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California
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June 20, 2024
Kraken Unlikely To Escape SEC's Crypto Exchange Case
A California federal judge said Thursday that he was not inclined to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit claiming that cryptocurrency exchange Kraken illegally operated as an unregistered securities exchange, telling the company's lawyer, "You've got your work cut out for you" to change his mind.
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June 20, 2024
Delta's $16M Pay Stub Deal Stalled On Runway By 'Problems'
A California federal judge said Thursday that he has "problems" giving preliminary approval to Delta Air Lines' $16 million deal in a pay stub class action that went to the Ninth Circuit and the California Supreme Court, saying the settlement's release "seems way overbroad."
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June 20, 2024
Ontrak Founder's Insider Trading Case Goes To Calif. Jury
Federal prosecutors delivered closing arguments Thursday in the insider trading trial of Ontrak's founder, telling jurors that he hurriedly dumped $20 million of shares in the healthcare company after discovering its biggest client was going to terminate their deal, while defense counsel argued he was simply exercising expiring warrants.
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June 20, 2024
GM's Cruise To Pay Calif. $112K Fine Over Robotaxi Crash
Cruise LLC agreed to pay a $112,500 penalty for mishandling its response to an October accident involving a pedestrian and one of its autonomous vehicles, and promised to disclose additional data on any collisions to California regulators under a settlement agreement approved Thursday.
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June 20, 2024
Calif. High Court Strikes Anti-Tax Measure From Nov. Ballot
A ballot measure that would make it more difficult to raise taxes in California would revise the state constitution and cannot be enacted by citizen initiative, the state's highest court held Thursday in an opinion that ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
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June 20, 2024
Sutter Health Wins Trial Over $519M Double-Billing Claims
A California state judge has handed Sutter Health a win following a weeks-long bench trial last year over a whistleblower's claims that the nonprofit hospital network violated the state's insurance fraud prevention statutes and owes $519 million for allegedly double-billing for certain operating-room services without documentation.
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June 20, 2024
Ex-ITT Students Net $12M Win In Predatory Lending Scheme
A California federal judge has ordered loan servicer Vervent Inc. to pay $12 million to ex-students of bankrupt for-profit college ITT Education Services Inc. for Vervent's role in an alleged predatory lending scheme for ITT's benefit, finding it was appropriate to triple a $4 million jury award.
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June 20, 2024
NLRB Attys, Calif. Tribe Settle Casino Subpoena Dispute
A California federal court dismissed on Thursday National Labor Relations Board prosecutors' bids to enforce subpoenas requesting a list of casino employees who could be in a proposed bargaining unit from a tribe and a gambling company, with agency attorneys saying the parties settled the dispute.
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June 20, 2024
Calif. Court, Judge Escape Former Exec's Racial Bias Suit
A California federal judge handed an early win Wednesday to a state court and one of its judges, tossing out a racial discrimination and retaliation suit after finding that a former court executive officer failed to show how the judge who fired her had discriminated against her as a Black woman.
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June 20, 2024
Prosecutors Deny Spoiling Evidence In OneTaste Case
Brooklyn federal prosecutors have denied allegations of misconduct in the forced labor conspiracy case against two executives of sexual wellness company OneTaste, who claim an FBI agent instructed a potential key witness to delete emails.
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June 20, 2024
19 Dem AGs Urge Law Group, Others To Ignore DEI Detractors
A coalition of 19 Democratic state attorneys general issued a letter Thursday rebutting criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the American Bar Association, Fortune 100 corporations and law firms.
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June 20, 2024
Tesla Let Racism Go Unchecked In Calif. Factories, Suit Says
Harassment ran rampant in two Tesla factories where racist graffiti was commonplace and Black and Hispanic workers were taunted with racial slurs, according to a suit filed in California state court.
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June 20, 2024
ACLU Urges 9th Circ. To Reject Insurer's Trans Health Appeal
The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Ninth Circuit to reject Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois' appeal seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that found denying transgender health plan participants gender-affirming care violated the Affordable Care Act, arguing federal healthcare nondiscrimination laws clearly protected against gender identity bias.
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June 20, 2024
Tax Preparer With $38M In Refunds Cops To S-Corp. Scam
The owner of a tax preparation business that secured $38 million in federal refunds for customers pled guilty to helping prepare false returns and admitted he required clients to establish empty corporations to lower their tax bills illegally, according to his plea agreement in a California federal court.
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June 20, 2024
LA Boutique Adds Real Estate Pro As 4th Name Partner
Boutique entertainment and business legal firm Freedman Taitelman & Cooley LLP is rebranding for the second time in less than a year — adding real estate and business attorney Stuart Liner to the front of the masthead.
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June 20, 2024
Snapchat Inks $15M Deal In Calif. Watchdog's Sex Bias Suit
The parent company of Snapchat agreed to pay $15 million to end a California Civil Rights Department suit alleging it discouraged women from applying for promotions and failed to protect them from inappropriate sexual advances, according to a filing in California state court.
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June 20, 2024
Justices Say Experts Can Testify Broadly On Criminal Intent
The U.S. Supreme Court found Thursday that a rule barring expert witnesses from testifying about a defendant's alleged criminal intent does not block testimony about the mental state of people in similar situations.
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June 18, 2024
Qualcomm Investors Ink $75M Deal Over Licensing Practices
Qualcomm Inc. investors asked a California federal judge to greenlight a $75 million settlement that would resolve their claims that the chipmaker misled the market by stating it kept its licensing and chip-supply businesses separate when it regularly bundled the two in negotiations and agreements.
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June 18, 2024
Newsom, Legislators Reach Agreement On PAGA Reform
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders on Tuesday unveiled reforms to California's Private Attorneys General Act, including major changes to the law's penalty structure, changes they say will avoid a "contentious" ballot measure campaign.
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June 18, 2024
Doubt Cast On Free Whole Foods Delivery 'Bait And Switch'
A Washington federal judge appeared skeptical at a hearing Tuesday of claims that Amazon misled Prime members by advertising free Whole Foods grocery deliveries and then later pulling the perk in a "bait and switch," noting the retail giant has reserved the right to change Prime members' benefits.
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June 18, 2024
Tesla Can't Beat 'Right-To-Repair' Monopoly Suit This Time
Tesla must face an amended proposed class action alleging the company runs an unlawful monopoly on parts for its electric vehicles, a California federal judge has ruled, finding that the plaintiffs have addressed issues in their previously dismissed complaint.
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June 18, 2024
Ex-CBS Sports Chair Denies Fixing NFL Sunday Ticket Price
The recently retired chairman of CBS Sports on Tuesday told a California federal jury considering multibillion-dollar antitrust claims against the NFL that his network didn't collude with the league to fix the price of the DirecTV Sunday Ticket television package.
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June 20, 2024
CORRECTED: Drug Cos., PBMs Score Win In Calif. AG's Insulin Price Suit
A Los Angeles judge ruled Tuesday that the statute of limitations bars the California Attorney General's unfair competition law and unjust enrichment claims against drugmakers and pharmacy benefit managers over an alleged conspiracy to spike insulin costs, but granted leave to amend the allegations.
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June 18, 2024
Amazon Hit With $5.9M Fine For Violating Calif. Quota Law
California's labor commissioner has fined Amazon $5.9 million for violating the Golden State's Warehouse Quotas Law, which requires employers to give workers written notice of any quotas they must follow, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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June 18, 2024
Google's Deal With Apple Should Be Busted Up, Users Say
Counsel for consumers accusing Google of making an illegal pact with Apple to serve as the iPhone's default search engine urged a California federal judge on Tuesday to revive their dismissed antitrust suit, saying, "We're looking to bust up the contract to get competition back in the market."
Expert Analysis
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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Calif. Web Tracking Cases Show Courts' Indecision Over CIPA
Several hundred cases filed to date, and two recent conflicting rulings, underscore California courts' uncertainty over whether the use of web analytics tools to track users' website interactions can give rise to a violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, says Patricia Brum at Snell & Wilmer.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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What Junk Fee Law Means For Biz In California And Beyond
Come July 1, companies doing business in California must ensure that the price of any good or service as offered, displayed or advertised is inclusive of all mandatory fees and other charges in compliance with S.B. 478, which may have a far-reaching impact across the country due to wide applicability, say Alexandria Ruiz and Amy Lally at Sidley Austin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense
The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air
The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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CFPB's Expanding Scope Evident In Coding Bootcamp Fine
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent penalty against a for-profit coding bootcamp that misrepresented its tuition financing plans is a sign that the bureau is seeking to wield its supervisory and enforcement powers in more industries that offer consumer financing, say Jason McElroy and Brandon Sherman at Saul Ewing.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Watch The MDL Calendar
One of the most fascinating features of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice is the regularity of its calendar, which can illuminate important timing considerations, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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How AI Cos. Can Cope With Shifting Copyright Landscape
In the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, recent legal disputes have focused on the utilization of copyrighted material to train algorithms, meaning companies should be aware of fair use implications and possible licensing solutions for AI users, say Michael Hobbs and Justin Tilghman at Troutman Pepper.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.