California

  • September 28, 2026

    ChatGPT Users' Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Gets Trimmed

    Microsoft isn't going to be able to force into arbitration claims that it undermined OpenAI by forcing the artificial intelligence giant into using only its cloud computing, but it did convince the California federal judge overseeing the case to toss the proposed class's federal antitrust claim.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Attys Face New Penalties For Paying To Recruit Clients

    Lawyers convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — in California will now face a $25,000 civil penalty and face disbarment under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Governor Vetoes Broad Ban On Sensitive Data Sales

    California's governor has refused to sign off on legislation that would have made the state the latest to restrict the sale and sharing of consumers' geolocation, biometric and other sensitive information, saying the proposed "categorical ban" on these online data practices was "a step too far."

  • September 28, 2026

    Apple Briefs Set Stage For Challenge To Record $5.7B Verdict

    Friday's $5.7 billion verdict against Apple Inc. for infringing Taction Technology Inc.'s vibration technology patents is the largest in history, eclipsing many others that have been overturned, and filings by Apple preview its arguments for why this one should meet the same fate.

  • September 28, 2026

    Wash. Can Pursue Gold Mine Pollution Claims, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel revived Washington state's Clean Water Act lawsuit against the operator of the Buckhorn Mountain gold mine Monday, reversing a district court's ruling that the state's claims were barred because of another plaintiff's settlement in the consolidated case.

  • September 28, 2026

    Netflix Gets Atty Fees From Ramey For 'Bad Faith' Conduct

    A California federal judge Monday refused to let intellectual property attorney Bill Ramey off the hook for paying Netflix's attorney fees, attributing nearly $1.4 million to the Houston-based attorney's misconduct, including the concealment of the fact that his client didn't own a patent they accused Netflix of infringing.

  • September 28, 2026

    Lucid Investors Get Class Cert. In Production Forecast Suit

    Investors in electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. were granted class certification in their suit alleging they suffered damages when the company disclosed it was not on track to meet its 2022 vehicle output projections.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Calif. Pesticide PFAS Tracking Bill Into Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law new regulations requiring state officials to track and publicly disclose when pesticides that are used on state produce contain "forever chemicals."

  • September 28, 2026

    Paramount, States Urge Court To Approve Merger Deal

    State enforcers and Paramount Skydance responded Monday to several questions raised by a lawmaker over a settlement ending the states' challenge of Paramount's deal for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., telling a California federal court there's no need for a full-blown review.

  • September 28, 2026

    Black Tesla Workers In Calif. Fired At Higher Rates, Judge Told

    An economics professor testified in a California state bench trial Monday over the California Civil Rights Department's claims Tesla fostered racism at its Fremont factory that he found Tesla's Black workers in California are paid 4.37% less, and involuntarily terminated at a 75% higher rate, than their white counterparts.

  • September 28, 2026

    'Migration' Copying Suit Is For The Birds, Mike White Says

    Universal City Studios, Illumination Entertainment and "White Lotus" creator Mike White urged a California federal judge Monday to toss a writer's lawsuit claiming they stole his script for the 2023 film "Migration," saying the movie is not substantially similar to the unpublished screenplay, and the complaint does not plausibly allege that they had access to it.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Expands Reproductive Care, Abortion Access

    A series of new laws in California aim to expand access to medication abortion on community college campuses, bolster veterans' access to reproductive care including abortions, and make it easier for nursing parents to access lactation support, according to an announcement made Sunday.

  • September 28, 2026

    Cannabis Distributor Says Partner Denied Its $332K Stake

    The manager of a Los Angeles cannabis cultivation facility seized an entire harvest without his business partner's permission, selling much of it until armed men raided the facility and took a significant portion of the inventory, according to a state lawsuit seeking more than $300,000 for the iced-out partner.

  • September 28, 2026

    9th Circ. Rules Cops' Gunpoint Arrest Constitutional

    A Ninth Circuit panel has ruled that two California police officers who allegedly aimed their guns at a compliant suspect acted reasonably and enjoyed qualified immunity protection from the man's civil rights lawsuit, reversing a district court's finding that they may have used unconstitutional excessive force.

  • September 28, 2026

    Feds Defend Handling Of Legal Services For Migrant Kids

    The Trump administration told a California federal judge that it hasn't withheld funding for legal services for unaccompanied migrant children in violation of an injunction, with a $158 million contract award tied up in a bid protest.

  • September 28, 2026

    US Presses High Court To Skip Tesla Case Over PTAB Review

    The federal government has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on Tesla Inc.'s challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's limits on patent challenges, arguing Friday that the agency is under no obligation to grant requests for patent review.

  • September 28, 2026

    WordPress Parent Ducks Extortion But Not Antitrust Claims

    A California federal judge issued a mixed ruling last week in the two-way fight between WordPress parent Automattic and web hosting company WPEngine, dismissing digital extortion claims against Automattic while preserving WPEngine's antitrust allegations, and preserving Automattic counterclaims of trademark infringement but dismissing false advertising accusations.

  • September 28, 2026

    SilverRock Trustee Dismissed Over Ch. 11 Fund Transfers

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge terminated the litigation trustee appointed under the confirmed Chapter 11 plan of California resort developer SilverRock Development on Monday after hearing from creditors that more than $2.2 million had been transferred out of trust accounts in recent months.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Bans Officials From Meme Coin Profits In Trump Callout

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill barring the state's officials from issuing or lending their likeness to meme coins, criticizing President Donald Trump's hundreds of millions in profits from meme coin projects.

  • September 28, 2026

    Ex-Electric Parts CEO Drops ERISA Suit Over Firing

    The former CEO of an electric parts manufacturer has agreed to end his suit alleging the trustee of the company's employee stock ownership plan unlawfully pushed him out without investigating a competing executive's misconduct accusations, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Slate Of Bills Bolstering LGBTQ+ Protections

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills defending against what he called the Trump administration's "all-out assault on the LGBTQ community," strengthening privacy protections, providing support to discharged service members and enhancing access to medical care.

  • September 28, 2026

    Insurer Seeks Exit From Pharma Co.'s $50M Creditor Dispute

    An insurer for a San Francisco pharmaceutical company told a California federal court it owes no duty to defend the company in a suit from a creditor and shareholder alleging directors and officers mismanaged the company to protect their equity, saying a creditors exclusion bars coverage.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. To Add 'Chosen' Family To Bereavement Leave Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill to expand an existing law that provides workers with a week of bereavement leave if someone an employee identifies as a family member dies — even if the person is not a blood relative.

  • September 28, 2026

    White Worker Gets 2nd Chance In Race Training Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit reinstated Monday a white worker's claims that the City of Seattle subjected him to harassment by pushing race bias trainings that caused his colleagues to villainize white people, ruling that negative comments he received about his race were enough to keep the case in court.

  • September 28, 2026

    FTC Touts 'Dismantling' Of Corteva's Pesticide Rebates

    The Federal Trade Commission on Monday touted its new settlement with Corteva Inc. for severely constricting the pesticide company's ability to pay distributors a loyalty rebate in exchange for limiting sales of cheaper generics, the latest in a string of agreements Trump-era antitrust enforcers have struck ending existing claims.

Expert Analysis

  • How Cos. Can Prep For Ultra-Processed Food Legal Risks

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    A wave of litigation and government scrutiny directed against ultra-processed foods is now gaining momentum, following patterns seen previously in other industries — and food companies that recognize those patterns early will be better positioned to manage the increasing risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

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    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • Pregnancy Bias Suits Highlight EEOC's Expanding Reach

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    Recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suits show that enactment of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has drawn scrutiny to a wider range of employment decisions and an increasing focus on individual decisions as indicators of whether an employer's policies comply with evolving federal requirements, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    The year's second quarter brought several noteworthy financial services developments to California, including activity around a commercial finance oversight bill, the former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head's appointment to lead a new consumer agency, and a ruling reinforcing viable bank-fintech partnerships, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • What Ex-CFPB Head's Calif. Role May Foretell For Oversight

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom's selection of former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra to lead a new consumer agency signals tougher state financial services oversight, especially for fintechs, as well as heightened enforcement activity and larger penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • Justices Stand On Statutory Specifics In Cisco And Landor

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    With its June 23 decisions in Cisco Systems Inc. v. Doe and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, the U.S. Supreme Court doubled down on the critical point that the statute invoked in a federal claim must authorize a private lawsuit and the remedy sought, says Patrick Judd at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Immigration Ruling Maps Alternative To Universal Injunctions

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    A Rhode Island federal court's decision in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS vacating policies that froze key immigration adjudications for nationals of 39 countries, and paused asylum applications altogether, suggests how practitioners might press for the Administrative Procedure Act's bad faith exception to record review and seek vacatur as a viable alternative to universal injunctions, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • A Potential Turning Point For Short-And-Distort Claims

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    A California federal jury's conviction of Andrew Left signals that the historically blurry line between securities fraud and legitimate criticism of companies is growing clearer, and that there is a viable recourse against so-called short-and-distort campaigns intended to create a false impression of the market, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 10 Years, 150 Cases: The Rise And Fall Of Post-Halo Damages

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    When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Halo v. Pulse in 2016, patent practitioners predicted that enhanced damages would become easier to win, but analysis of every contested district court ruling on a motion for enhanced damages in the last 10 years shows that courts have shown increasing restraint, say attorneys at Reichman Jorgensen.

  • How Maine's Expanded Health Deal Reviews Complicate M&A

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    A pair of recently approved Maine competition laws establish notice and approval requirements for certain healthcare transactions and expand state antitrust oversight, creating new hurdles for dealmakers as states take a more aggressive role in policing healthcare consolidation, especially involving private equity, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Attorney Mental Health Is An Ethical Obligation In The AI Era

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    As attorneys cope with the increasing unpredictability that artificial intelligence and constant policy changes have created, particularly in practice areas where they carry the emotional weight of clients’ most consequential life events, otherwise soft discussions about self-care are a matter of professional competence, says attorney Jack Jrada.

  • GM Privacy Penalty Signals A Change In Calif. Enforcement

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    General Motors' $12.75 million settlement with the California attorney general over its sale of driving behavior and geolocation data to brokers shows that disclosures and user choice may no longer be enough to define permissible data use, says Sonja Arndt-Johnson at Buchalter.

  • Leveraging AI In MDL Discovery And Case Management

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    Generative and agentic artificial intelligence tools can help teams organize and digest the vast volume of documents inherent to multidistrict litigation, but workflows must be designed to maximize the tools' strengths and maintain human control of key operational and ethical factors, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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