California

  • July 15, 2025

    Frito-Lay Settles Flamin' Hot Cheetos Defamation Suit

    Frito-Lay Inc. and a former employee have reached a settlement Monday in his suit claiming he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos and had his livelihood destroyed when the company disavowed his story, according to a Monday filing in California federal court.

  • July 15, 2025

    State Farm 'Maliciously' Denied Property Coverage, Court Told

    A California property owner accused State Farm of "maliciously" denying its property insurance claim in a lawsuit removed to federal court, further alleging that the insurer intentionally ignored evidence of the extent of the property damage.

  • July 15, 2025

    50 Cent Can't Stop Release Of Horror Film, Calif. Judge Rules

    50 Cent cannot block the release of Hollywood producer Ryan Kavanaugh's horror film that allegedly uses his name and likeness without a final contract in place, after a California federal judge decided there was evidence suggesting the rapper assented to the parties' agreed-upon terms to do so.

  • July 15, 2025

    Morgan Lewis Atty Killed In Hit-And-Run Had 'Joy For Life'

    A Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP first-year litigation associate who was killed last week in a hit-and-run bicycle crash in West Hollywood, California, had a "joy for life" and a deep passion for the law, friends and former colleagues said.

  • July 15, 2025

    Keesal Young Accuses Stradley Ronon Of Unfair Poaching

    Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young has been hit with allegations from California firm Keesal Young & Logan that it unfairly poached both shareholders and associates from the firm, allegedly conspiring with the departing attorneys to violate their agreements with the firm and costing Keesal Young $2.5 million in annual profits.

  • July 15, 2025

    Holland & Knight Adds LGBTQ-Led Startup Pro To VC Team

    Holland & Knight LLP has added a director of client development with over a decade of experience in venture capital, startup investing and business development for its emerging companies and venture capital practice.

  • July 15, 2025

    Calif. Legislature OKs Retroactive Solar Property Exclusion

    California would allow the purchaser of a new property a three-year window to apply for a property tax exclusion for solar energy systems under a bill passed by the state Senate and sent to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for approval.

  • July 15, 2025

    Law Curbing Arbitration Keeps AutoNation Bias Suit In Court

    AutoNation Inc. can't arbitrate a former sales associate's lawsuit claiming supervisors treated her differently because she's an older Black woman and made sexual comments in the workplace, a California state appeals court ruled, saying her case is shielded by a federal law prohibiting mandatory arbitration of sex harassment cases.

  • July 15, 2025

    PVC Pipe Buyers Seek Initial OK Of $6M Deal In Antitrust Row

    Counsel for two classes of purchasers of polyvinyl chloride pipe urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday to grant preliminary approval to two $3 million settlements resolving their antitrust claims against an analytics service allegedly used in a conspiracy by PVC pipe makers to inflate the price of their products.

  • July 15, 2025

    Judge Won't Block Strike On Calif. Native American Casino

    A California federal judge won't intervene in a strike at a Native American casino until the casino and a union have fleshed out their arguments over whether the work stoppage is legal, saying the casino's request for a restraining order left several key questions unanswered.

  • July 15, 2025

    TikTok, Chinese Co. Dispute Ownership Of Video Editing Tech

    TikTok and a Chinese company that accuses it of stealing trade secrets for a video-editing tool and infringing copyrights related to the tool have filed opposing motions for summary judgment, with the social media giant arguing that the plaintiff has not established ownership of the technology in question.

  • July 15, 2025

    LA Deputies Admit Using Positions To Aid Crypto 'Godfather'

    Two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies admitted using their official positions to harass enemies of a cryptocurrency founder who called himself "The Godfather" and failed to report $36 million in income from selling hacked Meta business accounts, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • July 15, 2025

    UnitedHealth, Optum Accused Of Pregnancy Discrimination

    Optum Care Inc. and parent company UnitedHealth Group fired a care team supervisor while she was on maternity leave without a tangible reason, according to a suit lodged in California state court.

  • July 14, 2025

    Artists' Expert Can't View Some Material In Stability AI Row

    A California federal magistrate judge on Monday blocked artists' expert from accessing the confidential information and source code of Stability AI and other artificial intelligence platforms in copyright infringement litigation, ruling that the expert's work makes him a "functional competitor" of the companies.

  • July 14, 2025

    States Blast Trump Admin Over $6.8B Education Fund Freeze

    A coalition of states sued the Trump administration Monday over its decision to freeze $6.8 billion in congressionally appropriated educational program funding, leaving schools scrambling ahead of the new school year, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court allowed mass U.S. Department of Education layoffs to move forward.

  • July 14, 2025

    Top Data Privacy & AI Developments Of 2025: Midyear Report

    The rise and rapid fall of a federal proposal to ban states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade and an uptick in activity from data privacy enforcers in states across the country dominated headlines in the first half of 2025, and attorneys are expecting these areas to continue to grab attention in the coming months. 

  • July 14, 2025

    'It Is The Same Photo': 9th Circ. Questions Von D's Tattoo Win

    A Ninth Circuit panel grappled Monday with tattoo artist Kat Von D's jury win over a photographer who claimed she infringed his copyrighted photo of Miles Davis with a tattoo she inked, with one judge noting the panel disagrees with the jury's finding the two works aren't substantially similar.

  • July 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Partially Revives Doc's COVID-19 Insurance Fight

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday revived a lawsuit from an immunocompromised oral surgeon claiming Paul Revere Life Insurance Co. wrongly denied him disability benefits when he stopped working during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying a reasonable jury could find that he was unable to do his work.

  • July 14, 2025

    CFPB Defends Timeliness Of Experian Credit Reporting Suit

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged a California federal judge to reject Experian's bid to toss key claims in the agency's suit accusing it of mishandling consumer credit reporting disputes, arguing that the company can't dodge liability by disavowing a tolling agreement.

  • July 14, 2025

    Tender Greens Estate Defends Structured Dismissal Of Ch. 11

    The estate of One Table Restaurant Brands LLC, the former operator of casual restaurant chain Tender Greens and Mexican eatery Tocaya, defended its bid to dismiss its Chapter 11 case after the U.S. Trustee's Office said it would violate bankruptcy rules.

  • July 14, 2025

    Nipple Cover Co., Customer Agree To Drop False Ad Suit

    The woman behind a lawsuit accusing Cakes Body LLC of making reusable nipple covers that don't live up to their "grippy, not sticky" representations has quietly dropped her proposed class claims against the company in California federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    Nvidia Investors Push For Cert. After High Court Pass

    Nvidia Corp. investors are asking a California judge to grant them class status on claims that the chipmaker and its CEO undersold the company's reliance on the volatile crypto market, putting the case back in the spotlight six months after the U.S. Supreme Court pulled the plug on issuing a ruling.

  • July 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms FERC's Yank Of PG&E Grid Perk

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to deny Pacific Gas & Electric Co. a grid incentive meant for public utilities that voluntarily join a regional transmission organization, saying PG&E was not entitled to the perk since a California law now mandates membership in an organization.

  • July 14, 2025

    LA Investors Sue Atty After $40M Cannabis Deal Falls Apart

    A group of Los Angeles investors are looking to shift liability to their former business partner and legal counsel as they face a $40 million lawsuit filed by a defunct cannabis manufacturer that has accused them of tanking its business and invalidating its cannabis license.

  • July 14, 2025

    LinkedIn Antitrust Deal Offers Open Access And $4M For Attys

    LinkedIn will stop conditioning online interface access on would-be rivals agreeing not to field their own professional social network, under an antitrust settlement with premium subscribers disclosed Friday in California federal court that promises $4 million for class attorneys from Bathaee Dunne LLP, Burke LLP and Korein Tillery PC.

Expert Analysis

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

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    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

  • What Expanding Merchant Code Regs Mean For Processors

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    Arkansas and South Dakota recently joined a host of other states that restrict payment processors' usage of merchant category codes with laws that include noteworthy prohibitions against maintaining registries of firearms owners, with ramifications for multistate payment systems, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes

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    Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Plan For Increased HSR Info Sharing With Wash. Antitrust Law

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    Washington's merger notification requirements, effective later this month, combined with the Federal Trade Commission's new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules, will result in greater information sharing among state and federal agencies, making it important for merging parties to consider their transaction's potential state antitrust implications early on, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

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    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 4 Consumer Class Action Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    The first half of 2025 has seen a surge of consumer class action trends related to online tools, websites and marketing messages, creating a new legal risk landscape for companies of all sizes, says Scott Shaffer at Olshan Frome.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How State AG Consumer Finance Enforcement Is Expanding

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes less active, state attorneys general are increasingly shaping the enforcement landscape for consumer financial services — and several areas of focus have recently emerged, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Comparing New Neural Data Privacy Laws In 4 States

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    Although no federal law yet addresses neural privacy comprehensively, the combined effect of recent state laws in Colorado, California, Montana and Connecticut is already shaping the regulatory future, but a multistate compliance strategy has quickly become a gating item for those experimenting with neuro-enabled workplace tools, says Kristen Mathews at Cooley.

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