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Corporate
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September 25, 2024
Blank Rome Faces DQ Bid Over Alleged Tampering
An attorney suing three lawyers from Blank Rome LLP wants the firm's other attorneys disqualified from representing their colleagues, accusing them of improperly contacting a plaintiff's expert witness to intimidate him into no longer participating in the case.
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September 25, 2024
Penalized Apple Atty Says He Was 'Demoralized' By Co. Culture
Apple Inc.'s former senior director of corporate law, who pled guilty to insider trading in 2022 and was later penalized $1.1 million in a civil case, had mental health disorders and was "demoralized" by the company's culture and executives' misconduct, he said in temporarily unsealed records in New Jersey federal court.
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September 25, 2024
Bloggers In EBay Stalking Case Can't Pinpoint Lost Sources
A Massachusetts couple suing eBay after their blog's critical coverage of the e-commerce giant made them the target of a corporate harassment scheme told a federal judge on Wednesday they aren't able to specifically identify potential sources who were allegedly chilled into silence by the scheme.
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September 25, 2024
US Antitrust Holds Fast: No 'Environmental Justice' Goals
A top Federal Trade Commission official in her latest address to antitrust lawyers offered little comfort to U.S. companies seeking to collaborate on environmental initiatives.
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September 25, 2024
Norfolk Southern Names New CLO After Ouster Of Execs
Norfolk Southern Corp. has promoted an employee who has worked in its legal department since 2010 to serve as its chief legal officer following the firing of the woman who previously held the post over her relationship with the transportation giant's ousted CEO.
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September 24, 2024
Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper
Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.
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September 24, 2024
Google Can't Ditch Privacy Suit Over Period App Data Sharing
A California federal judge has refused to release Google from a proposed class action alleging the company used a data analytics tool to wrongfully retrieve data from menstruation tracking app Flo, rejecting the tech giant's arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and had consented to the disclosures.
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September 24, 2024
Full 9th Circ. Vaporizes First-To-File Precedent For FCA Suits
The full Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overruled circuit precedent and held that the so-called first-to-file rule governing False Claims Act cases is not jurisdictional, meaning that courts can't toss a whistleblower action on jurisdictional grounds rooted in the first-to-file provision.
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September 24, 2024
'Be Careful What You Wish For' Post-Jarkesy, SEC Atty Says
A trial lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the defense bar Tuesday to "be careful what you wish for" after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the agency's in-house court system, saying cases against gatekeepers "are not going away."
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September 24, 2024
Amazon Scolded Over Improper Privilege In Alexa Privacy Suit
Amazon.com Inc. must re-produce documents it clawed back during discovery from unregistered Alexa users who allege they were illegally recorded, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, scolding the e-commerce giant for "improperly" trying to conceal its business and strategic documents behind attorney-client privilege.
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September 24, 2024
Fox Exec Must Show Cell Data In Smartmatic Defamation Suit
A Florida state court judge has ordered a Fox News board member to turn over cellphone data in connection to a New York defamation lawsuit over unfounded reports that Smartmatic USA Corp.'s voting systems helped rig the 2020 election, finding the phone may contain relevant information to the case.
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September 24, 2024
Chance Cognizant Didn't Discriminate Is '1 In A Billion,' Jury Told
An attorney for a class of former Cognizant Technology employees alleging the company discriminated against non-South Asian and non-Indian employees told a jury during opening statements of a retrial Tuesday that the probability Cognizant's behavior wasn't racially biased is about one in a billion.
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September 24, 2024
Cathode Ray Class Attys Fight Over Fees At 9th Circ.
Plaintiffs firm Cooper & Kirkham urged the Ninth Circuit Tuesday to reverse a ruling slashing its $3.452 million fee award in since-settled cathode ray tube price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm was being unfairly punished for representing a subclass, while lead class counsel slammed the firm's tactics as "extreme mischief."
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September 24, 2024
Google Investors' Atty Defends Fees For $350M Privacy Deal
Counsel for Google LLC shareholders who reached a $350 million settlement with Alphabet Inc. over claims they were deceived about a 2018 data breach urged a California federal judge Tuesday to approve the deal, including about $66.5 million for attorneys, calling the fees more than reasonable.
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September 24, 2024
Invitation Homes Agrees To $48M Settlement With FTC
The Federal Trade Commission said it has struck a $48 million agreement with Invitation Homes Inc. to settle claims against the nation's largest single-family home landlord, including that it deceived people about leasing costs and junk fees, failed to inspect and repair homes as promised, and unfairly held on to security deposits.
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September 24, 2024
Feds Say BitMEX Should Owe $428M For Flouting AML Rules
Federal prosecutors urged a Manhattan federal judge to impose a $428 million penalty for offshore crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX after the firm admitted to lax anti-money laundering procedures, arguing the more than $100 million the firm and founders have already paid to regulators is not enough to deter other crypto firms from Bank Secrecy Act violations.
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September 24, 2024
Ex-Foot Locker Exec To Pay $236K For Insider Trading
A laid-off Foot Locker executive agreed to pay nearly $236,000 to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he engaged in insider trading during and after his time with the sportswear company, the agency announced Tuesday.
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September 24, 2024
DC Circ. Open To Industry Challenge To TSCA Reporting Rule
A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday seemed receptive to two trade associations' challenge to new federal regulations aimed at increasing Toxic Substances Control Act transparency, pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a facet of the rule that opponents say would lead confidential chemical information to be divulged.
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September 24, 2024
DuPont Employee Defends Mass Email In ERISA Trial
A DuPont employee was scrutinized on the witness stand Tuesday for the way a worker learned about how the chemical company's merger with Dow would impact their benefits, with a judge calling a heavily redacted trial exhibit useless and a plaintiffs' attorney quizzing her on basic email functions.
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September 24, 2024
NLRB Office Signs Off On Near $450K Deal With Musk Brother
A Colorado nonprofit co-founded by Elon Musk's brother settled a union's unfair labor practice claims for close to $450,000, according to a National Labor Relations Board announcement Tuesday, with the organization agreeing to pay thousands to laid-off workers and make supervisors undergo federal labor law training.
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September 24, 2024
4th Circ. Reluctant To Let NFL Fans Pass On Arbitration
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday seemed likely to make National Football League fans arbitrate their claims against the Washington Commanders over injuries sustained in the team's stadium, with one judge calling it "weird" to think attendees could dodge contract terms just because someone else bought their tickets.
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September 24, 2024
Microsoft Fights Mich. Tax Treatment Of Cost Share Payments
Microsoft urged the Michigan Tax Tribunal to find that cost sharing agreement receipts from affiliates constituted licenses of intellectual property that should be included in its apportionment formula, arguing that the state's tax agency incorrectly followed federal transfer pricing rules in excluding the payments from its tax calculations.
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September 24, 2024
Meta Can't Nix Misrepresentation Claims In Revenue Split Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. can't nix misrepresentation claims by a Canadian news site alleging the social media giant rejected its ads without explanation in violation of its policy, after a California federal judge said Monday the plaintiff sufficiently alleged it relied on Meta's promises to provide such explanations when deciding to invest millions of dollars to advertise.
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September 24, 2024
Amazon Shareholders Try To Save Suit Over Blue Origin Deal
Stockholders who sued Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the company's board in Delaware's Court of Chancery for "blindly" approving a multibillion-dollar, Bezos-controlled launch contract for a new satellite-based internet service struggled for enough altitude Tuesday to clear defense dismissal challenges.
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September 24, 2024
SEC Says Blockchain Cybersecurity Co. Ran $5M Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a former blockchain cybersecurity and supply chain management company and its founder, alleging they deceived investors and fraudulently raised more than $5 million by falsely claiming that the company had secured contracts and that it expected to generate millions in revenue.
Expert Analysis
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Opinion
USPTO AI Patent Guidance Leaves Questions Unanswered
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recent guidance on artificial intelligence patent eligibility is unlikely to answer many of the open questions that AI patent applicants face, as it includes nominally new analysis that applicants can adopt to analyze their inventions, say attorneys at Fenwick & West.
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Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma
If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.
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Class Action Law Makes An LLC A 'Jurisdictional Platypus'
The applicability of Section 1332(d)(10) of the Class Action Fairness Act is still widely misunderstood — and given the ambiguous nature of limited liability companies, the law will likely continue to confound courts and litigants — so parties should be prepared for a range of outcomes, says Andrew Gunem at Strauss Borrelli.
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Jarkesy Ruling May Redefine Jury Role In Patent Fraud
Regardless of whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy ruling implicates the direction of inequitable conduct, which requires showing that the patentee made material statements or omissions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the decision has created opportunities for defendants to argue more substantively for jury trials than ever before, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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How Justices' E-Rate Decision May Affect Scope Of FCA
The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., determining whether reimbursements paid by the E-rate program are "claims" under the False Claims Act, may affect other federal programs that do not require payments to be made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, says David Colapinto at Kohn Kohn.
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Series
After Chevron: Don't Let Loper Lead To Bank Compliance Lull
Banking organizations are staring down a period of greater uncertainty over the next few years as the banking agencies and industry navigate the post-Chevron world, but banks must continue to have effective compliance programs in place even in the face of this unpredictability, say Lee Meyerson and Amanda Allexon at Simpson Thacher.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Enron Law Is Still Threat To Execs After Justices' Jan. 6 Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Fischer v. U.S. decision is a setback for prosecutors’ obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants, it also represents a strong endorsement of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s original purpose, serving as a corporate compliance reminder for executives, say Michael Peregrine and Ashley Hoff at McDermott.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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Calif. Out-Of-State Noncompete Ban Faces Several Hurdles
California's attempt to bolster its noncompete law has encountered significant procedural and constitutional challenges, and litigating parties must carefully analyze not only the restrictive covenants contained in their agreements, but also the forum-selection and choice-of-law provisions, say Jennifer Redmond and Gal Gressel at Sheppard Mullin.
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2nd Circ. Case Reinforces Need For Advance Notice Bylaws
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Nano Dimension v. Murchinson illustrates that Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act is a square peg for a round hole, and that advance notice bylaws are far better at protecting against undisclosed coordination among activist shareholders, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.