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June 06, 2024
Latham Leads Robinhood In $200M Buy Of Crypto Exchange
Robinhood said on Thursday that it will buy cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately $200 million, as the electronic trading platform looks to scale up its global services for digital assets.
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June 05, 2024
Ex-Meta Engineer Says He Was Fired For Flagging Gaza Issue
A Palestinian American software engineer at Meta Platforms Inc. said his former employer has a "chronic anti-Palestinian bias," and he was fired in the midst of trying to address the company's problems with needlessly censoring Palestinian social media posts, according to a suit filed in California state court.
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June 05, 2024
Rimini's Oracle IP Defense Was Wrongly Barred, 9th Circ. Told
Rimini Street and its owner urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to vacate an injunction blocking it from copying Oracle's software in their 14-year battle over Rimini's software patches, arguing that the lower court erroneously tossed certain infringement defenses that "should have been in the case all along" and made other errors.
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June 05, 2024
Massive NFL Sunday Ticket Antitrust Trial Kicks Off In LA
The California federal trial in a multibillion-dollar antitrust suit against the NFL by Sunday Ticket subscribers kicked off Wednesday with the seating of eight jurors and two alternates, after some potential jurors were eliminated for expressing strong views on former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, player concussions and the league's significant wealth.
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June 05, 2024
PwC Asks Calif. Justices To Revive $2.5M Sanction Against LA
PwC urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive a $2.5 million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for yearslong discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing dispute, arguing the trial court's inherent authority to pose such penalties isn't limited to nonmonetary sanctions.
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June 05, 2024
Kanye West Faces Sex Harassment Suit By Ex-Assistant
Kanye West repeatedly sexually harassed a woman who worked as his assistant by sending her inappropriate and profane texts and forcing her to watch him masturbate, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the rapper and some of his companies.
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June 05, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Review Cathay Pacific Ticket Refund Fight
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its decision ordering a couple who were left stranded in the Philippines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to arbitrate their breach of contract dispute with Cathay Pacific Airways under their contract with a third-party booking site.
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June 05, 2024
Google Loses Another Patent Board Appeal In Sonos Feud
Federal Circuit judges sided Wednesday with a patent board ruling that wiped out claims in yet another Google patent that was asserted in the tech company's infringement lawsuit against wireless speaker brand Sonos.
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June 05, 2024
Dems Urge SEC To Double Down On Climate Enforcement
A group of 38 Democratic lawmakers is urging U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to step up enforcement of the agency's existing climate disclosure-related guidance, as the agency faces court challenges to its controversial climate rule.
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June 05, 2024
Snell & Wilmer Brings On 'Dark Wire' Sting Ex-Prosecutor
Snell & Wilmer LLP announced Wednesday it has hired a Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner and former prosecutor who helped lead an unprecedented sting operation that will be the focus of a Netflix film directed by Jason Bateman.
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June 05, 2024
Axos Says Money Market Account Suit Should Be Arbitrated
Axos Bank has urged a California federal judge to either toss or force into arbitration a proposed class action alleging it reclassified customers' high-yield money market accounts into lower-yield investment accounts without informing them, saying federal law allows banks to offer accounts with variable rates that the bank can change at its discretion.
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June 05, 2024
USPTO Fee Hike Finds Ally In Google, But Others Have Gripes
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's plan to increase many patent-related fees beginning next year has received support from Google, but dozens of other comments came from patent litigators of all stripes who argue that the proposal is a bad idea.
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June 05, 2024
Google Cleared From Suit Over Animal Abuse YouTube Videos
A California appeals panel has tossed a nonprofit's suit alleging that Google LLC breached its contract by allowing animal abuse videos on YouTube, saying Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act blocks all its claims.
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June 05, 2024
Microsoft Blasts Gamers' Bid To Add To Activision Appeal
Microsoft Corp. says the Ninth Circuit should reject a "bevy of additional, extra-record 'facts'" seeking to hold up the recent layoffs of 1,900 Activision and Xbox employees as proof that the tech giant's acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. was anticompetitive.
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June 05, 2024
Epic Accuses Apple Of Stalling Antitrust Doc Production
Epic Games accused Apple Inc. at a hearing Wednesday of dragging its feet on producing internal documents that a California federal judge recently ordered the tech giant to hand over to help decide if Apple complied with her ban on App Store anti-steering rules.
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June 05, 2024
After Judge Takes Trip To Israel, Attys Want Him Off Gaza Case
Palestinian rights activists asked a Ninth Circuit judge to recuse himself from a case claiming that the Biden administration flouted international laws barring genocide by supporting Israel's military efforts in Gaza, noting that the judge recently took a trip to Israel sponsored by the World Jewish Congress.
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June 05, 2024
Womble Bond Adds Calif. Cyber Presence With Orrick Atty
Womble Bond Dickinson announced Wednesday that it is expanding its privacy and cybersecurity team to the West Coast with the addition of a former Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP attorney in Los Angeles.
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June 05, 2024
Waste Co. Strikes Deal To Exit DOL Sex Bias Probe
A Southern California waste collection company will pay more than $104,000 and hire 10 women to end an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into the company's discriminatory hiring practices against female job applicants.
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June 05, 2024
Santa Barbara Gets Bulk Of Pot Farm Raid Suit Tossed
A California federal judge has thrown out the bulk of a cannabis farmer's suit alleging that members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office illegally raided his farm and destroyed his property, leaving only a judicial deception claim to go forward.
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June 05, 2024
Fish Taco Chain Rubio's Files 2nd Bankruptcy In 4 Years
The California-based fish taco-focused chain Rubio's Coastal Grill filed its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in four years on Wednesday in Delaware, saying it had between $100 million and $500 million of liabilities and plans for an asset sale.
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June 04, 2024
Ontrak CEO Shed $20M In Stock With Insider Info, Jury Hears
Ontrak Inc.'s founder rushed to dump over $20 million of the healthcare company's stock using insider information about a souring relationship with its biggest client, Cigna, helping him avoid $12 million in losses, prosecutors told California federal jurors Tuesday in a first-of-its-kind securities fraud trial.
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June 04, 2024
Morgan Stanley Unit Seeks Exit From Alorica 401(k) Fee Suit
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has asked to be dismissed from a suit alleging mismanagement of a retirement savings plan for employees of business processing outsourcing service provider Alorica Inc., arguing in California federal court that it had been "improperly lumped" into a revision of the suit 17 months after the matter was originally filed.
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June 04, 2024
Divided 9th Circ. Reverses Sutter Health Antitrust Trial Victory
A split Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday overturned Sutter Health's win in insurance plan purchasers' $400 million antitrust suit, ruling that the lower court wrongly excluded "highly relevant" evidence — including admissions by Sutter executives — that would've helped the purchasers potentially prove claims they overpaid thanks to Sutter's anticompetitive conduct.
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June 04, 2024
Atty's Argentine Uber Debut Fight Lands At Calif. High Court
Barring fraudulent concealment claims under the so-called economic loss doctrine would create "perverse incentives" for people to draw others into contracts and "have their way with them," the California Supreme Court was told Tuesday by counsel for an Argentinian attorney suing Uber on allegations it hid crucial information from him.
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June 04, 2024
9th Circ. Backs Agency Denial Of Partnership's Crop Policy
The Federal Crop Insurance Corp. reasonably interpreted a policy that was canceled by an insurer after a farming partnership filed a claim seeking the full $1.9 million limit, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, affirming a decision backing the FCIC's conclusion that the operation didn't qualify for coverage.
Expert Analysis
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing
For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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Fintech Compliance Does Not Always Equal Bank Compliance
Recent enforcement actions are a reminder for banks working with financial technology providers — whether as partners to extend their reach or as internal resources to support existing operations — that few areas of risk need more frequent attention than Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance, says Christopher Couch at Phelps Dunbar.
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Opinion
9th Circ. Nazi Art Theft Ruling Is Bad For Repatriation Cases
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, holding that a Spanish museum doesn't have to return a Nazi-stolen painting to the original Jewish owners, spells trouble for future heirloom repatriation cases, which hinge on similar archaic laws, say Andrea Perez and Josh Sherman at Carrington Coleman.
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Enforcement Risk Amid Increased Consumer Data Use
While no state has introduced a private right of action for noncompliance with a comprehensive consumer privacy law — except for the California Consumer Privacy Act's data breach provision — organizations and retailers face risk from enforcement actions by state attorneys general and privacy regulators, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Opinion
The Problems In Calif. Draft Behavioral Ad Privacy Regs
The California Privacy Protection Agency has an opportunity with its automated decision-making technology and profiling rulemaking to harmonize California's regulation of data-driven advertising, but this will be a failure unless several things are changed in its proposed treatment of behavioral advertising, say Alan Friel and Kyle Fath at Squire Patton.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories
The greater frequency and scale of wildfires in the last several years have created operational and fiscal challenges for electric utility companies, including new theories of liability and unique operational and risk management considerations — all of which must be carefully considered by utility investors, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases
A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Can A DAO Be Sued? SDNY Case May Hold The Answer
A case pending in the Southern District of New York will examine whether decentralized crypto co-op MakerDAO is a partnership with the capacity to be sued in federal court, and the decision could shape how legal frameworks will adapt to accommodate blockchain technologies moving forward, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Tips For Counsel Seeking Balance In The ESG Political Divide
Corporate counsel tasked with navigating environmental, social and governance factors in the current polarized political environment should not lose sight of best practices, including sticking to what the law requires and always telling the truth, say Jennifer Rubin at Mintz and Mike Rider at ResMed.
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Disney Copyright Expiration Spurs Trademark Questions
While the recent expiration of Disney’s Steamboat Willie copyright is not likely to have an immediate impact, it could provide clarity on the extent to which trademark rights in character names and appearance affect what others can do with characters from works whose copyright has expired, says Bryan Wheelock at Harness IP.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.