf Club pled guilty Wednesday to stealing $5.3 million worth of memorabilia from the Masters golf tournament and selling it online, including a green jacket belonging to Arnold Palmer.

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Hemp Co. Settles Sales Dispute With Fla. Regulators

By Jonathan Capriel

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has inked a deal with a hemp-product maker that accused the agency of overstepping its bounds and using stop-sale orders to block it from selling its hemp products outside the state.

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Insurer Says Security Co. Not Covered For Nightclub Injuries

By Jennifer Mandato

A security services company is not owed coverage for three underlying personal injury lawsuits stemming from multiple shooting and stabbing incidents at a Florida gentlemen's club, an insurer told a New York federal court, stating its policies exclude coverage for injuries sustained at clubs and assault.

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Fla. Sheriff Caved To ICE Detainer On American, Atty Says

By David Minsky

Attorneys for a Tampa-area U.S. citizen mistaken for a Jamaican national and nearly deported told a Florida federal judge Wednesday that the Monroe County sheriff lacked probable cause to arrest the man, arguing that the police agency blindly followed a federal immigration detainer without checking its accuracy.

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Fees Sought For Missed Depo During Atty's Solar Eclipse Trip

By Lynn LaRowe

In following up on a Florida federal judge's sanctioning of a lawyer whose client missed a deposition while the attorney was solar eclipse viewing, AAA is asking the court to award it more than $7,800 in fees and costs as it fights a gender discrimination lawsuit.

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Little People Wrestling Co. Starts 'Micro' TM Fight With Rival

By Elaine Briseño

Low Budget Rock Star Entertainment LLC, which produces wrestling entertainment featuring little people, has accused two men of infringing its trademark by using the word "micro" in their own wrestling ventures, according to a lawsuit filed in Florida federal court.

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Insurer Wants Payback For Covering Theater Group Theft

By Elizabeth Daley

An insurance company has asked a Connecticut federal court to force a married couple to pay for coverage it granted a theater education group that it says was bilked out of nearly $588,000 by the pair via personal use of the nonprofit's funds.

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11th Circ. Ruling May Foreshadow Ch. 15 Clashes

The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in In re: Talal Qais Abdulmunem Al Zawawi has introduced a split from the Second Circuit regarding whether debtors in foreign proceedings must have a domicile, calling attention to the understudied nature of Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, say attorneys at Cleary.

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What The Justices' Copyright Damages Ruling Didn't Address

While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Warner Chappell v. Nealy clarified when a copyright owner may recover damages in jurisdictions that apply the so-called discovery rule, it did not settle the overriding question of whether the Copyright Act even permits applying the rule, say Ivy Estoesta and William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

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Devil's In The Details On FDCPA, Article III Standing

The Third Circuit’s recent decision in Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services concerning the alleged harm needed to support a class action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is in line with other circuits' interpretations of Article III of the Constitution, notwithstanding disagreement over the minutiae of a proper Article III analysis, says Nick Agnello at Burr & Forman.

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Series

Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

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BCLP Sues St. Louis Over City Taxes On Partners' Income

By Kevin Penton

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is suing St. Louis, Missouri, after the Midwestern city accused the firm of being delinquent on nearly $275,000 in earnings taxes, contending the municipality unlawfully taxed partners who don't live in the city, according to its court filing.

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Calif. Bar Halts Plans To Develop New Bar Exam

By Ryan Boysen

The State Bar of California has shelved a plan to develop its own online bar exam, a shift that could save the cash-strapped organization up to $4 million per year, but drew opposition from law school deans concerned about its ambitious rollout timeline.

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Analysis

Thomas, Alito: Two Originalists, Two Takes On CFPB Case

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito — often birds of a feather — butted heads Thursday over the original meaning and purpose of the U.S. Constitution's appropriations clause in a decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme, highlighting what experts describe as the pair's different approaches to originalism.

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Democrats Prod Justice Thomas on RV Loan, Tax Treatment

By Anna Scott Farrell

Two Senate Democrats have asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' attorney to respond to what they called a failure to answer their questions about the justice's $267,000 loan from a healthcare industry executive to finance a luxury recreational vehicle, saying the loan treatment could have violated federal tax laws.

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Investigate Pro-Gaza Reddit Post, GOP Pols Tell USPTO

By Andrew Karpan

An anonymous Reddit post purportedly from a patent examiner confessing "mixed feelings" about issuing a patent to an Israeli defense contractor, citing the country's ongoing bombardment of Gaza, has attracted the attention of Republicans in Congress and the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office herself.

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Senate Confirms South Dakota State Judge To Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 90-4 on Thursday to confirm Judge Camela C. Theeler to the District of South Dakota.

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Coverage Recap: Day 14 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Stewart Bishop

Law360 reporters are providing live updates from the Manhattan criminal courthouse as Donald Trump goes on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from Thursday, day 14 of the trial.

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Menendez Bribery Case Criminalizes Gifts, Jury Told

By Carla Baranauckas

Prosecutors are trying to criminalize friendship, gifts and advocacy, the counsel for one of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's co-defendants said Thursday in an opening statement in the corruption trial in Manhattan federal court.

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Judge Calls Out 'Cancel Culture' In Prof's Suit Against Penn

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge said University of Pennsylvania leaders embraced "cancel culture" when they chastised an anthropology professor for handling remains from the 1985 MOVE house bombing in Philadelphia, allowing the professor's defamation case against the school to move forward.

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Roche Freedman Gets Split Ruling On Witnesses In Atty's Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A New York federal judge has issued a split decision on witness testimony in a dispute over the litigation boutique formerly called Roche Freedman.

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11th Circ. Tries To Untangle Aftermath Of Judge's Early Exit

By Ivan Moreno

An Eleventh Circuit panel on Thursday quizzed attorneys for rival breeders of disease-resistant shrimp about whether a $10 million trade-secrets jury verdict should be overturned after a federal magistrate judge presided over the trial's ending because a federal district judge had to catch a flight, with one of the panel judges saying the parties had been put "in a very difficult position."

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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

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