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October 28, 2024
Apple Withholding Docs In Monopoly Row, Epic Says
Epic Games and Apple continued on in a discovery dispute in Epic's suit accusing Apple of monopolizing the iOS app distribution and in-app payment processing markets, with the video game company saying in a joint letter filed Friday that Apple is withholding "tens of thousands" of responsive documents.
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October 28, 2024
Hershey's 'Bubble Yum' Contains PFAS, Consumer Alleges
The existence of "forever chemicals" in The Hershey Co.'s Bubble Yum brand bubblegum undermines the multinational candy company's commitment to transparency about the ingredients in its products, a new proposed false advertising class action filed in California state court alleges.
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October 28, 2024
Ontrak Founder Can't Wipe Novel Insider Trading Verdict
A California federal judge has upheld Ontrak founder Terren Peizer's first-of-its-kind insider trading conviction, holding that jurors had "more than enough evidence" to determine he based a $20 million share sale on nonpublic information that the health tech company was about to lose its biggest client.
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October 28, 2024
9th Circ. Nixes Arbitration In Live Nation Ticket Sale Suit
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Monday that Live Nation and Ticketmaster can't force consumer litigation over allegedly exorbitant ticket prices into arbitration, ruling in a published opinion that the underlying arbitration agreement linking to "borderline unintelligible" arbitral rules is unenforceable.
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October 28, 2024
Hermes Wants Antitrust Suit Over Birkins Tossed For Good
Hermes again urged a California federal judge on Friday to toss a proposed class action accusing the French luxury design house of tying its exclusive Birkin and Kelly bags to the purchase of other items, saying the plaintiffs did not come close to proving antitrust law violations in a complaint now twice amended.
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October 28, 2024
Rebar Giant Pushed 'Hands-Off Calif.' Deal, Antitrust Jury Told
Commercial Metals Co.'s ex-CEO conceded during a federal antitrust jury trial Monday that the Texas rebar giant pushed micromill-maker Danieli Corp. into a "hands-off California" exclusivity provision barring Danieli from developing most Golden State rival mills days after discovering Pacific Steel Group was planning to build a mill in Southern California with Danieli.
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October 28, 2024
Apple Says Section 230 Dooms ICloud Child Porn Claims
Apple urged a California federal judge to throw out a proposed class action Friday alleging it has engaged in "privacy-washing" by ignoring a problem with child sexual abuse material on its iCloud storage platform, arguing that the claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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October 28, 2024
Gov't Says No Duty To Pay $69M In COVID Testing Claims
The Health Resources and Services Administration has urged the Court of Federal Claims to toss a lawsuit alleging the agency owes a laboratory $69 million in unpaid claims under a COVID-19 program for the uninsured, saying there was no contractual duty to pay.
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October 28, 2024
Parts Manufacturer Tells Pa. Jury Competitor Poached Stats
A lawyer for hardware manufacturer Penn Engineering & Manufacturing Corp. told a federal jury in Philadelphia on Monday that one of its competitors used performance data from Penn's products to boost its own line of parts, creating confusion among consumers.
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October 28, 2024
Ex-Oracle Manager, Software Co. Face Trade Secrets Suit
A new lawsuit by Oracle claims that a manager left the company for a competing venture-backed construction software tech outfit and "absconded with thousands of Oracle's trade secret[s]."
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October 28, 2024
Calif. Court OKs $1.2M Award In Polo Club TM Fight
A California federal judge has said a Santa Barbara County-based polo club is entitled to $1.2 million in fees, costs and interest as part of a trademark dispute over a "Beverly Hills Polo Club" logo following arbitration.
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October 28, 2024
Realtor.com Owner, CoStar Debate CFAA's Limits In Theft Suit
An attorney for Costar urged a California federal judge Monday to reconsider a tentative ruling that would allow Realtor.com's parent company to amend a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim alleging its rival unlawfully accessed its computers, saying the company should be limited to arguing it suffered "technological harms."
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October 28, 2024
Surge In Nicotine Fee Suits Shows Wellness Program Risks
A recent crop of suits accusing large employers of violating nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law by making workers who use nicotine pay more for health insurance underscore the risk of using fees to offset healthcare costs, attorneys say. Here are five nicotine surcharge suits to keep an eye on.
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October 28, 2024
FTC, DOJ Tell 9th Circ. Google Wrong On Play Store Fixes
Federal antitrust enforcers told the Ninth Circuit there should be consequences after a jury found Google monopolized the Android app distribution market, as Google pushes to keep a court order paused in the antitrust case being brought by Epic Games.
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October 28, 2024
Apple's $20M Watch Defect Deal Gets OK With More Details
A California federal judge gave his blessing Friday to Apple's $20 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action alleging certain Apple Watches have a battery defect that can cause serious injuries, after telling counsel earlier this month to submit additional information about the deal's value.
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October 28, 2024
OpenAI Pushes To Consolidate Discovery In Copyright Cases
Microsoft and OpenAI say that concerns from news outfits over consolidating discovery in their ChatGPT copyright lawsuits are "misplaced" and call a request to schedule more depositions "wholly unnecessary."
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October 28, 2024
Amazon, Google Accuse Website Of Selling Fake Reviews
Amazon and Google filed parallel lawsuits Monday in federal court against the entities behind a website they say facilitates fake product and business reviews, saying in an announcement that the two tech giants teamed up to "take action against bad actors attempting to deceive customers."
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October 28, 2024
FuboTV Fights To Keep Broadcast Bundling Under Scrutiny
Sports streaming service FuboTV is pushing to keep its antitrust claims against the content distribution used by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery in court, telling a New York federal judge such arrangements "freeze out" smaller distributors.
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October 28, 2024
Tribe-Linked Lenders Flouted Interest Laws, Borrower Says
A Florida man and his purported data analytic companies face a proposed class action alleging they improperly touted a relationship with a small Native American tribe as they made consumer loans with triple-digit annual interest rates.
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October 28, 2024
Calif. Raceway Owner Sued For ADA-Deficient Facility
A man with disabilities has filed a civil rights lawsuit in California federal court against a racetrack that holds a NASCAR event, alleging he has encountered numerous barriers that have prevented him from having full access to the facility.
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October 28, 2024
9th Circ. Says Amazon Auto-Renewal Suit Is Too Late
The Ninth Circuit said Monday that a proposed class action accusing Amazon of duping Prime subscribers into paying for memberships in its audiobook seller, Audible, was filed after a three-year statute of limitations under New York law had expired.
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October 28, 2024
Calif.'s 2018 Fire Reimbursement Suit Meets Skeptical Judge
A Los Angeles judge appeared dubious Monday that the state of California can use litigation against Southern California Edison to recover emergency funds distributed to local agencies that responded to the destructive Woolsey Fire in 2018.
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October 28, 2024
Ozy Media CEO Wants Conviction Nixed Over Judge's Assets
The New York federal judge who presided over the fraud and identity theft trial of former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson should be disqualified from the case because he failed to disclose that he had investments in four of the companies victimized by Watson, according to the onetime executive, who is trying to get his conviction overturned.
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October 28, 2024
DOD Settles Bias Suit Over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Discharges
The U.S. Department of Defense has reached a settlement in principle with a group of LGBTQ+ service members who sued the U.S. military in California federal court claiming veterans discharged under the former Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, which banned non-heterosexual service members, continued to face discrimination.
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October 28, 2024
Tesla Atty Faces Sanctions Bid Over Mediation Appearance
Tesla and an in-house attorney are facing a sanctions bid in California federal court for reportedly appearing at a mediation in a wrongful death case despite lacking settlement authority, causing "delay and unnecessary expense" to the widow of a man who died when his Tesla allegedly ran off the road, crashed and ignited.
Expert Analysis
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Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar
At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
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.
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Why Calif. Courts Are Split On ERISA Forfeited Contributions
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.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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How 5 States' Deal Notification Laws Are Guiding Healthcare
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.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
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.
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Alice Step 2 Trends Show Courts' Extrinsic Evidence Reliance
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.
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What To Know As Children's Privacy Law Rapidly Evolves
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.
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What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs
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.
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How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement
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.
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The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership
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.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
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.
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2 Lessons From Calif. Overtime Wages Ruling
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.
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New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know
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.