California

  • May 20, 2026

    Prof. Hired By J&J In 1970s Found Asbestos In Talc, Jury Told

    A former Johnson & Johnson toxicologist could not find evidence his employer turned a report over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that "unmistakably" found asbestos in the company's talc, according to a video deposition shown Wednesday to a California jury considering bellwether claims over three women's deadly ovarian cancer.

  • May 20, 2026

    Calif. Panel Says Uber Not Liable For College Student's Death

    A California appeals court declined to reinstate a mother's lawsuit blaming Uber for her daughter's death after she was hit by cars on a freeway that was miles away from where she was dropped off by an Uber driver, ruling Wednesday those intervening events are too attenuated to find the company liable.

  • May 20, 2026

    Jack In The Box Can't Dodge Franchisees' Indemnity Claim

    A Washington state judge Tuesday denied Jack in the Box Inc.'s effort to sidestep liability for job postings that allegedly violated a Washington pay transparency statute, ruling that two franchisees suing the fast-food giant adequately stated an equitable indemnity claim under California law.

  • May 20, 2026

    Top 4 Most Surprising Moments In Musk-OpenAI Trial

    The high-profile trial over Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion wrapped Monday with a quick jury verdict in favor of OpenAI and its executives, but the three-week trial drew some surprising moments for those in the courtroom who had front row seats to the fight between billionaires.

  • May 20, 2026

    Social Media Not Proven To Harm Mental Health, Judge Told

    A statistics expert for Meta sought Wednesday to undermine the claim that social media has driven a rise in mental health conditions among teens, saying the New Mexico attorney general's key witness on the topic didn't consider alternative factors like widening access to mental health care.

  • May 20, 2026

    Investors Say BNY Mellon Let Oil Trust Payments Vanish

    Investors in a trust overseen by the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. NA sued the banking giant in state court Wednesday, saying it failed to push for transparency or enforcement actions after an oil company whose properties generated the trust's income started using a new accounting method that wiped out distributions for years.

  • May 20, 2026

    Pinterest Hit With Derivative Suit Over Tariff Impacts

    Executives and directors of social media platform Pinterest Inc. have been hit with an investor's derivative suit in California federal court accusing them of damaging the company by concealing the impact the U.S. tariffs were having on Pinterest's advertising partners.

  • May 20, 2026

    Live Nation Can't Split Festival Shooting Trial Into 2 Phases

    A Washington state judge denied Live Nation's effort to split an upcoming trial over a 2023 music festival shooting into separate liability and damages phases, siding with victims' family members who argue they would be unfairly prejudiced by bifurcating the case.

  • May 20, 2026

    Salad JV Partner Sued Over Cash Distribution Freeze

    Taylor Fresh Foods Inc. sued Fresh Express Vegetable LLC in Delaware Chancery Court Wednesday, accusing its joint venture partner of improperly withholding millions of dollars in required cash distributions while trying to force out the venture's longtime chief executive.

  • May 20, 2026

    Blank Rome Adds 2 Infrastructure Pros To LA Office

    Blank Rome LLP has hired two attorneys from Norton Rose Fulbright and Nossaman LLP as partners for its real estate team in Los Angeles, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • May 20, 2026

    GM, Drivers Spar Over AC Defect Class Certification

    Automaker General Motors Co. and drivers seeking class certification over alleged air conditioning problems were sharply questioned by a Michigan federal judge Wednesday who pressed both sides on whether the claims can truly generate "common answers" across proposed statewide classes covering thousands of truck and SUV owners. 

  • May 20, 2026

    Plaintiffs Not To Blame For Monsanto Pesticide Suit Delay

    Three women whose mother died from breast cancer have persuaded a California appeals court to reinstate their wrongful death lawsuit against pesticide maker Monsanto, ruling that the trial judge abused his discretion by dismissing the case when the company suffered no prejudice from the delay in prosecution.

  • May 20, 2026

    Kia Can't Escape Pa. Oil Ring Defect Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday rejected Kia America Inc.'s bid to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that it sold Soul and Seltos vehicles with a defect in their engines' piston oil rings.

  • May 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Tough On HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit Revival Bid

    The Ninth Circuit appeared reluctant Wednesday to revive a suit alleging that HP Inc. violated federal benefits law by using forfeited 401(k) funds to defray employer-side contribution obligations, with judges questioning whether plan participants backed up allegations that the tech company hadn't been sufficiently loyal or prudent.

  • May 20, 2026

    9th Circ. Questions Jack Daniel's TM Win Over 'Bad Spaniels'

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday questioned whether Jack Daniel's proved that any mark beyond its name was famous enough to support a tarnishment ruling against VIP Products' poop-themed "Bad Spaniels" dog toy, while pressing both sides on whether courts should compare the parties' marks alone or also consider the toy's bottle-like design and crude humor.

  • May 20, 2026

    Adobe Worker's Spouse Traded On Semrush Buy, SEC Says

    A Silicon Valley project manager will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $2 million after self-reporting that he traded on his spouse's insider knowledge that software giant Adobe Inc. was preparing to acquire a digital marketing platform.

  • May 20, 2026

    Hagens Berman Says Apple Smear Job Can't Stop Withdrawal

    Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP urged a California federal judge to allow one of its named plaintiffs to withdraw from an Apple iCloud antitrust case, saying Apple Inc.'s filed opposition is rife with "misdirection and ad hominem" attacks and not about the merits of the dispute but "smearing opposing counsel."

  • May 20, 2026

    SpinX Says Social Casino Suit Belongs In Arbitration

    A Hong Kong company that publishes free "social casino games" has asked a California federal court to send to arbitration a proposed class action accusing it of violating state gambling laws, saying the lead plaintiff agreed to arbitrate when he first opened the apps.

  • May 20, 2026

    States, DC Urge 10th Circ. To OK Colo. Social Media Law

    A group of 43 states and the District of Columbia are asking the Tenth Circuit to reverse a trial court order blocking enforcement of a new Colorado law requiring warning labels for social media used by minors, saying that even under strict scrutiny, the law is justified to protect minors' mental health.

  • May 20, 2026

    Eli Lilly Paying Up To $202M In Genetic Medicine Deal

    Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to acquire privately held Engage Biologics Inc., which is developing a delivery technology for genetic medicines, in a deal worth up to $202 million, Cooley LLP-advised Engage announced Wednesday.

  • May 20, 2026

    Target Says Tuna Label Suit Rests On Generalized Grievances

    Target urged a California federal judge to nix a proposed class action alleging its Good & Gather tuna products are deceptively labeled as "sustainably caught," arguing Tuesday the plaintiff takes issue with the global commercial tuna fishing industry, which "may reflect some bad actors, but none by Target's suppliers."

  • May 20, 2026

    LA Judge Who Told Juror To 'Learn English' Gets Disciplined

    A judicial ethics panel has admonished a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge over her comments to two prospective jurors that they should "learn English" and that they're "not doing anything in our society," finding the remarks amounted to misconduct that undermined public confidence in the judicial system's integrity and impartiality.

  • May 20, 2026

    Home Delivery Co. Denied Full Pay, Breaks, Suit Says

    A home delivery company used a shifting piece-rate and hourly pay system and denied workers required breaks, leaving employees uncompensated for travel time, standby work, overtime and interrupted meal periods, according to a proposed class action filed in Colorado state court.

  • May 20, 2026

    Go West: Ex-CFPB Chief Poised To Make Mark Next In Calif.

    Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra's next act in government is poised to unfold on a new stage in California, but financial firms will likely recognize the script. Watch this space, attorneys tell Law360.

  • May 19, 2026

    Shoppers Seek Fees At 9th Circ. For Kroger, Albertsons Fight

    Counsel for grocery store consumers urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to find they substantially prevailed in their proposed class action challenging Kroger's since-abandoned $24.6 billion bid for Albertsons and are entitled to attorney fees, arguing that the lower court wrongly concluded the case was mooted by other federal actions blocking the merger.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

    Author Photo

    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

  • Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

    Author Photo

    Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: How Courts Can Survive The Tech Revolution

    Author Photo

    Colorado Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter and Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Lino Lipinsky de Orlov discuss how artificial intelligence has already fundamentally altered the legal system and offer tips for courts navigating deepfakes, hallucinations and a gap in access to AI tools.

  • A Framework For Habeas Relief After 5th Circ. Bond Ruling

    Author Photo

    Following the Fifth Circuit’s recent Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi decision foreclosing statutory bond for detained nonimmigrants not deemed admitted to the U.S., lawyers should adopt a framework that requests habeas relief pursuant to the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, says Kemal Hepsen at Mandamus Lawyers.

  • Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

    Author Photo

    Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

  • 3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

    Author Photo

    The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

  • Sentencing Tips For Defending Crypto Conspiracy Cases

    Author Photo

    The sentencing of Evan Tangeman to 70 months in federal prison for laundering money in a cryptocurrency conspiracy illustrates that defense attorneys representing clients in multidefendant crypto cases need to understand the mechanics of conspiracy liability, loss attribution and restitution exposure before they reach the sentencing table, says Joseph De Gregorio at Sentencing Advocacy.

  • Series

    Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

  • Nexstar Offers A Cautionary Tale On State-Level Deal Scrutiny

    Author Photo

    State-enforcement challenges to the $6.2 billion Nexstar-Tegna merger remind legal practitioners that federal approval isn't always sufficient to deliver certainty on closing, integration and timetable assumptions, says Brett Story at Britehorn Securities.

  • How 'Bundling' Enforcement Is Parsing Efficiency, Access

    Author Photo

    Recent antitrust enforcement actions have taken a selective view of companies' bundling of products or services — challenging it when it shuts out rivals, but tolerating it when it creates efficient scale — making the real test now less about lower prices than about whether competition is being blocked, says attorney Alan Kusinitz.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

    Author Photo

    Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

  • Operational AI Washing: A New Securities Class Action

    Author Photo

    In rising claims of operational AI washing — plaintiffs alleging that artificial intelligence was invoked to explain corporate business decisions in ways that may obscure underlying financial distress — earnings calls, restructuring disclosures and board-level communications will serve as key defense evidence, say attorneys at Akerman.

  • Where The Preemption Fight Over Prediction Markets Stands

    Author Photo

    While the Third Circuit's recent ruling in Kalshi v. Flaherty remains a significant win for the federal government in its quest to regulate prediction markets, the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuits appear more skeptical, indicating that this fight is likely headed for the Supreme Court, says Johnny ElHachem at Holland & Knight.

  • 4 Emerging Approaches To AI Protective Order Language

    Author Photo

    Over the last year, at least five federal district courts have issued or analyzed specific protective order provisions restricting the use of generative artificial intelligence platforms with protected materials, establishing that proactive AI-specific provisions are now standard practice and demonstrating that no single model works for every case, says Joel Bush at Kilpatrick.

  • 1st Surveillance Pricing Law In Md. Reflects Broader Scrutiny

    Author Photo

    A new law will make Maryland the first state to target data-driven or surveillance-based price manipulation, highlighting increased scrutiny from federal and state enforcement agencies and policymakers as they consider whether new laws are required to regulate dynamic pricing, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here