California

  • October 25, 2024

    'Open AI' TM Owner Asks 9th Circ. To Nix Injunction

    A man accused by OpenAI of preventing the ChatGPT-maker from registering its name as a trademark urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to vacate an injunction blocking him from using the "Open AI" mark while his case is pending, arguing he's the mark's senior holder and calling the injunction "extraordinary and unprecedented."

  • October 25, 2024

    'Quiet On Set' Free Speech Row Has Judge Reaching For Advil

    A California judge was undecided Friday about tossing on free speech grounds a defamation lawsuit from former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider against Warner Brothers Discovery Inc. over its "Quiet on Set" docuseries, remarking during a hearing that such motions are so headache-inducing he must "remember to bring [his] Advil."

  • October 25, 2024

    Premera Rejection Seems Sparse, 9th Circ. Judges Say

    A Ninth Circuit judge pressed Premera Blue Cross on Friday to defend refusing coverage for a Washington teen's lengthy mental health residential treatment, questioning if the insurer engaged in a meaningful dialogue as required with the youth's family in letters explaining why the treatment was medically unnecessary.

  • October 25, 2024

    Lyft To Pay $2.1M FTC Fine Over Driver Earnings Claims

    Lyft Inc. will pay $2.1 million and clarify its claims about driver pay in order to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission that the ride-hailing company made deceptive statements about what drivers could expect to earn hourly and through special incentives, according to a Friday announcement from the agency.

  • October 25, 2024

    Wrongful Firing Suit Alleges Clippers Mishandled Star's Health

    A former trainer for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers has filed a wrongful termination suit in California state court against the team, alleging he was fired after raising concerns about the health of star forward Kawhi Leonard.

  • October 25, 2024

    Off The Bench: Toss-Up For Ohtani Ball, UFC Fighters' Payday

    In this week's Off The Bench, the three claimants to a historic baseball now know how much is at stake for the winner, a long fight against wage suppression for mixed martial arts fighters is a step closer to ending, and WNBA players want a bigger piece of a growing revenue pie.

  • October 25, 2024

    Pink Is Too Close To Purple, National Gypsum Judge Says

    Drywall manufacturer National Gypsum has convinced a Chicago federal judge that new shades of pink used by a company that makes shower wall niches broke the terms of an injunction that was issued after a jury sided with National Gypsum in a legal dispute over the use of the color purple in construction materials.

  • October 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Dubious Of Tesla Investors' Appeal Of $12B Trial Loss

    Ninth Circuit judges appeared skeptical Friday of Tesla investors' argument that an erroneous trial instruction improperly led a jury to reject their $12 billion claim over Elon Musk's 2018 tweets that he had "funding secured" to take the electric car giant private.

  • October 25, 2024

    'Starting Point' Algorithm Enough To Fix Prices, DOJ Says

    The Justice Department is using the first algorithmic price-fixing case to reach an appeals court to argue that just because an algorithm only set "starting points" doesn't make its use legal, in a Ninth Circuit amicus brief backing efforts to revive a room rate lawsuit against Las Vegas casino hotels.

  • October 25, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says Circle K Failed To Provide OT, Breaks

    Convenience store company Circle K failed to pay workers overtime wages and provide them with meal and rest periods, the workers alleged Friday in California state court.

  • October 25, 2024

    Hawkins Delafield Career Atty Moves To Nixon Peabody In SF

    Nixon Peabody LLP hired a Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP partner who has spent his entire legal career with that firm working on public finance tax matters and a range of other tax-related matters, the firm has announced.

  • October 25, 2024

    Masimo Infringed 2 Apple Watch Patents, Jury Finds

    Healthcare tech company Masimo Corp. was found to have infringed two of Apple Inc.'s patents Friday at the close of a five-day U.S. District Court jury trial in Delaware that put more future tech prospects than current cash on the line.

  • October 25, 2024

    Maritime Unions Tell EPA To Reject Calif. Workboat Rule

    Three maritime labor unions and a tugboat trade association called on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to deny California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to enforce its rule mandating the installation of diesel particulate filter technology on workboats.

  • October 25, 2024

    UK Antitrust Arm Opens Formal Probe Of $35B Software Deal

    United Kingdom antitrust authorities triggered a formal investigation Friday into Synopsys Inc.'s $35 billion acquisition of Ansys Inc., satisfied that the transaction has enough ties to the country to merit greater scrutiny.

  • October 25, 2024

    Self-Driving Car Co. Waymo Snags $5.6B In Series C Funding

    Self-driving car company Waymo on Friday announced that it closed a behemoth investing round, raising $5.6 billion from private equity and venture capital investors.

  • October 25, 2024

    Polsinelli Real Estate Shareholder Joins Kilpatrick In SF

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP announced on Thursday the hiring of a former principal and shareholder at Polsinelli as a counsel in its San Francisco office.

  • October 25, 2024

    No Reason To Open Discovery, X, Musk Say In Severance Fight

    Elon Musk and X Corp. have urged a California federal court not to acquiesce to former executives' request to open discovery in their severance benefits lawsuit, saying the workers can't show they've been harmed by the court's decision to pause discovery until after ruling on a dismissal motion.

  • October 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Muldrow Reopens Asian Worker's Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a former supply chain manager's lawsuit alleging she was demoted because she's Asian American, saying a lower court should take another look at the case based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying the standard for workplace discrimination claims.

  • October 25, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Skadden, Kirkland

    In this week's Taxation With Representation, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp. absorbs Sandy Spring Bancorp, Sophos and Secureworks merge, Wendel Group takes a stake in Monroe Capital LLC, and Acuity Brands Inc. buys QSC LLC.

  • October 25, 2024

    NCAA Creating Cloudy Future As It Clings To Control

    Experts speaking at a symposium from Temple University's Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia drove home the point that the NCAA's multibillion-dollar court settlement providing damages and revenue to past and future college athletes falls far short of settling the remaining challenges to its control of college sports.

  • October 25, 2024

    Goodwin, Cooley Guide Septerna's Upsized $288M IPO

    Clinical-stage drug developer Septerna Inc. is set to debut trading on Friday after pricing an upsized, $288 million initial public offering above its initial range, under guidance from Goodwin Procter LLP and underwriters' counsel Cooley LLP, extending a recent surge in biotechnology IPOs.

  • October 24, 2024

    Meta, TikTok Can't Ditch Schools' Social Media Addiction Suit

    Meta Platforms and other social media giants must face most of the claims brought by school districts and local government entities alleging the companies designed their platforms to addict children, a California federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • October 24, 2024

    'Jeopardy!' Workers Lodge Race, Gender Bias Claims

    A Black production executive and her Latina colleague with decades of experience working on "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" have accused Sony Pictures Entertainment of race, gender and age discrimination as well as retaliation, according to complaints filed with both the National Labor Relations Board and California's Civil Rights Department.

  • October 24, 2024

    FTC Official Doubts Election Will Deter Antitrust 'New Era'

    The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition director defended the agency's new guidelines and its track record during a wide-ranging discussion at the 34th annual Golden State Institute on Thursday, and he expressed confidence that whichever presidential candidate wins, a new administration won't deter this "new era" of FTC antitrust enforcement actions.

  • October 24, 2024

    Calif. Chili's Workers Fight Uphill For Meal Break Class Cert.

    A California federal judge considering class certification for nearly 1,300 Chili's employees, who are accusing the owner of their restaurants of not providing meal breaks, said Thursday that individualized questions about whether workers were coerced into asserting they voluntarily skipped their break could doom their bid.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About Latest Calif. Auto-Renewal Law Update

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    While businesses have about nine months to prepare before the recently passed amendment to California's automatic renewal law takes effect, it’s not too early to begin working on compliance efforts, including sign-up flow reviews, record retention updates and marketing language revisions, say Gonzalo Mon and Beth Chun at Kelley Drye.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • How Lucia, Jarkesy Could Affect Grocery Merger Challenge

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    While the Federal Trade Commission is taking a dual federal court and administrative tribunal approach to block Kroger's merger with Alberstons, Kroger's long-shot unconstitutionality claims could potentially lead to a reevaluation of the FTC's reliance on administrative processes in complex merger cases, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: The MDL Map

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    An intriguing yet unpredictable facet of multidistrict litigation practice is venue selection for new MDL proceedings, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation considers many factors when it assigns an MDL venue, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • What To Expect From Calif. Bill Regulating PE In Healthcare

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    A California bill currently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval, intended to increase oversight over private equity and hedge fund investments in healthcare, is emblematic of recent increased scrutiny of investments in the space, and may affect transactions and operations in California in a number of ways, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives

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    As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.

  • What 7th Circ. Collective Actions Ruling Means For Employers

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    With the Seventh Circuit’s recent Fair Labor Standards Act ruling in Vanegas v. Signet Builders, a majority of federal appellate courts that have addressed the jurisdictional scope of employee collective actions now follow the U.S. Supreme Court's limiting precedent, bolstering an employer defense in circuits that have yet to weigh in, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Google And The Next Frontier Of Divestiture Antitrust Remedy

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    The possibility of a large-scale divestiture in the Google search case comes on the heels of recent requests of business breakups as remedies for anticompetitive conduct, and companies should prepare for the likelihood that courts may impose divestiture remedies in the event of a liability finding, say Lauren Weinstein and Nathaniel Rubin at MoloLamken.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • Behind 3rd Circ. Ruling On College Athletes' FLSA Eligibility

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    The Third Circuit's decision that college athletes are not precluded from bringing a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act raises key questions about the practical consequences of treating collegiate athletes as employees, such as Title IX equal pay claims and potential eligibility for all employment benefits, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules

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    A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

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