BofA Customer Gets Class Cert. In Revived ATM Fee Dispute

By Sydney Price

A class of account holders who allege Bank of America breached a contract by charging out-of-network fees for balance inquiries at certain ATMs can now proceed with claims as a class after their initial attempt at certification was denied.

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2nd Circ. Revives Electrical Worker's Union Pension Fight

By Emily Brill

An electrical worker can try again to argue that two trustees of his union pension fund violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by paying themselves over $1 million in compensation from the fund's assets, with the Second Circuit ruling Friday that the worker has standing to sue.

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Missouri Judge Won't Step Aside From Plastics Recycling Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Missouri federal judge denied petrochemical companies' request that he recuse himself from a proposed class action accusing them of misleading people about plastic's recyclability due to his wife's position as a Kansas City council member.

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Interview

Time To Abolish IPO 'Bureaucracy,' Law Professor Says

By Tom Zanki

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's long-established practice of vetting initial public offering filings through back-and-forth comment letters with companies — essentially a screening process intended to rectify faulty disclosures before public dissemination — is a bureaucratic relic that should be done away with, a law professor argues.

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Beyond Meat Fries Investors' Fast-Food Production Woes Suit

By Lauren Berg

A Los Angeles federal judge has tossed, for good, a reworked investor class action accusing Beyond Meat of concealing major problems with its efforts to scale production on plant-based meat substitutes for fast-food chains like McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

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Aimmune Shareholders' $27.5M Deal Over Sale To Nestle OK'd

By Bonnie Eslinger

Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. stockholders won preliminary approval in California federal court on Friday for a $27.5 million settlement of their securities fraud class action alleging that Aimmune was falsely undervalued before its merger with Nestlé Health Science SA.

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Space Co. Lied About Rocket Launch Timeline, Investors Say

By Sydney Price

Aerospace company Rocket Lab USA Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in California federal court alleging it intentionally concealed issues that would delay the test and commercial launches of a vehicle it developed.

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Bioventus Hit With Del. Derivative Suit After NC Class Deal

By Jeff Montgomery

A Bioventus Inc. stockholder sued 15 current and former directors and officers of the medical device venture in Delaware's Court of Chancery to recover for the company tens of millions in losses tied to alleged mismanagement and corporate duty failures over a two year period.

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Align Tech Deal Directs Buyers To A Monopolist, Judge Says

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge has soundly rejected Align Technologies Inc.'s proposed $27.5 million antitrust settlement with teeth-aligner buyers, slamming Align as a monopolist and saying that the deal "will direct still more customers to the monopolist."

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Analysis

5 Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch In March

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit will mull Express Scripts and OptumRx's bid to force a public nuisance suit brought by the state of California into federal court, and the Second Circuit will hear from pensioners who say that IBM's use of outdated mortality tables shrank their benefits payouts. Here, Law360 looks at these and other appellate arguments happening in March that should be on benefits lawyers' radar.

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Steakhouse Workers Score Collective Cert. In Tips Row

By Irene Spezzamonte

Servers and bartenders claiming that a steakhouse known for its 72-ounce steak challenge cheated them out of tips and didn't reimburse them for their uniforms can move forward as a collective, a Texas federal judge ruled, while saying the limitation period clock will start ticking later.

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Aetna, Optum To Pay $8.3M To End ERISA Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

Aetna Inc. and OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC will pay $8.3 million to settle 88,000 patients' claims that they were overcharged in a scheme to hide administrative fees as medical expenses, nearly three months after OptumHealth said it was pulling out of the deal.

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Trafficking Claims Against Marriott Should Go On, Judge Says

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Colorado federal judge said Thursday that a Mexican national has plausibly alleged Marriott engaged in a bait-and-switch scheme at its St. Regis Hotel in Aspen to procure his labor under false pretenses, recommending that half of his claims proceed in the litigation.

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Colo. Corrections Dept. Says No Pay Needed For On-Call Time

By Emmy Freedman

A collective action accusing the Colorado Department of Corrections of failing to pay criminal investigators for time they spent on call should be thrown out, the department told a federal court, saying the workers weren't barred from doing personal activities during this time and thus aren't owed any extra wages.

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GM Parking Defect Suit Dismissed After Settlement

By Mike Curley

A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a class action alleging General Motors LLC sold vehicles with a defective shifter that couldn't detect when the vehicles are in park following a notice that the parties had reached a settlement.

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Ford Insists Recalls Thwart Engine Fire Defect Class Action

By Linda Chiem

Ford Motor Co. asked a Michigan federal judge on Friday to snuff an amended proposed class action alleging it sold hybrid electric vehicles with defective engines that could spontaneously stall and catch fire, reiterating that two voluntary recalls of affected vehicles voids the drivers' claims.

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Galaxy Gas Hides A Dangerous Buzz, Class Action Says

By Chart Riggall

Galaxy Gas, the maker of a popular line of flavored nitrous oxide dispensers, was hit with a putative class action Friday accusing the company of pushing a commonly abused, addictive, dangerous, and perfectly legal recreational drug under the guise of a "culinary tool."

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Group Blasts Judge's Call For Women In Contraception MDL

By Carolina Bolado

A judicial organization dedicated to fighting "leftist lawfare" filed a complaint Thursday against the Florida federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, claiming that her comments about women needing to be represented in the MDL leadership show an impermissible bias.

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3M Wants Texas 'Forever Chemical' Suit Tossed

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

3M Co. told a Texas federal judge that the Lone Star State's lawsuit accusing chemical manufacturers of selling forever chemical-containing products despite knowing they present health risks to humans should be tossed because the court doesn't have jurisdiction over the companies.

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Pa. Health System Can't Compel Arbitration In Meta Pixel Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

A terms of service link on a Pennsylvania health system's website was not sufficient to bind a patient to arbitration in his suit over the alleged disclosure of his personal information to Meta Platforms, a federal judge has ruled.

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Wash. Judge Picks Apart Parents' Hospital Data Privacy Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Washington appellate judge on Friday grilled parents seeking to revive their proposed privacy class action against a Seattle hospital, expressing frustration with their argument that state wiretapping law could apply to an individual's queries to a public-facing website.

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Shake Shack Sued Over 'Deceptive' Delivery Fees

By Isaac Monterose

Shake Shack Inc. charges its customers "deceptive fees" when they use the fast casual chain's website and app to order food delivery, according to a proposed class action removed to California federal court.

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Online Test Proctor Sued Over Calif. Bar Exam Malfunctions

By Matt Perez

ProctorU Inc., which does business as Meazure Learning, was hit with a nationwide class action in California federal court Thursday for its alleged failure to properly administer the state's February bar exam, despite mounting technical issues during the run-up to the test.

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Del. Judge Orders Trial On AMC Stock Swap Coverage Fight

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware Superior Court judge ordered a jury trial Friday on an AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. insurer's claim that it never consented to cover part of a $99.3 million settlement with theater chain stockholders who challenged a preferred share conversion and reverse stock split.

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Off The Bench

Off The Bench: Trans Ban Recusal Bid, Wemby Spat, Fox Suit

By Alex Lawson

In this week's Off The Bench, a Colorado federal judge won't recuse himself from a case centering on a transgender athlete over his pronoun use, the sale of a high-profile Victor Wembanyama jersey will go forward despite feverish litigation and a sprawling harassment suit against Fox Sports is shuffled from federal to state court.

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Litigant Funding Co. Has No Claim To NFL Concussion Deal

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A special master overseeing the NFL's concussion settlement fund told a Pennsylvania federal court in a filing made public Friday that a company that funds litigants' healthcare expenses was correctly denied money from the fund because the rights assigned to it by former players' doctors counted as "prohibited assignments," not the liens the company claimed they were.

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Ex-USF Ballplayers In Uphill Battle For Sex Harassment Cert.

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal magistrate judge said Friday she is unlikely to certify a class of potentially hundreds of ex-University of San Francisco baseball players in a case alleging that former coaches created a sexually abusive environment, but agreed to hold her decision to review additional information on the claims.

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Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

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Chancery Ruling Holds Authorized Share Takeaways For Cos.

The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent ruling in Salama v. Simon resolved statutory ambiguity in favor of boards seeking authorized share increases, and has important implications for litigators presenting extrinsic evidence in support of contract or statutory interpretation arguments, says Robin Wechkin at Sidley.

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Analysis

Presidents v. Courts: Lincoln, Trump & Judicial Power Limits

By Jeff Overley

Amid fears of President Donald Trump disobeying judges with impunity, debate has focused on famous instances of officials defying the U.S. Supreme Court. But some of the clearest insights into America's handling of White House disregard for courts exist in relatively obscure cases from the Civil War era, when unprecedented presidential actions provoked extraordinary responses from the judiciary — and underscored the limits of its powers.

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NYC Bar Slams Trump's Order On Covington Attys

By Emily Sawicki

The New York City Bar Association has joined the chorus of legal groups decrying President Donald Trump's order suspending security clearances held by Covington & Burling LLP attorneys representing former special counsel Jack Smith, calling it an "improper use of government power."

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Ex-Commerce Official To Chair Gibson Dunn Sanctions Group

By James Mills

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is creating a new sanctions and export enforcement practice group and bringing in a former U.S. Commerce Department official as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office to lead it.

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Ex-White House Cyber Pro Joins Sidley As DC Privacy Partner

By Tracey Read

The former chief of staff at the White House Office of the National Cyber Director has returned to the private sector as a Sidley Austin LLP privacy and cybersecurity practice partner in Washington, the firm said Thursday.

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WH Appeals After Watchdog Chief Is Permanently Reinstalled

By Ali Sullivan

A D.C. federal judge ruled Saturday that President Donald Trump's firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel was illegal, finding that the federal employment watchdog can only be ousted for cause.

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Dems Claim DOJ Atty's 'Quid Pro Quo' Violated Ethics Rules

By Dorothy Atkins

Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee senior members lodged ethics complaints against acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, accusing the recently appointed Bove of violating ethics rules by allegedly pushing prosecutors to drop criminal bribery charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a "quid pro quo" deal with President Donald Trump.

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Roc Nation Aims To Get Out Of Buzbee Conspiracy Suit

By Ryan Boysen

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation has asked a Texas federal court to let it exit a lawsuit that claims Roc Nation conspired to "finance" malpractice suits against attorney Tony Buzbee in retaliation for an abortive lawsuit Buzbee filed accusing the rap star of rape.

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GOP Rep. Reintroduces The JUDGES Act

By Courtney Bublé

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee's courts panel has reintroduced a bill to create 66 new and temporary federal judgeships, which former President Joe Biden vetoed at the end of last year.

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Up Next At High Court: Gun Violence Liability & Nuclear Waste

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Monday to consider Mexico's attempt to hold gun manufacturers and distributors liable for cartel-related gun violence and a nuclear waste site dispute that could determine who can challenge future agency actions.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

While many companies are removing diversity language from their public websites, a new survey shows that about half of its respondents do not plan on changing their DEI programs. And the general counsel for the new Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy golf league talked about his love of the sport and the legal work involved in the new venture.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen the billionaire Zakay brothers, founders of Topland Group, become embroiled in a legal dispute with each other, Unilever sue three major perfume companies over alleged illegal price-fixing, and the publisher of Vogue magazine file an intellectual property suit against Cornucopia Events. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP and Kontnik Cohen LLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court held that cases dismissed voluntarily can later be eligible for special judicial relief and reopening, even if a statute of limitations would typically block the lawsuit.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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