California

  • October 24, 2024

    'Jeopardy!' Workers Lodge Race, Gender Bias Claims

    A Black production executive and her Latina colleague with decades of experience working on "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" have accused Sony Pictures Entertainment of race, gender and age discrimination as well as retaliation, according to complaints filed with both the National Labor Relations Board and California's Civil Rights Department.

  • October 24, 2024

    FTC Official Doubts Election Will Deter Antitrust 'New Era'

    The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition director defended the agency's new guidelines and its track record during a wide-ranging discussion at the 34th annual Golden State Institute on Thursday, and he expressed confidence that whichever presidential candidate wins, a new administration won't deter this "new era" of FTC antitrust enforcement actions.

  • October 24, 2024

    Calif. Chili's Workers Fight Uphill For Meal Break Class Cert.

    A California federal judge considering class certification for nearly 1,300 Chili's employees, who are accusing the owner of their restaurants of not providing meal breaks, said Thursday that individualized questions about whether workers were coerced into asserting they voluntarily skipped their break could doom their bid.

  • October 24, 2024

    IRS To End Automatic Foreign Gift Reporting Penalty

    Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel told the UCLA Tax Controversy Conference audience on Thursday that the agency will no longer automatically assess penalties for the late reporting of large foreign gifts, with the announcement eliciting applause from the audience of several hundred tax attorneys and tax professionals.

  • October 24, 2024

    IP Forecast: Inhibrx Co-Founder Faces Biotech Secrets Trial

    A Wilmington federal jury next week will hear a trade secrets lawsuit that accuses a biotech executive of helping himself to confidential information about cancer treatment antibodies while being employed as an expert in an unrelated $200 million arbitration proceeding. Here's a spotlight on that case — plus all the other major intellectual property matters on deck in the coming week.

  • October 24, 2024

    Calif. Judge Urged To Uphold $262M Hard Drive IP Verdict

    MR Technologies has asked a California federal judge to deny Western Digital's bid to toss a $262 million patent infringement verdict in a dispute over disk drive storage technology, saying the hard drive behemoth's desire for a redo is outweighed by its failure to present any legal errors or abuse of discretion by the court.

  • October 24, 2024

    LA County DA Moves To Trim Menendez Brothers' Sentences

    Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that he's filing to reduce the life sentences of Erik and Lyle Menendez for murdering their parents in 1989, a move that could make the brothers immediately eligible for parole.

  • October 24, 2024

    Trade Orgs Back Google's Bid For 9th Circ. Play Store Pause

    Trade groups and cybersecurity experts have told the Ninth Circuit to extend the pause on the mandate forcing Google to open up its Play Store and help rival app stores compete through that distribution mechanism, backing Google with amicus briefs warning of major disruptions to the app ecosystem.

  • October 24, 2024

    Cooper Hefner's $100M Bid To Buy Playboy Brand Is Rejected

    The owner of Playboy, PLBY Group Inc., has turned down a reported $100 million offer from Cooper Hefner, the youngest son of late founder Hugh Hefner, to buy the Playboy brand, stating Thursday that the bid is too low.

  • October 24, 2024

    Va. Judge Won't Block Feds' Nonprofit Disclosure Law

    A Virginia federal judge on Oct. 24 refused to stop the U.S. Department of the Treasury from enforcing a law that requires nonprofits such as community associations to disclose personal identifying information about their beneficial owners and applicants to a Treasury agency that focuses on stopping financial crimes.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bumble App Wants To Dump Straight Women's Bias Suit

    Bumble asked a California federal judge Wednesday to throw out a lawsuit alleging the dating app discriminates against straight women by requiring them to make the first move, saying the complaint "betrays a troubling irony" in perpetuating gender-based stereotypes that antidiscrimination laws were designed to prevent.

  • October 24, 2024

    EPA Agrees To Review Nitrogen Oxides Standard By 2028

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it would revisit its national ambient air quality standards for nitrogen oxides by 2028 under a proposed consent decree reached with conservation groups.

  • October 24, 2024

    UCLA Strikes Out On Bid To Join Row Over Baseball Facility

    A California federal judge rejected The Regents of the University of California's bid to intervene in a class action filed by disabled, homeless military veterans who accused the federal government of misusing a Los Angeles campus that they claim was intended for housing veterans.

  • October 24, 2024

    Scam PAC Uses Rick Scott's Name To Trick Donors, Suit Says

    The National Republican Senatorial Committee has filed a false advertising and likeness misappropriation complaint in California federal court accusing a political action committee of fraudulently fundraising millions of dollars in contributions from unwitting donors who think they're supporting prominent conservative lawmakers like Sen. Rick Scott. 

  • October 24, 2024

    LinkedIn Intercepts Health Info On CityMD's Site, User Says

    LinkedIn was hit with a proposed invasion-of-privacy class action on Wednesday in California federal court that accused the social network platform of illegally intercepting users' sensitive health information when they book medical appointments through CityMD's website, then selling the data for targeted advertising.

  • October 24, 2024

    ACLU Sues Feds For Info On Immigrant Detention

    The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation has filed a lawsuit against federal agencies overseeing immigrant detention in California federal court, seeking records that it says would shed light on how immigrant detention could be expanded.

  • October 24, 2024

    Bayer Hit With False-Ad Suit Over Malic Acid In Vitamins

    Bayer is falsely advertising its Flintstones sour gummy vitamins as being free of artificial flavors, a California woman alleged in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in state court, saying the multivitamin supplement meant for children actually gets its sour flavor from synthetic malic acid.

  • October 24, 2024

    Willkie-Led Ingram Micro Rejoins Markets After $409M IPO

    Private equity-backed technology products distributor Ingram Micro Holding Corp. rallied in debut trading on Thursday, marking the company's return to public markets following a $409 million initial public offering, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and underwriters' counsel Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP.

  • October 24, 2024

    Elon Musk Escapes Vote-Buying Claims In RICO Suit

    Elon Musk has dodged claims in a Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act lawsuit that his attempts to drive up voter registration in swing states by holding a million-dollar giveaway are unlawful, with a California federal judge ruling the allegations had nothing to do with the rest of the case.

  • October 24, 2024

    Pillsbury Brings On Former Federal Prosecutor In San Diego

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is expanding its West Coast litigation team to meet increased client demand, announcing Thursday it is bringing in a former assistant U.S. attorney as counsel in its San Diego office.  

  • October 24, 2024

    Private Enforcer Sues LA-Area Immigration Consulting Firm

    A California organization that acts as a private enforcer of state rules that govern immigration consulting companies has sued a Los Angeles-area business, claiming it falsely presented itself to the public as an immigration law firm.

  • October 24, 2024

    Crowe & Dunlevy Hires Oklahoma City IP Law Professor

    Crowe & Dunlevy has picked up a politically ambitious intellectual property professor from Oklahoma City University School of Law who has previously worked as a litigator for nonpracticing entities and as a patent examiner.

  • October 24, 2024

    Baker McKenzie Reps Acuity Brands On $1.2B QSC Buy

    Industrial technology company Acuity Brands Inc., advised by Baker McKenzie, on Thursday announced plans to buy Proskauer Rose LLP-led audio, video and control company QSC LLC in a $1.215 billion deal.

  • October 23, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Says Asylum 'Metering' Policy Flouts US Law

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday said federal immigration law requires U.S. officials to inspect asylum-seekers at the border, rejecting the Biden administration's argument that noncitizens must be physically standing on U.S soil to claim asylum.

  • October 23, 2024

    Roman Polanski Settles Claim He Raped Teenage Girl In 1973

    Film director and convicted sex offender Roman Polanski has reached a settlement with a woman who says he raped her when she was a teenage girl more than 50 years ago, leading to the dismissal of her lawsuit filed in California court, attorneys for both parties told Law360 on Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • Utilizing Liability Exemption When Calif. Cities Lease Property

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    With rising costs pushing California municipalities to lease real estate assets instead of purchasing them, municipalities should review the ample case law that supports certain exceptions to California Constitution Section 18(a) requirements, providing that certain long-term lease obligations are not considered to be liabilities, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.

  • Despite Calif. Delays, Climate Disclosure Rules Are Coming

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    Progress continues on state, federal and international climate disclosure regimes, making compliance a key concern for companies — but the timeline for implementation of California's disclosure laws remains unclear due to funding and timing disputes, says David Smith at Manatt Phelps.

  • Dueling Calif. Rulings Offer Insight On 401(k) Forfeiture Suits

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    Two recent decisions from California federal courts regarding novel Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims around 401(k) forfeitures provide early tea leaves for companies that may face similar litigation, offering reasons for both optimism and concern over the future direction of the law, say Ashley Johnson and Jennafer Tryck at Gibson Dunn.

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