Stormy Daniels Tells NY Jury 'Fear' Drove Hush Money Deal

By Frank G. Runyeon, Stewart Bishop and Rachel Scharf

Adult film star Stormy Daniels detailed for a Manhattan jury on Tuesday how a sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006 led to an alleged $130,000 hush money payment in 2016, describing how it was "fear and not money" that led her to make the deal.

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Coverage Recap: Day 9 Of Trump's NY Hush Money Trial

By Rachel Scharf, Stewart Bishop and Frank Runyeon

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 to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. Here's a recap from day nine.

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NY Officials Tout Crackdown On Illicit Cannabis Market

By Sam Reisman

New York state cannabis regulators on Tuesday touted new legislative changes empowering them to more swiftly crack down on unregulated marijuana sales, the same day that New York City officials announced a program to step up enforcement against unlicensed retailers.

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Google Says Exec's Firing Based On Behavior, Not Bias

By Emmy Freedman

Google urged a New York federal court to toss a lawsuit from a former executive who said he was fired for being a white man, arguing his termination came because he threw a raucous, alcohol-fueled party at his lake house despite receiving prior warnings about bad behavior.

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Truth Social Investor Grilled By Feds At Insider Trading Trial

By Pete Brush

A Florida investment pro on trial for allegedly exploiting confidential plans to take Truth Social public in a $23 million insider trading case was challenged Tuesday by prosecutors on the timing of trades and communications before the "special" media deal.

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2nd Circ. Weighs Border Wall Fraud Juror's Tie To Prosecution

By Cara Salvatore

A Colorado man convicted of scheming to defraud donors to a campaign to build a southern border wall told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that his trial was tainted by a juror's family connection to the prosecution team.

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Top Dem Cuts Cuellar Slack Not Given Santos, Menendez

By Courtney Bublé

House Democratic leadership has continued its defense of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, following the recent bribery indictment against him and his wife, saying the situation is different from the indictments last year against Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

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85 Lawmakers Join Chorus Opposing Space Force Transfers

By Chart Riggall

A bipartisan group of 85 federal lawmakers on Tuesday joined all 50 state governors in opposing a proposal to allow Air National Guard units to be transferred to the U.S. Space Force without gubernatorial approval, arguing the measure would undermine "the integrity and longstanding mission of the National Guard."

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NYC Eatery Asks 2nd Circ. To Undo Revival Of Workers' Suit

By Emlyn Cameron

A New York City restaurant operator urged the Second Circuit Tuesday to reject a lower court finding that its workers' federal wage claims may be cut from their class action but can also be reinstated if the appeals court were to vacate their state wage claims, insisting the decision is unfair.

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Insurer Seeks Hearing Cancellation In Arbitrator Bias Dispute

By Jennifer Mandato

An insurer seeking the removal of an arbitrator in a Bermuda reinsurance coverage dispute told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that a hearing on the issue should be canceled as an award was issued in the arbitration, rendering the dispute moot.

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3rd Circ. Unsure Miss. Law Saves Kavanaugh Classmate's Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Weighing whether New York or Mississippi law controls a libel lawsuit that Justice Brett Kavanaugh's former classmate filed against The Huffington Post could be moot if neither state's law offers an extension for refiling claims dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, a Third Circuit panel suggested Tuesday.

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Amazon Worker Wants Class Cert. In Military Leave Suit

By Emmy Freedman

A former Amazon worker urged a New York federal court to greenlight a more than 9,000-member class of military reservists in her lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of failing to provide paid leave for employees on active duty, saying the dispute is best suited for class treatment.

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Trump Media Co-Founders Seek Chancery Contempt Order

By Jeff Montgomery

Two early investors in Trump Media & Technology Group have called for a Delaware Court of Chancery contempt ruling against Donald Trump's Truth Social media company, saying its attempt to claim their shares in a Florida lawsuit contradicted earlier representations in Delaware.

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Santos Says Feds Overstepped With ID Theft Charge

By Elliot Weld

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos told a Brooklyn federal court that prosecutors used an unconstitutionally vague identity theft statute to charge him with reporting fake fundraising numbers to the Federal Election Commission.

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SEC Says Morrison Can't Save Terraform From Disgorgement

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said bankrupt crypto firm Terraform Labs should remain on the hook for potentially $3.6 billion in disgorgement over its fraud trial loss, saying any claims that its unregistered transactions took place beyond the court's reach are undermined by the agency's congressional authority.

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Everton Investors Bemoan Soccer Team Sale Amid Fraud Suit

By Elaine Briseño

The Everton FC Shareholders Association wants to slam the brakes on the "farce" sale of its Premier League soccer team to private equity firm 777 Partners LLC, arguing they are not qualified owners, a demand that comes as the firm faces allegations of fraud.

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Fashion Cos. Say FTC Bid To Ax $8.5B Deal 'Makes No Sense'

By Lauren Berg

The Federal Trade Commission's move to block the owner of Coach and Kate Spade from buying the owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo for $8.5 billion "makes no sense," the companies told a New York federal judge, saying they aren't the only handbag brands in the game.

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Fenwick-Led Cloud Security Co. Raises $1B At $12B Valuation

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

New York-headquartered cloud security company Wiz, advised by Fenwick & West LLP, announced on Tuesday that it hit a $12 billion valuation after securing $1 billion in its latest fundraising round.

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Clyde & Co. Continues Aviation Growth With K&L Gates Atty

By Adrian Cruz

Clyde & Co. has announced it hired a new partner in New York from K&L Gates who brings over 30 years of experience working on aviation, project and transportation finance matters.

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Steptoe Adds SEC Enforcement Head From Miller & Chevalier

By Jack Rodgers

Steptoe LLP has hired a former Miller & Chevalier Chtd. member, who joins the firm to lead its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement practice in the firm's Washington and New York offices.

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Bloch & White Adds Civil Rights Atty From 'Ghost Gun' Case

By Tracey Read

Bloch & White LLP has hired "one of the winningest trial attorneys" in the Eastern District of New York's history as counsel, the firm said Monday.

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2nd Circ. Eminent Domain Ruling Empowers Municipalities

The Second Circuit's recent decision in Brinkmann v. Town of Southold, finding that a pretextual taking does not violate the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, gives municipalities a powerful tool with which to block unwanted development projects, even in bad faith, say James O'Connor and Benjamin Sugarman at Phillips Lytle.

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Northeast Firms Harris Beach, Murtha Cullina To Join Forces

By Christine DeRosa

Midsize law firms Harris Beach PLLC and Murtha Cullina LLP on Tuesday announced plans to combine starting next year, creating one firm with a footprint across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and nearby states.

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Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Susman's Brook, Shackelford

By Sydney Price

Susman Godfrey LLP attorneys Davida Brook and Stephen Shackelford Jr. learned very early on in their working relationship that they needed to trust each other. That concept, they say, has been foundational to their success as defamation attorneys, and those who have worked alongside them say everyone else has reason to trust them, too.

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Florida Judge Delays Trump's Classified Docs Trial Indefinitely

By David Minsky

The Florida judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses former President Donald Trump of holding onto classified documents upon leaving office extended indefinitely the planned May 20 start of the trial, citing "myriad and interconnected pretrial" issues regarding the Classified Information Procedures Act, according to a federal court order filed on Tuesday.

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Prepetition Waivers Sway Invitae Judge On Kirkland Hire

By Vince Sullivan

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge approved the retention of Kirkland & Ellis LLP as bankruptcy counsel for debtor Invitae Corp. Tuesday, the same day he approved a $239 million sale of its assets to Labcorp.

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Atty Dons Muppet Head To Open Sesame Place Race Bias Trial

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A federal jury in Philadelphia on Tuesday gazed at the googly eyes and blue fur of an attorney who donned the head of Sesame Street's Grover to tell them that performers wearing the fluorescent bodysuits of other beloved Muppets discriminated against children at a Pennsylvania theme park because of the color of their skin.

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Remote Atty Is No Reason For Mistrial, 10th Circ. Says

By Emily Sawicki

In a published opinion Tuesday, a Tenth Circuit panel ruled that the remote court appearance of a plaintiff's attorney who contracted COVID-19 was not grounds to declare a mistrial after a Black utility worker lost his Title VII workplace discrimination case in Kansas, finding that the plaintiff could not show that he was prejudiced by his lead counsel's absence.

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