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October 16, 2024
Sudanese Men Charged With Hacking Cedars-Sinai, Microsoft
California federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that two Sudanese brothers have been charged with operating a prolific hacking group that orchestrated tens of thousands of politically motivated cyberattacks against worldwide government agencies, Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and companies including Microsoft, PayPal, Google and Netflix.
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October 16, 2024
SpaceX Says Calif. Board Taking Disdain Of Musk Out On It
SpaceX hit the California Coastal Commission with a federal lawsuit claiming its board members are opposing the company's bid to launch more rockets from a military base in Santa Barbara County due to "naked political discrimination" against it and its outspoken billionaire CEO Elon Musk.
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October 16, 2024
Hawaii Utility Beats Investor Suit Over Wildfire, For Now
A California judge on Tuesday dismissed a shareholder suit filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. in the wake of a deadly fire on Maui in 2023, but will allow plaintiffs to amend their claims that the company failed to warn investors about its inadequate risk mitigation program.
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October 16, 2024
Justices Question EPA's Authority For 'Vague' SF Water Permit
The U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments on Wednesday appeared genuinely torn about what to make of San Francisco's challenge to a Clean Water Act permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which the city argues is impermissibly vague and difficult to comply with.
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October 16, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Rethink Reviving Airline Military Bias Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected Alaska Airlines' bid for the court to reconsider its August opinion reinstating a class action accusing the airline of illegally denying accrued vacation and sick time to pilots on military assignments.
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October 16, 2024
Calif. Community Flood Insurance Project Secures New Funds
California's water regulation authority will support a novel flood insurance program aimed at providing a tiny Central Valley town with coverage in the event of a major flood event, the state's insurance commissioner said Wednesday.
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October 16, 2024
Fed. Circ. Restores Patent Fight Between LED Light Cos.
A small Utah company that claims to have developed novel LED lights persuaded the Federal Circuit on Wednesday to keep its patent lawsuit alive after a Los Angeles judge used an "improper construction" of words to allow a different company that sells light bulbs to slip out of the suit.
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October 16, 2024
Ex-Tidal VP Jumps To Entertainment Boutique In California
The former vice president of licensing lead and business affairs at music streaming platform Tidal has joined entertainment boutique firm Granderson Des Rochers as senior counsel in Los Angeles, the firm said.
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October 16, 2024
Davis Wright Grows In SF With Ex-Prosecutor From Boutique
A former federal prosecutor and experienced trial lawyer who co-founded boutique Long & Stout PC brought his practice to Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in San Francisco.
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October 16, 2024
PE Firm Trashed Exec To Avoid Payout In $98M Deal, Suit Says
A Summit Partners affiliate and several executives concocted false allegations of misconduct to get out of fully compensating the owner of an investment management firm as part of an acquisition worth a reported $97.6 million, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.
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October 16, 2024
Feds Say EMTALA Trumps Idaho Abortion Ban In Emergencies
A legal fight over a federal law governing emergency medical care and Idaho's strict abortion ban is back in the Ninth Circuit where the federal government argued that the ban conflicts with the federal statute, but only in narrow circumstances requiring emergency abortions to stabilize a pregnant woman.
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October 16, 2024
'Fat Leonard' Faces 11 Years For Navy Bribery Scheme
Federal prosecutors are seeking more than 11 years in prison for Leonard Francis, the Malaysian defense contractor and ex-fugitive known as "Fat Leonard" who led a sprawling bribery and corruption scheme that allegedly caused over $20 million in losses for the U.S. Navy.
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October 16, 2024
Skadden Drives Forest Road To Formula E Team Acquisition
Los Angeles-based investment firm The Forest Road Company, advised by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, has purchased the ERT Formula E team. The team is rebranding as Kiro Race Co as it prepares to enter the 11th season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship under new ownership.
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October 15, 2024
Meta Limits But Can't Shake Social Media Addiction MDL
A California federal judge on Tuesday refused to ax sprawling multidistrict litigation accusing Meta Platforms Inc. and other social media giants of designing their platforms to addict children, finding that a broad tech liability shield required claims pressed by dozens of state attorneys general to be narrowed but not tossed.
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October 15, 2024
Qualcomm Milked 'Weak Patents' For Monopoly, 9th Circ. Told
An attorney for a proposed class of cellphone buyers urged the 9th Circuit Monday to revive antitrust claims against Qualcomm, saying it used "weak patents" to secure licensing agreements that forced companies to give up their right to challenge the patents, although one judge questioned whether the plaintiffs had waived that argument.
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October 15, 2024
UBH Surprise Billing Fight 'Begs' For Issue Cert., Judge Says
A California federal judge deciding whether to certify classes of patients who allege United Behavioral Health and billing contractor MultiPlan underpaid thousands of claims for out-of-network substance use disorder treatment told counsel Tuesday the case "begs" for issue certification, while adding that the U.S. medical system is "an absolute mess."
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October 15, 2024
Western Digital Had No Way Around Patent, Spex Chief Says
Western Digital owes between $5 and $8.50 per unit for infringing Spex's data security patent based on Spex's 2009 licensing deal with Kingston Technology, Spex's president told California federal jurors Tuesday, noting that Western Digital had no noninfringing alternative to implement hardware encryption in its storage devices.
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October 15, 2024
'Gold Standard' PFAS Test Rejected In Tampax Class Suit
A California federal judge on Tuesday rejected the reliability of a testing method described by a putative consumer class as the "gold standard" for detecting so-called forever chemicals, tossing for now claims that The Procter & Gamble Co. falsely advertised its "pure cotton" Tampax tampons.
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October 15, 2024
NYT Says Perplexity Violating IP Law, AI Firm Claims Fair Use
The New York Times has hit Perplexity AI Inc. with a cease-and-desist letter claiming that the artificial intelligence startup is unlawfully using its copyrighted news content, while Perplexity contends that its AI search engine is lawfully indexing web pages and surfacing facts as citations.
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October 15, 2024
Gamers End Challenge Of Microsoft's $69B Activision Deal
Microsoft reached an agreement ending a challenge from a group of gamers targeting its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard as a merger challenge from the Federal Trade Commission remains pending at the Ninth Circuit.
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October 15, 2024
Ex-Dodger Bauer Sues Accuser For Alleged Settlement Breach
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer has filed a California state court lawsuit against a woman who previously accused him of sexual assault, alleging that the two reached an out-of-court settlement but that she violated the deal by falsely claiming in public he paid her $300,000.
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October 15, 2024
4 Firms Steer Ownership Shakeup At 'Dune' Movie Maker
Legendary Entertainment has completed a buyout of Chinese company Wanda Group's remaining equity interest in the movie studio behind "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two," a deal that gives sole ownership of the company to Legendary's management and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo.
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October 15, 2024
SD Calls Foul On NCAA For Moving NIL Suit From State Court
The state of South Dakota and its flagship universities on Tuesday asked that their suit challenging the NCAA's $2.78 billion settlement over name, image and likeness compensation be moved back to state court, claiming the NCAA "does not come within a country mile" of proving that it should have been removed to federal court.
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October 15, 2024
Three Cos. Combine On $3.4B Texas Data Center Complex
Blue Owl Capital, infrastructure firm Crusoe Energy Systems and investor Primary Digital Infrastructure said Tuesday they are pooling $3.4 billion to build a 1 million-square-foot data center campus in Abilene, Texas.
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October 15, 2024
Google Became Search Giant On Stolen IP, Suit Says
Internet search engine company LookSmart sued Google LLC on Monday for patent infringement, claiming that the tech giant "clearly knew" it was using LookSmart's technology for ranking and searching documents without authority or license, all the while generating "over $150 billion in search-related revenue."
Expert Analysis
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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.
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The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling
Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Key Lessons From Recent Insurance Policy Reform Litigation
A review of recent case law reveals the wide range of misunderstandings that may arise between insurers and policyholders in the purchase and renewal of insurance policies, as well as the utility — and the limits — of reformation and related remedies for these misunderstandings, say Jad Khazem and Seth Tucker at Covington.
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April
Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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When Oral Settlements Reached In Mediation Are Enforceable
A recent decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division illustrates the difficulties that may arise in trying to enforce an oral settlement agreement reached in mediation, but adherence to certain practices can improve the likelihood that such an agreement will be binding, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.