California

  • August 26, 2024

    Disney Seeks 9th Circ. Appeal In 'Star Wars' Actor's Firing Suit

    Disney and Lucasfilm want the Ninth Circuit to weigh whether the First Amendment protects an artistic organization's right to control casting decisions, urging a California federal court to let it immediately appeal an order that allowed a former Star Wars actor's political bias lawsuit to move forward.

  • August 24, 2024

    Italian Prosecutors Open Criminal Probe Into Yacht Sinking

    Italian prosecutors said Saturday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the sinking of a superyacht that claimed the lives of seven people including a partner at Clifford Chance LLP and his client, British technology mogul Mike Lynch.

  • August 23, 2024

    Kraken Must Face SEC's Crypto Case Over Platform Sales

    A California federal judge on Friday denied a bid by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to ditch a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement suit, finding the regulator plausibly alleged that "at least some" of the digital currency transactions on Kraken's online platform constitute investment contracts.

  • August 23, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Key Cases, Proptech Pain, RealPage Suit

    Catch up on the past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the residential real estate cases to watch in 2024's second half, proptech's recent funding lapse and long-term potential, and a new lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice against property management software company RealPage.

  • August 23, 2024

    Girardi Says High Court Holding Should Gut His Fraud Case

    Tom Girardi has urged a California federal judge to toss the majority of the wire fraud charges he is facing ahead of closing arguments in his trial, saying a 1960 U.S. Supreme Court case demonstrates he was charged for nothing more than receiving legally required wire transfers.

  • August 23, 2024

    Matthew Perry Death Suit Could Blow Past Calif. Damage Cap

    The federal indictment recently unsealed accusing two doctors and others of peddling the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry's death will serve as prime fodder for any wrongful death suit by the actor's estate, experts say, and California's medical malpractice damages cap may not even be a factor.

  • August 23, 2024

    Prime Healthcare's 401(k) Was In Good Hands, Judge Rules

    Prime Healthcare Services Inc. beat a proposed class action in a bench trial over claims it allowed its employee 401(k) plan to be saddled with poor-performing investments and high costs, after a California federal judge ruled that the plan was prudently managed.

  • August 23, 2024

    McKinsey Opioid Suits Sent Back To NY, Illinois State Courts

    A California federal judge has remanded, to their respective state courts, cases brought by dozens of New York municipalities and two Illinois counties against McKinsey & Co. over its alleged role in the opioid crisis, saying the consulting firm's "tortured interpretations of state law" don't give the Golden State jurisdiction.

  • August 23, 2024

    9th Circ. Reverses 'Patent Misuse' Ruling Against CR Bard

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed a decision that cleared Atrium Medical Corp. in a $52.8 million breach of contract suit by C.R. Bard, concluding that the lower court wrongly held that Bard engaged in patent misuse by seeking royalties after its medical device patent expired.

  • August 23, 2024

    PayPal Ducks Antitrust Suit Over Merchant Rules

    A California federal judge on Friday granted PayPal's motion to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the financial tech giant illegally boosts online retail prices by enforcing restrictive merchant agreements, saying the plaintiffs have failed to adequately plead that their injury "flows" from the alleged misconduct.

  • August 23, 2024

    Apple Sued Over Warranty Fees Charged To Old Devices

    Apple was hit with a putative class action in California federal court Friday accusing it of failing to cancel AppleCare+ subscription contracts for customers who trade in or return their devices and continuously charging them monthly fees for devices they no longer own.

  • August 23, 2024

    Starbucks Sued By Woman Burned By Spilled Hot Coffee

    A Los Angeles woman has hit Starbucks Corp. with a suit alleging she was burned in a drive-through when the faulty lid of her coffee cup came off as she was being served, and the excessively hot coffee spilled out and scalded her.

  • August 23, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Spousal Visa Delay Could Be Unreasonable

    A California federal judge is allowing a suit to move forward against U.S. State Department officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, accusing the agency of slow-walking visa petitions for Pakistani spouses of U.S. citizens, saying the delay might be unreasonable.

  • August 23, 2024

    Anthropic Says Music Cos. Haven't Met Burden For Injunction

    Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has blasted a preliminary injunction request from several music publishers suing for alleged infringement of copyrighted lyrics to train Anthropic's chatbot Claude, telling a California federal court the publishers have not shown they would suffer irreparable harm before trial.

  • August 23, 2024

    NY Lawmakers Hit With ADA Suit Over Contentious Mask Ban

    A Long Island, New York, county that recently made it illegal for certain individuals to wear face masks in public has been hit with a lawsuit by a legal advocacy group alleging the ban discriminates against people with disabilities.

  • August 23, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Says Ponzi Schemes Don't Need Proof Of Intent

    A split Ninth Circuit panel affirmed Friday a jury's finding in a fraudulent-transfer fight that a now-bankrupt company was a Ponzi scheme, with the majority writing that jurors didn't need to find an intent to defraud, while a dissenting judge slammed the majority's reasoning as "circular."

  • August 23, 2024

    Albertsons-Kroger Deal Tests FTC's Stepped-Up Merger Policy

    The Federal Trade Commission's highly anticipated hearing to block Albertsons' planned $24.6 billion merger with Kroger kicks off Monday in a Portland, Oregon, courtroom in what attorneys say will be a pivotal test of the Biden administration's newly formalized merger policy.

  • August 23, 2024

    LeBron's Tattoo Artist Can't Get New Trial In NBA 2K Case

    An Ohio federal judge declined to order a new trial after a jury rejected claims that 2K Games Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s rendering of LeBron James in their NBA 2K video game series infringed a tattoo artist's copyrights.

  • August 23, 2024

    Electric Car Co. Fisker Promises Ch. 11 Plan In A Week's Time

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge Friday gave defunct electric-vehicle maker Fisker Inc. permission to enter into a deal with its lenders that will see it file a Chapter 11 plan by the end of August and seek court approval for the plan in just over a month.

  • August 23, 2024

    LegalShield Used AI To Record Clients, Suit Says

    Online legal service company LegalShield has been letting a call center software company use artificial intelligence to intercept, analyze and record its customer calls and chats, according to a lawsuit recently pulled into California federal court.

  • August 23, 2024

    SPAC Investors Ask Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Lucid Merger

    Investors have urged the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a panel's refusal to revive their proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, arguing that the panel's holding misconstrues U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other issues.

  • August 23, 2024

    Ex-Pot Shop Worker Says Sex Harassment Drove Her From Job

    A former employee at a Los Angeles marijuana dispensary is suing her ex-employer, saying she was subjected to "persistent and horrible" sexual harassment and denied her promised pay and benefits, leading to what she describes as wrongful constructive termination.

  • August 23, 2024

    Punchbowl News Gets Win In TM Spat With Punchbowl Inc.

    A California federal judge has ruled there is no likelihood of confusion between a publication called Punchbowl News and a greeting card and event planning company named Punchbowl Inc., justifying the dismissal of the latter's trademark infringement claims, according to a summary judgment order.

  • August 23, 2024

    Off The Bench: Sunday Ticket Twist, Dartmouth-NLRB Clash

    The NFL comes out of the Sunday Ticket trial with a clean slate, Dartmouth is hit with an unfair labor practice charge by its basketball players, and U.S. Tennis doesn't get a do-over on its handling of a sexual assault case. Law360 is here to catch you up on the sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.

  • August 23, 2024

    Messner Reeves Commercial Litigator Jumps To Gordon Rees

    A former Messner Reeves LLP partner has jumped to Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP in San Diego to bolster its services in product and general liability matters, catastrophic brain injury cases and commercial litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Why Calif. Courts Are Split On ERISA Forfeited Contributions

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    A split between two California federal courts, in deciding whether an employer’s use of forfeited retirement plan contributions to offset future costs violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, suggests employers should soon expect more ERISA cases to advance this novel legal theory when making anti-inurement and breach of fiduciary duty claims, says Blake Crohan at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare

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    Healthcare transaction notification laws at various stages of implementation in California, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and Washington are shaping sector mergers and acquisitions, with significant transparency, continuity of care and compliance implications as providers tackle complex regulatory requirements, says Melesa Freerks at DLA Piper.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance

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    A look at recent trends in how district courts are applying Step 2 of the Alice framework shows that courts have increasingly relied on extrinsic evidence to help determine whether a claimed invention is "well-understood, routine, and conventional," says Jonathan Tuminaro at Sterne Kessler.

  • What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves

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    If your business hasn't been paying attention to growing state and federal efforts to protect children online, now is the time to start — there is no sign of this regulation slowing down, and more aggressive enforcement actions are to be expected in the coming year, says Susan Rohol at Willkie Farr.

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 2 Lessons From Calif. Overtime Wages Ruling

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    A California federal court's recent decision finding that Home Depot did not purposely dodge overtime laws sheds light on what constitutes a good faith dispute, and the extent to which employers have discretion to define employees' workdays, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal McCambridge.

  • New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know

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    New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.

  • Justices' Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

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    Each of the 11 criminal decisions issued in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded term is independently important, but taken together, they reveal trends in the court’s broader approach to criminal law, presenting both pitfalls and opportunities for defendants and their counsel, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

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