California

  • September 14, 2026

    SF Vacancy Tax Barred By Calif. Law, Appeals Court Affirms

    San Francisco's voter-approved tax on vacant residential units penalizes property owners for keeping those off the rental market and thus violates California law, a state appeals court panel ruled, upholding a trial court.

  • September 14, 2026

    Disney Taps Warner Bros. Atty As Corp. Transactions Lead

    Disney has expanded its corporate transactions legal team with the addition of Warner Bros. Discovery's senior vice president of business and legal affairs, according to an internal memo.

  • September 14, 2026

    State Farm Attorney Sanctioned $999.99 for AI Hallucinations

    An attorney for State Farm who filed several motions citing nonexistent cases and fabricated quotes generated by AI software must pay a $999.99 sanction, a Los Angeles judge ruled, an amount one cent below the threshold that would have triggered a mandatory notice to the State Bar of California under state law.

  • September 14, 2026

    K&L Gates Hires 6-Atty Pillsbury Team In California, Texas

    K&L Gates LLP announced Monday that it recently added six attorneys from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP to bolster its corporate, intellectual property, litigation, and labor and employment practices.

  • September 14, 2026

    Thryv Selling White, Yellow Pages Units To PE Firm For $142M

    Thryv Holdings Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell its print directories business to Los Angeles-based investment firm Carolwood LP for $142 million in cash, with Holland & Knight LLP advising Thryv and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP advising Carolwood.

  • September 14, 2026

    Judge Blocks Construction At Toxic Calif. ICE Detention Site

    A California federal judge Monday ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop work on its conversion of a former agricultural research site into a detention facility, finding the agency offered no proof that it examined risks from prior hazardous waste violations at the property before starting construction.

  • September 14, 2026

    Jackson Lewis Removes Ex-Atty's Bias Suit To Federal Court

    Jackson Lewis PC has moved a former associate's suit accusing the firm of refusing to accommodate her temporary work restrictions following her medical leave to California federal court, saying state court wasn't the right venue for dispute.

  • September 14, 2026

    Clippers Won't Take NBA To Court Over Salary Cap Sanctions

    Nearly two weeks after lawyers for the Los Angeles Clippers vowed to explore "every legal remedy" to challenge the NBA's sanctions against the franchise for violating salary cap rules, the team's owner has changed course and will comply with the league's decision.

  • September 11, 2026

    Sam Smith Struggles To End 'Dancing With A Stranger' IP Suit

    A California federal judge said Friday he's unlikely to dismiss a copyright infringement suit accusing pop singers Sam Smith and Normani of copying another song in their 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," saying he's not convinced that case law supports dismissing the suit after the Ninth Circuit revived it.

  • September 11, 2026

    CashCall Loses 'Ill-Conceived' Bid To Undo $157M CFPB Win

    A California federal judge on Friday rejected lender CashCall Inc.'s latest bid to escape the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $157 million enforcement judgment in decade-old litigation over a tribal lending program, finding that CashCall's request is an "ill-conceived tactic" designed to delay enforcement.

  • September 11, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Due Process And Data Centers

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the latest lawsuits from developers around the country arguing for their constitutional rights to build data centers.

  • September 11, 2026

    Attys Must Arbitrate $8 Oil To Fight $625K Sanction: 9th Circ.

    Class action lawyers slapped with six-figure sanctions for suing Walmart Inc. based on erroneous purchase information can't yet challenge the discipline, the Ninth Circuit ruled, suggesting they may first need to arbitrate grievances over an $8 bottle of avocado oil.

  • September 11, 2026

    NRA Hit With Suit Alleging 'Sex-Based' Membership Pricing

    The National Rifle Association uses a "sex-based" membership pricing that has men and nonbinary people paying up to $500 more than women for the same types of memberships, two consumers allege in a new proposed class action in California federal court.

  • September 11, 2026

    9th Circ. Upholds Workers' $7.8M BART Vax Exemption Verdict

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to disturb a $7.8 million verdict for six former San Francisco public rail employees who were let go after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on faith-based grounds, finding that the transit system did not show that it couldn't have safely accommodated the workers.

  • September 11, 2026

    Prediction Markets Ask Justices To Settle Sports Wager Split

    Crypto.com on Friday became the third party to call on the U.S. Supreme Court to address the closely-watched circuit split on prediction market regulation, challenging a Ninth Circuit decision that allowed Nevada regulators to police certain sports event contracts since their "substance" appeared to be gambling.

  • September 11, 2026

    Calif. Panel Upholds Probation Therapy Terms

    A California state appeals court Friday affirmed probation terms requiring a man with substance abuse and personality disorders to attend therapy sessions at his probation officer's direction, finding trial courts have broad discretion in such matters.

  • September 11, 2026

    State Dept. Must Give Court 3 Diversity Visa Updates A Week

    A California federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of State to provide three updates per week on the status of diversity visa applications, saying he was "troubled" by the lack of progress since he ordered adjudications to be resumed.

  • September 11, 2026

    Calif. Judge Won't Toss Estee Lauder TM Suit Against Walmart

    A California federal judge has turned down Walmart's bid to dismiss Estee Lauder's lawsuit accusing the retail giant of selling infringing beauty products online, saying the suit's claims over allegedly sham products were up to snuff at this point in the case.

  • September 11, 2026

    9th Circ. Leaves VA On Hook For Homeless Vet Housing

    The full Ninth Circuit Friday refused to revisit a ruling requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build supportive housing for homeless disabled veterans, sparking dissents that accused judges of swapping their robes for hard hats and "bulldozing" established disability law.

  • September 11, 2026

    Qdoba Sued Over Jalapenos Tied To Salmonella Outbreak

    Fast casual Mexican restaurant chain Qdoba and Coast Citrus Distributors were hit with a proposed negligence class action in California federal court Thursday by two customers who allege they fell ill after consuming food containing jalapeno peppers supplied by the defendants that they say were contaminated with salmonella. 

  • September 11, 2026

    Calif. Judge To Hear Picayune's Suit Over Rival Casino Plan

    The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and Station Casinos LLC are slated to appear before a California federal judge next month to say why he should toss the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians' lawsuit claiming North Fork's plan to build a new casino is illegal.

  • September 11, 2026

    DOJ Gets Final OK For Agri Stats Antitrust Settlement

    A Minnesota federal court has granted final approval to the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement with Agri Stats, with the company agreeing to stop offering the sales reports for meat processors at the center of the case.

  • September 11, 2026

    3M Wants Conn. Firefighter PFAS Suit Moved To Different MDL

    3M Co. has asked to peel PFAS "forever chemicals" claims by Connecticut firefighter unions and several individuals away from a recently empaneled Minnesota multidistrict litigation containing claims by municipalities who purchased firefighting turnout gear, arguing the unions' and individuals' allegations instead belong in an ongoing South Carolina MDL.

  • September 11, 2026

    Meta 'Voiceprint' Privacy Suit Turns On Use Terms, Judge Says

    A California federal judge mulling Meta's motion to dismiss a proposed class action claiming the tech giant secretly and unlawfully captures Facebook users' "voiceprints" and related biometric information said he'd review the social media platform's privacy and use terms, which he said would be "controlling."

  • September 11, 2026

    Solar Contractor, CBRE Unit Blamed In $1B LA Building Fire

    Lineage Inc., which owns a massive cold-storage facility in Los Angeles that caught fire in June, has sued a commercial solar operator and a CBRE Group subsidiary in California state court, blaming the incident on their negligence in reenergizing a defective rooftop solar array before critical safety checks were completed. 

Expert Analysis

  • Money Transmission Issue Looms For Prediction Markets

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    The circuit split recently created by the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Kalshi v. Assad has implications reaching beyond gaming regulation as, depending on the ultimate characterization of prediction market event contracts, platforms may face differing obligations under federal and state money transmission laws, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • The Deep Split Over Mandatory Detention, And What's Next

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    The government’s mandatory detention policy for noncitizens who entered the U.S. without inspection has led to a spate of decisions this year, with nine circuits rejecting the government's reading of the Immigration and Nationality Act against two that have accepted it, making the issue ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review, says attorney Kemal Hepsen.

  • 9th Circ. Comet Ruling Spotlights Trade Secret Proof Burdens

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision to vacate a $40 million verdict awarded to Comet Technologies in its trade secret dispute with XP Power underscores how the burden of proof differs between federal and state law, giving litigants a fresh perspective on several issues, including how a jury should be instructed, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

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    The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Minn. Ruling Expands Insureds' Right To Independent Counsel

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    If upheld on appeal, a recent decision by a Minnesota appellate court — Fabyanske Westra Hart & Thomson v. Western National Mutual Insurance — will give Minnesota policyholders a stronger basis to demand independent counsel when an insurer accepts a defense under a reservation of rights, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • State AI Safety Laws Raise New Liabilities For Healthcare Cos.

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    Healthcare and life science companies using third-party artificial intelligence tools should pay particular attention to the changing state-level legal landscape, where the rollout of multiple AI safety laws is introducing both new compliance obligations and potential consumer protection liabilities, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Series

    Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

  • AI Note-Taking Suits May Fill Gap In Privacy Law Structure

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    A recent class action against Granola joins other pending lawsuits against AI note-taking providers, highlighting the legal uncertainty surrounding these tools, but there are practical steps companies using "invisible" AI services can take to mitigate risk, including conducting inventories and reviewing access permissions, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • How 'Swap' Fight Underpins Prediction Market Enforcement

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    As courts around the country grapple with whether, and under what circumstances, event contracts qualify as swaps, federal enforcement authority hangs in the balance, with implications for companies that need to manage compliance risks during this period of legal uncertainty, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • FDA Closeout Letter Suggests Relaxing Stance On Wearables

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent decision not to pursue enforcement action against Whoop's wearable blood pressure tracker, read together with guidance released earlier this year, suggests a softer shift in the FDA's approach to regulating wearables, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

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    Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

  • The State Of Prediction Market Litigation After 9th Circ. Ruling

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalshi v. Assad gives state regulators significant appellate backing to enforce state gaming laws over prediction markets, creating a direct split with the Third Circuit that will likely lead to Supreme Court review of the question, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Meta Layoff Suit Serves As Early Test Of AI Bias Claims

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    A lawsuit in California federal court alleging that Meta's use of artificial intelligence in recent layoffs negatively affected employees on protected leave provides insight for plaintiffs about what evidence to preserve and how to build these discrimination claims, says Manny Starr at Frontier Law Center.

  • Series

    Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

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