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California
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July 12, 2024
Winery Gets $666K Fees After Winning $666K Trademark Row
An Italian winemaker won $666,214 in fees and postjudgment interest for prevailing against a Napa Valley, California, rival in a trademark dispute over similarly named wines, after a New York federal judge said the case was "exceptional," considering the defendants' continued use of the infringing name even after being sued and agreeing to stop.
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July 12, 2024
DHS Says Recent High Court Rulings Doom CBP App Claims
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Friday that a pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings addressing the issue of standing mean that two organizations lack the standing to challenge its requirement that migrants use a smartphone app to submit applications.
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July 12, 2024
Ex-Thermo Fisher Worker Fights For 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
A Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. retirement plan participant told a California federal judge Friday she has standing to claim the company violated federal benefits law by using forfeited plan money to aid its own contributions instead of slimming expenses, arguments aimed at fending off the company's dismissal bid.
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July 12, 2024
Vicor Hit With Short Sellers' Suit Over Partnership Disclosure
Several short sellers have sued power systems manufacturer Vicor Corp. claiming the company misled the market when it announced it would enter a significant partnership with one of its major customers, but later told investors the partnership would never come to fruition, damaging short sellers.
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July 12, 2024
'Vanderpump' Star Fails 'Richard Simmons' Test, Judge Says
A California judge has declined to toss revenge porn claims against Ariana Madix brought by her former "Vanderpump Rules" co-star Rachel Leviss, finding the alleged behavior is not protected by the First Amendment because it is illegal, just as when a tabloid placed a GPS tracker on Richard Simmons' car.
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July 12, 2024
Tire Cos. Can't Pause Fish-Harming Chemical Suit
A California federal judge rejected a group of tire companies' efforts to stay an Endangered Species Act suit accusing the companies of killing fish on the West Coast with their use of a rubber additive, saying that waiting for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking on the additive "makes little sense."
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July 12, 2024
Delta Slams Flyers' Facebook Data Sharing Class Action
Delta Air Lines has asked a California federal judge to dump a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully shared customers' sensitive personal data with Meta's Facebook through online tracking tools embedded in its website, saying its contract of carriage clearly discloses its digital advertising practices.
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July 12, 2024
Judge Questions Zuckerberg's Bid To Dodge Liability In MDL
A California federal judge voiced doubt Friday about Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's arguments for axing corporate-officer liability claims from multidistrict litigation over the allegedly addictive designs of social media, saying that while many CEOs are hands-off, "it's not clear to me that Mr. Zuckerberg is one of them."
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July 12, 2024
Real Estate Recap: Mall Makeovers, Military Land, Fundraising
Catch up on this week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority, including one Big Four retail leader's take on mall potential, the U.S. Treasury's increasing scrutiny of land deals with national security concerns, and a midyear look at private real estate fundraising trends.
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July 12, 2024
LA Judge Rebuked For Scolding Litigants, Calling Some 'Pigs'
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge received public admonishment by the Commission on Judicial Performance on Thursday for making insulting and gratuitous remarks to litigants, which included likening two of them to "pigs in the trough, fighting," comparing a dispute to a "Jerry Springer case" and warning another, "You're lucky you weren't shot."
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July 12, 2024
Litigation Funding 'Abuses' Targeted By Federal Lawmakers
Federal lawmakers are seeking to put the reins on third-party investors bankrolling litigation, with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introducing legislation that would require disclosure of third-party financing deals in civil lawsuits, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., asking Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday to have the Judicial Conference review the practice.
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July 12, 2024
Saul Ewing Adds Entertainment, Real Estate Litigator In LA
Saul Ewing LLP has added as a partner in its Los Angeles office a trial attorney with a nearly 30-year track record of representing public and private companies, along with executives and investors in entertainment and real estate disputes.
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July 12, 2024
First Republic Settles $7M Scholarship Fund Loss Suit
A philanthropist couple have reached an agreement to resolve their $7 million breach of fiduciary duty allegations against the now-failed First Republic Bank, telling a California federal judge that they reached a deal during a private mediation session.
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July 11, 2024
Vanderpump's Madix Targets 'Scandoval' Revenge Porn Suit
Counsel for "Vanderpump Rules" star Ariana Madix on Thursday urged a Los Angeles judge to toss revenge porn and other claims brought by former co-star Rachel Leviss, saying Madix was protected by free speech laws when she sent Leviss sexually explicit videos of Leviss.
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July 11, 2024
Calif. Tribe Seeks $8.2M For Cultural Site Destruction
The Quechan Indian Tribe is asking a California federal judge to award it $8.2 million after the court found that a federal government construction project to replace poles for 9 miles of transmission lines damaged 10 cultural and sacred archaeological sites on the tribe's reservation.
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July 11, 2024
TikTok's Bid For Users' Device Data Found Overbroad
A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over claims that social media is addictive denied TikTok's request Thursday for "full" forensic images of all personal devices bellwether plaintiffs used to access its platform, telling defense counsel that he's concerned about the "overbreadth" of the request and privacy issues.
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July 11, 2024
Kroger Asks To Delay At Least Part Of FTC Challenge
Kroger and Albertsons are asking an administrative law judge from the Federal Trade Commission to pause the evidentiary portion of the agency's in-house case against the supermarket giants' merger, saying the companies are facing too many overlapping cases in different venues to adequately prepare and present their case.
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July 11, 2024
Apple Ducks iPhone Web App Antitrust Suit, For Now
Consumers will have to rejigger their proposed antitrust class action alleging Apple anticompetitively prevents iPhones from running web-based apps that don't need to be downloaded, after a California federal judge said Thursday that they've failed to show a conspiracy or connect the dots from company rules to customer injury.
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July 11, 2024
SF Fed Sues Troubled PPP Lender, Founder For Nearly $67M
The San Francisco arm of the Federal Reserve has sued one of the largest Paycheck Protection Program lenders in Puerto Rico federal court seeking to recover nearly $67 million, alleging the lender has defaulted on the terms of roughly $4.3 billion in credit it advanced for PPP loans.
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July 11, 2024
Calif. Nabs $50M Deal With Oil Traders In Gas Price-Rigging Suit
California secured a $50 million settlement with oil trading companies Vitol and SK Energy, resolving allegations that the companies schemed to artificially inflate gas prices in the Golden State after an Exxon Mobil Corp. refinery exploded in 2015, California's attorney general announced Wednesday.
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July 11, 2024
IP Forecast: Napa Winery's Ex-Atty Wants Another Trial
A Texas lawyer plans to tell an appeals court why he should receive another trial in a trademark case from a Napa Valley winery, a former client that he claims sold off a "wildly successful California cult wine" out from under him.
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July 11, 2024
Property Owner Says Insurer Must Cover $7.4M Arbitral Award
An AmTrust unit must cover a $7.4 million arbitration award issued against a general contractor and in favor of a Beverly Hills property owner that were both insured under the same policy, the owner told a California federal court, saying the insurer has unreasonably failed to provide policy benefits.
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July 11, 2024
Judge Won't Dismiss Cannabis Extraction IP Dispute
Subsidiaries of Canadian cannabis company Halo Collective Inc. can't escape patent infringement claims by a Colorado-based firm specializing in developing techniques for extracting hemp oil, a California federal judge has ruled, rejecting a slew of motions seeking summary judgment.
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July 11, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Cancel Chubb's 'Morning Show' COVID-19 Win
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court's ruling Thursday that a Chubb unit does not owe the production company behind "The Morning Show" $44 million in pandemic-related losses, ruling that the policy's provision for "imminent direct physical loss or damage" did not apply to the "potential presence" of coronavirus in the facility.
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July 11, 2024
9th Circ. Signals Dr.'s Vax-Refusal Case Deserves New Chance
Ninth Circuit judges signaled Thursday that they were likely to revive a doctor's case claiming he was wrongfully fired from his Washington State University residency for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination, with two judges questioning if the school went far enough to accommodate his religious beliefs.
Expert Analysis
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Md. May See Vigorous Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement
In Maryland, indications of a new focus on resale price maintenance agreements are significant because state prosecution in this area has been rare, particularly outside California, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Infringement Policy Lessons From 4th Circ. Sony Music Ruling
The Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Sony Music v. Cox Communications, which in part held that the internet service provider was liable for contributing to music copyright infringement, highlights the importance of reasonable policies to terminate repeat infringers, and provides guidance for litigating claims of secondary liability, say Benjamin Marks and Alexandra Blankman at Weil.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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For Now, Generative AI Is Risky For Class Action Counsel
Although a recent survey showed most in-house counsel think that their outside counsel should be using generative artificial intelligence "in some way" in class action work, the technology is more a target for class actions than it is a tool to be used in practice at present, says Matthew Allen at Carlton Fields.
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The Epic Antitrust Cases And Challenges Of Injunctive Relief
The Epic cases against Apple and Google offer a window into the courts' considerable challenges in Big Tech litigation and establishing injunctive relief that enhances competition and benefits consumers, say Kelly Lear Nordby and Jon Tomlin at Ankura Consulting.
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Steps To Reduce CIPA Litigation Risks For Companies
As class action claims brought under the California Invasion of Privacy Act continue to advance new theories under an old law to target companies for commonplace website and app activities, there are steps that organizations can take to reduce exposure and strengthen their defenses against such lawsuits, say attorneys at Hintze Law.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More
Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work
Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.
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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.