California

  • November 21, 2024

    AutoZone, Ex-Manager Agree To Park Sex Bias Suit

    A subsidiary of car parts retailer AutoZone Inc. struck a deal to end a sex, gender and age bias suit from a former district manager who said the company fired her and replaced her with a younger worker, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • November 21, 2024

    EPA Beats Calif. Suit Over Pesticide-Coated Seed Exemption

    A California federal judge threw out public safety groups' lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided pesticide-coated crop seeds an illegal loophole from regulation, finding the agency made a fair and considered judgment when it said the seeds are exempted from registration. 

  • November 21, 2024

    Ex-Twitter Workers Denied Class Cert In Arbitration Fight

    A California federal judge denied class certification to ex-Twitter employees accusing the social media company now owned by Elon Musk and renamed X Corp. of stalling their employment disputes, saying some putative class members are already seeking arbitration outside the Golden State or trying to pursue their claims in court.

  • November 21, 2024

    IP Atty Fights To Revive Allergan FCA Suit At 9th Circ.

    A patent attorney urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive False Claims Act allegations against Allergan over dementia drug patents, arguing his client used his expertise to discover the patents were fraudulently issued to block generics and that these are the kinds of FCA cases the government welcomes from experts.

  • November 21, 2024

    Ye's Cos. Sanctioned For Blowing Off Discovery In Bias Suit

    A Los Angeles judge sanctioned two of Ye's companies Thursday after they "simply ignored" discovery requests in a former employee's lawsuit alleging widespread racism, antisemitism and homophobia on the part of the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

  • November 21, 2024

    California Tribe Looks To Increase Trinity River Water Flows

    The Yurok Tribe slapped the Bureau of Reclamation with a complaint in California federal court, alleging its operation of the Trinity River Division provides only minimum flows to the Trinity River in the winter and early spring, modifying and harming salmon habitat and population.

  • November 21, 2024

    Phillips 66 Charged With Dumping Wastewater In LA County

    A federal grand jury has indicted Phillips 66 on charges of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater into the Los Angeles County sewer system without reporting the violations to authorities, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.

  • November 21, 2024

    Kirkland-Led LLCP Secures $575M For Continuation Fund

    Middle-market private equity shop Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Thursday announced that it closed a multiasset continuation fund after securing $575 million in capital commitments, which will be used to buy interests in three portfolio companies.

  • November 21, 2024

    Rebel Wilson Unlikely To Duck 'The Deb' Defamation Suit

    A Los Angeles judge suggested Thursday that he'll likely keep alive a defamation suit accusing actress Rebel Wilson of spreading baseless lies about producers of the musical film "The Deb," saying it seems the matter is a "private business dispute" not protected by California's anti-SLAPP statute.

  • November 21, 2024

    Calif. Politics Ace Joins McGuireWoods' Gov't Affairs As VP

    McGuireWoods LLP's consulting arm has brought on as vice president a former legislative director who worked for multiple members of the California State Assembly, the consulting firm announced this week.

  • November 21, 2024

    Feds Outline Next Steps For Colo. River Basin Agreement

    The U.S. Department of the Interior released five proposed alternatives for the Colorado River's post-2026 operations aimed at ensuring the long-term stability of the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin for the communities and habitats that rely on it. 

  • November 21, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Dormant Commerce Inapplicable To Pot

    A California federal judge on Thursday tossed an out-of-state entrepreneur's challenge to Sacramento's cannabis social equity licensure program, asserting that the dormant commerce clause does not apply to federally illegal marijuana.

  • November 21, 2024

    Gordon Rees Brings Back Employment Ace In San Diego

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its San Diego team, announcing Thursday that an employment expert most recently with Pettit Kohn Ingrassia Lutz & Dolin PC is rejoining the firm as a partner.

  • November 21, 2024

    Accel-KKR Closes Tech-Focused Fund With $2.2B In Tow

    Technology-focused private equity shop Accel-KKR on Thursday announced that it closed its AKKR Strategic Capital LP fund after raking in over $2.2 billion of investor commitments, which will be used to invest in a range of transactions mainly focused on the software industry in the secondary market.

  • November 20, 2024

    5 Charged For 'Scattered Spider' Phishing Hacks, Crypto Theft

    California federal prosecutors unveiled a criminal case Wednesday accusing five alleged members of the "Scattered Spider" cybercrime group of using a phishing scheme to access the confidential data of media and technology companies and steal $11 million worth of cryptocurrency from digital wallets.

  • November 20, 2024

    Arizona Governor Settles Tribal Water Rights Claims

    Two agreements signed by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs settled four tribal nations' water rights claims and will help to provide safe drinking water to thousands of Native Americans on reservation lands that depend on the Colorado River Basin System.

  • November 20, 2024

    Tribe Fights Ore. Irrigation District At 9th Circ. Over Water Use

    The Yurok Tribe has joined with fishing and conservation groups in asking the Ninth Circuit to deny an irrigation district's bid to certify questions to the Oregon Supreme Court over the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's authority to control water use under state law.

  • November 20, 2024

    'Fat Leonard' To Appeal 15-Year Sentence Over Navy Bribery

    A Malaysian defense contractor and ex-fugitive who pled guilty nearly 10 years ago to a bribery scheme that authorities said cost the U.S. Navy over $20 million has indicated in California federal court that he will appeal his 15-year sentence to the Ninth Circuit.

  • November 20, 2024

    Suit Alleges Fraud In Scuttled Deal Over Calif. Pot Grow

    A California company is looking to claw back a $250,000 down payment to purchase a cannabis entity's cultivation operation, claiming a grower and others involved in the failed deal conspired to take the money, according to a lawsuit filed in California state court.

  • November 20, 2024

    Apple Tapped With Patent Suit Over IMessage 'Tapbacks'

    A lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York accuses Apple of infringing two patents through some of the newer features of its iMessage app that allow people to react and respond to particular texts.

  • November 20, 2024

    Attys Slam Deceptive NIL Settlement Services In NCAA Case

    Class counsel in the massive NCAA name, image and likeness lawsuit have asked a California federal court to intervene with third-party servicing companies that are using misleading information while offering claims-filing services to class members in order to profit from the proposed $2.78 billion settlement.

  • November 20, 2024

    Google Beats EcoFactor Patent Case Over Nest

    Google has persuaded a California federal court to nip in the bud one of the newer patent lawsuits targeting its Nest smart home brand, winning a ruling that found an air conditioner capable of "calculating and comparing thermal efficiency" wasn't enough for a patent.

  • November 20, 2024

    Mountain West Says Trans Athlete Policy Was No Secret

    The Mountain West Conference has said that a motion for an emergency injunction that would force it to ban a transgender athlete from competition ahead of a volleyball tournament comes way too late and is a "manufactured" emergency, while Utah State University lodged an intervening complaint in support of banning the athlete.

  • November 20, 2024

    Attys Get $9K After Seeking $578K For Defending Safeway

    A California federal judge awarded about $8,800 in fees to two firms that requested $578,000 after defending Safeway from a contractor's 2021 lawsuit, saying Wednesday that the figure shouldn't come as a surprise because the attorneys simply pointed to a request-for-proposal document to defeat the suit's breach of contract allegations.

  • November 20, 2024

    Foley Shouldn't Face Data Breach Claims, Calif. Panel Says

    A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of Accellion Inc.'s cross-complaint against law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in an insurance company's lawsuit claiming the software-maker should be held liable for a $1 million ransomware attack that targeted the law firm, finding that Accellion's cross-claims are untimely.

Expert Analysis

  • Fluoride Ruling Charts Path To Bypass EPA Risk Evaluations

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    A California federal court's recent ruling in Food and Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ordering the agency to address the public health risks of fluoridated drinking water, establishes a road map for other citizen petitioners to bypass the EPA's formal risk evaluation process, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Insights From Calif. Public Labor Board's Strike Rights Ruling

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    The California Public Employment Relations Board's recent rejection of a school district's claim that public employees have no right to conduct unfair labor practice strikes signals its interest in fortifying this central labor right — and warns employers to approach potentially protected behavior with caution, say attorneys at Atkinson Andelson.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Useful Product Doctrine May Not Shield Against PFAS Liability

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    Courts have recognized that companies transferring hazardous recycled materials can defeat liability under environmental laws by showing they were selling a useful product — but new laws in California and elsewhere restricting the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may change the legal landscape, says Kyle Girouard at Dickinson Wright.

  • Challenges Of Insuring An NIL Collective

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    Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty examines the emergence of name, image and likeness collectives for student-athletes, the current litigation landscape that has created a favorable environment for these organizations, and considerations for director and officer insurers looking to underwrite NIL collectives.

  • Unpacking State AG Approaches To Digital Asset Enforcement

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    Attorneys at Cozen O'Connor survey recent digital asset enforcement by attorneys general nationwide driven by concerns over regulatory gaps where technological developments and market changes have outpaced legislation.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

  • An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market

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    Marialuisa Gallozzi and Alex Slawson at Covington examine recent developments in the legal issues surrounding the growing drone market, including possible First Amendment protections, Fourth Amendment surveillance, and litigation involving criminal and civil penalties, evidentiary pursuits, and insurance.

  • A Narrow Window Of Opportunity To Fix Energy Transmission

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    A post-election effort of the coming lame-duck congressional session may be the only possibility to pass bipartisan legislation to solve the national grid's capacity deficiencies, which present the greatest impediment to realizing state and federal energy transition and emissions reduction goals, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies

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    If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • E-Signature Best Practices For Employers After Calif. Ruling

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    In Garcia v. Stoneledge Furniture, a California appellate court found an arbitration agreement invalid after an employee raised doubts about the authenticity of its e-signature, underscoring the importance of employers implementing additional measures to verify the authenticity of electronically signed documents, say Ash Bhargava and Reece Bennett at Atkinson Andelson.

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In August

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    The Federal Circuit’s seven vacated or reversed cases from August provide helpful clarity on obviousness-type double patenting, written description and indefiniteness, and suggest improved practices for petitioners and patent owners in inter partes review, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

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