California

  • July 19, 2024

    FTC Says Microsoft Price Hike Shows Activision Deal Harm

    The Federal Trade Commission told the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft's recently announced Game Pass price increase is an example of the harm caused by the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.

  • July 19, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Adds Former SEC Regional Director In SF

    A former regional director for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Salt Lake City office has left the public sector to join Greenberg Traurig LLP in San Francisco.

  • July 19, 2024

    Calif. Firm Beats Rival's Claims In 'Sweet Justice' TM Fight

    A California federal court on Thursday nixed a personal injury firm's countersuit against its rival in a battle over the trademark use of the term "Sweet Justice," ruling that the firm's counterclaims are a "mirror-image" of the underlying suit.

  • July 19, 2024

    Several State Courts Impacted By Global Tech Outage

    Several state courts have been impacted by a global Microsoft Windows outage Friday morning causing operational challenges and courthouse closures.

  • July 19, 2024

    Apple Wants Litigation Funder To Explain Role In Patent Row

    Apple Inc. wants a Delaware federal judge to order litigation funder Omni Bridgeway LLC to turn over documents explaining its relationship with Finnish company MPH Technologies Oy and its financial interest in MPH's ongoing patent litigation against Apple in California.

  • July 19, 2024

    Chancery Keeps Masimo Meeting Date, Speeds Up Politan Suit

    Masimo Corp. will not have to reschedule its Sept. 19 annual meeting in response to a lawsuit from Politan Capital Management LP, but will need to respond to some of the activist investor's concerns before the meeting takes place, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Friday.

  • July 19, 2024

    Cooley, Latham Lead Biotech Firm Artiva's Upsized $167M IPO

    Venture-backed Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. rallied in debut trading Friday after the drug developer priced an upsized $167 million initial public offering below its price range, represented by Cooley LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • July 19, 2024

    Judge OKs $47.5M QuantumScape Shareholder Deal

    A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $47.5 million deal ending class action allegations by QuantumScape investors that the company made misleading statements about the quality of its batteries.

  • July 18, 2024

    Grindr Faces Privacy Suit By Prominent 'Outed' Catholic Priest

    Gay dating app Grindr allegedly sold a prominent Catholic priest's sensitive personal information, causing him to lose his position as the general secretariat for the national conference of U.S. bishops, the priest alleged in a lawsuit seeking damages in California state court.

  • July 18, 2024

    Crypto Law Firm's SEC Challenge Met With Doubt At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of a law firm's quest for a judgment that its use of the crypto asset ether doesn't offend securities laws, questioning whether the firm has shown it faces enough of a threat from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep its case against the regulator alive.

  • July 18, 2024

    'Dreamer' Sues California Credit Union Alleging Loan Bias

    University Credit Union violated both federal and California antidiscrimination laws by withdrawing a woman's auto loan because she was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recipient, the woman alleged in a proposed class action filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • July 18, 2024

    4 Men Cop To $2M 'Instant Deposit' Robinhood Fraud

    Four men have pled guilty in New York federal court to being involved in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from trading firm Robinhood by exploiting a program that gave them access to cash advances.

  • July 18, 2024

    CoComelon Seeks Atty Fees And Sanctions After $23M IP Win

    The company behind the popular children's YouTube channel CoComelon urged a California federal judge Thursday to follow up its $23.4 million copyright trial win by ordering a Chinese rival to pay an additional $6.5 million in attorney fees and costs, plus $1 million more for the rival's litigation misconduct.

  • July 18, 2024

    LPL Reaps Benefits From Forced Cash Sweep, Suit Says

    LPL Financial was hit with a putative class suit by a customer who claims the broker-dealer automatically moves customers' uninvested cash into its cash sweep programs, primarily benefiting the firm at the expense of its clients.

  • July 18, 2024

    Epic Says Apple's 'Strategic Delay' Tactics Still Ongoing

    The ongoing fight between Epic Games and Apple over the tech giant's compliance with a court order meant to open up app payment competition showed little sign of abating as Epic continued to blast Apple for slow and incomplete production.

  • July 18, 2024

    Apple Wants 2 Trials In Masimo Trade Secrets And Patent Row

    Apple has told a California federal judge that a November retrial in Masimo's suit against it should only cover claims including trade secrets that led to a mistrial last year after Masimo sought $1.85 billion, and that Masimo's patent claims should be tried later.

  • July 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Fired Doctor's COVID Vax Religious Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a doctor's claims that Washington State University failed to accommodate his religious beliefs when it fired him from his residency for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, ruling Thursday that U.S. Supreme Court precedent necessitates another look at his case.

  • July 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Signals Support For Alaska Salmon Fishery

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday leaned toward allowing government-approved commercial salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska, with one judge saying the economic hardship indigenous communities would face without fishing outweighs the "enormous uncertainty" of impacts on a small population of orca whales that feed on the fish.

  • July 18, 2024

    Live Nation Previews Part Of Case Against DOJ Suit

    Live Nation and Ticketmaster have teed up part of their fight against an antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and multiple state attorneys general, arguing that the state law claims are "threadbare" and that a chunk of the DOJ case amounts to trying to force them to deal with competitors.

  • July 18, 2024

    Workers Say Software Co. Can't Dodge 401(k) Fund Fight

    Two former ServiceNow Inc. employees said Thursday that the cloud computing company shouldn't get to escape their suit alleging it kept underperforming investment options in its 401(k) plan for over a decade, telling a California federal court their complaint is specifically detailed enough to move forward.

  • July 18, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Panel Backs Restoring DHS Bond Rule

    A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a Department of Homeland Security rule barring some immigration surety firms from posting bonds for detained border-crossers Thursday, saying the rule's 2021 ratification by current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cured any defects with its original introduction in 2020.

  • July 18, 2024

    LegitScript Asks 9th Circ. To Ax Price-Checker Antitrust Suit

    LegitScript has told the Ninth Circuit that PharmacyChecker cannot bring antitrust claims for allegedly having its price-checking website blacklisted because the bulk of its business is geared towards helping people illegally import prescription drugs.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ye Brazenly Stole DJ Khalil's Music For 'Donda,' Suit Says

    The musical artist formerly known as Kanye West has been slapped with a lawsuit in California federal court claiming that he stole music from DJ Khalil and three other artists for two leading tracks on his blockbuster album "Donda."

  • July 18, 2024

    Ex-Cop With Illness Spared Prison In EBay Harassment Case

    A federal judge on Thursday agreed to spare a former California police captain and eBay employee from prison for a stalking and harassment campaign against two Massachusetts journalists, citing the defendant's cancer diagnosis and blaming the ordeal on "a warped corporate culture."

  • July 18, 2024

    DOJ, Treasury Target Mexico-Based Human Smuggling Group

    A Sierra Leone national and his wife are facing criminal charges and sanctions for their roles in an alleged human smuggling organization that brought thousands of migrants into the United States, federal prosecutors have announced.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.

  • 9th Circ. Clarifies ERISA Preemption For Healthcare Industry

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Bristol SL Holdings v. Cigna notably clarifies the broad scope of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's preemption of certain state law causes of action, standing to benefit payors and health plan administrators, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • State Procurement Could Be Key For Calif. Offshore Wind

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    A recent ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights how the state's centralized electricity procurement mechanism could play a critical role in the development of long lead-time resources — in particular, offshore wind — by providing market assurance to developers and reducing utilities' procurement risks, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Calif. Budget Will Likely Have Unexpected Tax Consequences

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    A temporary suspension of net operating loss deductions and business incentive tax credits, likely to be approved on June 15 as part of California’s next budget, may create unanticipated tax liabilities for businesses that modeled recently completed transactions on current law, says Myra Sutanto Shen at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May

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    A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians

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    Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

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    As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent

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    As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Shows Lies Must Go To Nature Of Bargain

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    The Ninth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Milheiser decision, vacating six mail fraud convictions, clarifies that the key question in federal fraud cases is not whether lies were told, but what they were told about — thus requiring defense counsel to rethink their strategies, say Charles Kreindler and Krista Landis at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 4 Ways Businesses Can Address Threat Of Mass Arbitration

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    Attorneys at DLA Piper examine the rise of mass arbitration in light of JAMS' new procedures and guidelines, and provide four steps e-commerce businesses can take when revising their dispute resolution provisions to maximize the chances those revisions will be held enforceable.

  • What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims

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    In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.

  • Trademark In Artistic Works 1 Year After Jack Daniel's

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    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products ruling, courts have applied Jack Daniel's inconsistently to deny First Amendment protection to artistic works, providing guidance for dismissing trademark claims relating to film and TV titles, say Hardy Ehlers and Neema Sahni at Covington.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Broadens Sweep Of Securities 'Solicitation'

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent revival of a putative securities fraud class action against Genius Brands for hiring a stock promoter to write favorable articles about it shows that companies should view "solicitation" broadly in considering whether they may have paid someone to urge an investor to purchase a security, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • NCAA Settlement May End The NIL Model As We Know It

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    The recent House v. NCAA settlement in California federal court, in which the NCAA agreed to allow schools to directly pay March Madness television revenue to their athletes, may send outside name, image and likeness collectives in-house, says Mike Ingersoll at Womble Bond.

  • Opinion

    The FTC And DOJ Should Backtrack On RealPage

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    The antitrust agencies ought to reverse course on their enforcement actions against RealPage, which are based on a faulty legal premise, risk further property shortages and threaten the use of algorithms that are central to the U.S. economy, says Thomas Stratmann at George Mason University.

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