Attorneys for an ex-NFL player and the former controller for his reptile shipping company accused each other of stonewalling, dishonesty and running up litigation costs at a hearing Thursday, where a Colorado state judge largely ignored the lawyers' "speeches" and urged them to confer more meaningfully.
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TOP NEWS

Insults Fly As Attys Beef Over Ex-NFL Player's Sex Abuse Suit

By Thy Vo

Attorneys for an ex-NFL player and the former controller for his reptile shipping company accused each other of stonewalling, dishonesty and running up litigation costs at a hearing Thursday, where a Colorado state judge largely ignored the lawyers' "speeches" and urged them to confer more meaningfully.

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

By Bryan Koenig

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.

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American Airlines Beats Hidden Fees Suit Over Product Sales

By Gina Kim

American Airlines defeated a proposed class action alleging it violated its conditions of carriage by failing to disclose that it gets fees for hawking Allianz Global travel assistance products to customers booking flights, after a Michigan federal judge said Thursday the plaintiff paid Allianz Global, not American Airlines, for the products.

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Brief

X's NYC Office Settles Ex-Janitors' Back Pay Suit

By Elliot Weld

A group of unionized janitors who used to work in the New York City offices of social media company X have settled a suit alleging the company failed to comply with a city law requiring it to keep the janitors on for 90 days after terminating their contract.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Colo. Injury Firm, Insurer End Bad Faith Suit

By Adrian Cruz

Two months after a Colorado personal injury firm and insurer settled a dispute over coverage of litigation costs, the two sides have agreed to dismiss the firm's lawsuit against a former firm attorney accused of trying to steal its entire class action department.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award

By Aaron Keller

The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

Xcel's Silence Led To $2.6M Storm Penalty, Gas Co. Says

By Thy Vo

A natural gas marketing company is suing the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and Xcel Energy in state court to invalidate a nearly $2.6 million penalty for its failure to ship enough gas during a historic 2021 winter storm, alleging Xcel didn't notify it of the regulatory proceedings.

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Oil Co. Can't Get Contract Breach Claim Revived

By Joyce Hanson

A Colorado federal judge on Thursday declined to revive an oil and gas company's lawsuit accusing the American Arbitration Association of improperly terminating a claim the company filed against its investors for nonpayment of arbitration costs, ruling it agreed to the AAA's "rather capacious" rules.

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PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION

Chase Can't Arbitrate Returned-Check Suit, Customers Say

By MJ Koo

Chase Bank customers have urged a federal judge not to let the bank force them to arbitrate a complaint over fees charged on deposited checks that were returned, arguing that they never agreed to an arbitration clause and that the bank failed to prove their consent to arbitration.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Owner Of Ex-Sports Illustrated Publisher Wants Out Of Suit

By Elaine Briseño

The majority owner of Sports Illustrated's onetime publisher is hoping to exit a suit filed by an executive who was fired from the company, arguing he had nothing to do with terminating his employment and defending the denial of a severance package.

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EMPLOYMENT

6th Circ. Is No Help To CSX Worker Fired For Train Death Post

By Ryan Harroff

The Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that a former CSX Transporation Inc. engineer waited too long to try to revive his wrongful termination suit stemming from his firing over an online post he made about a fatal train accident.  

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Au Pair Co. Can't Arbitrate Wage Claims, 1st Circ. Told

By Julie Manganis

A group of former au pairs who say they were underpaid for their work has urged the First Circuit to affirm that Cultural Care can't force them into arbitration in Switzerland, calling the agency's position a delay tactic with no merit.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

Auto Software Co. Cerence's Brass Sued Over Licensing Woes

By Katryna Perera

A shareholder of Cerence Inc. has sued the automobile software company's current and former top brass in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they made misleading and false statements about the company's expected revenue and the types of licensing deals the company was pushing and entering into.

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CANNABIS

Cannabis Co. Can't Snuff $300K Judgment In Contract Row

By Mike Curley

A Washington state appeals court has rejected a bid by cannabis company Royal Concentrates LLC and its owners to throw out a $300,000 judgment against them in a contract dispute with an investment partner, saying any error in the exclusion of a last-minute witness and evidence was harmless.

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Co-Op Employee Gets Win In $450K Hemp Property Fraud Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A farm cooperative employee scored a win in a case accusing a Florida businessman of swindling her out of a nearly $500,000 deposit meant for a hemp processing and growing facility, with a Virginia federal judge saying a criminal investigation into the entrepreneur should follow.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Brief

Investor Signs $897K Settlement Over R. Kelly Show Funding

By Brian Steele

After security and credit agreements for the promotion of a concert series at the Foxwoods Resort Casino headlined by R&B artist R. Kelly fell apart, an investor has signed a roughly $900,000 deal in a Connecticut state court to recover an out-of-state settlement.

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Brief

CEO Firing Case Tied To Mogul Going To Mediation

By Travis Bland

A former chief executive and a European IT company tied to convicted mogul Greg Lindberg will head to mediation as part of a back-and-forth case involving allegations of firing without warning and spending company money on women's lingerie.

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PEOPLE

Ex-Venable Trusts And Estates Partner Joins Stradling In LA

By Adrian Cruz

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth PC announced that it launched a trusts and estates practice with the hiring of an experienced Los Angeles-based partner from Venable LLP.

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Womble Bond Adds Finance Atty With Latin America Focus

By Andrea Keckley

Womble Bond Dickinson's growing New York office is welcoming a capital markets and structured finance attorney after his more than 10 years with Hogan Lovells, most recently in Brazil.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

2 Rulings Serve As Conversion Fee Warnings For Banks

A comparison of the different outcomes in Wright v. Capital One in a Virginia federal court, and in Guerrero v. Bank of America in a North Carolina federal court, highlights how banks must be careful in describing how currency exchange fees and charges are determined in their customer agreements, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

BCLP Seeks Merger Partner As Departures Continue

By Aebra Coe

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP's headcount has declined by more than 20% since the law firm's seminal combination, according to firm data, with a surge of lateral departures this spring and summer. Sources have told Law360 Pulse that firm leaders are currently seeking a merger partner.

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Several State Courts Impacted By Global Tech Outage

By Sarah Martinson

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

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DOJ Seeks Probe Of Conflicts In Ex-Fed. Judge's Cases

By Jack Karp

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked its internal watchdog to look into why federal prosecutors kept quiet about the fact that they allegedly knew now-resigned Alaska federal Judge Joshua Kindred had inappropriate relationships with several attorneys appearing before him, the DOJ confirmed to Law360 Friday.

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NASCAR Names New General Counsel Amid Shake-Up

By Sue Reisinger

NASCAR Holdings' has named a new general counsel and a new deputy general counsel and head of privacy to fill out the team of chief legal officer Amanda Oliver.

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Calif. Bar Backs Creating New Virtual Bar Exam To Cut Costs

By Hailey Konnath

The State Bar of California's Board of Trustees has signed off on plans to negotiate a potentially $8 million, five-year deal with Kaplan North America LLC to replace the Multistate Bar Exam with its own state exam that could be taken remotely, according to a statement issued Friday.

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Kavanaugh Murder-Attempt Suspect Set To Face Trial

By Rae Ann Varona

A man charged with attempting to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has failed to reach a plea deal after nearly two years of negotiations, setting his case up for trial in Maryland federal court, federal prosecutors said Friday.

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2nd Circ. Upholds Ax Of Ex-Ropes & Gray Clerk's Bar Exam Suit

By Ryan Boysen

A former Ropes & Gray LLP attorney who was fired after twice failing the New York bar exam can't sue the state agency that administers the test for failing to accommodate her disabilities, the Second Circuit ruled Friday, finding the agency is protected by sovereign immunity.

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Apple Wants Litigation Funder To Explain Role In Patent Row

By Rose Krebs

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.

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NYC Bar OKs Attys' Financial Stakes In Alternative Biz Entities

By Andrea Keckley

A new ethics committee report says a New York City lawyer may hold a financial interest in alternative business structures in jurisdictions that let them provide legal services, provided the lawyer is merely a financial investor, not practicing law through the entity.

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Judge Recuses As Tech Firm Slams Dow Chemical's Request

By Ryan Harroff

An Ohio federal judge has recused himself from a trade secrets case brought against Dow Chemical Co. after the technology firm that sued it showed the court a settlement offer without approval that would grant Dow Chemical's recusal motion, which the tech firm said was a "cavalier approach to a drastic remedy."

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Class Seeks $1.5B Settlement In Payday Loan Dispute

By Crystal Owens

A class of borrowers has urged a Virginia federal court to approve what would be the largest settlement ever obtained in a challenge to participants in the tribal lending industry, arguing that the agreement would give significant relief to hundreds of thousands in the form of debt cancellations and cash payments.

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Law Profs Throw Flag On NFL's 'Unconscionable' Arbitration

By David Steele

Allowing the NFL's arbitration system, with commissioner Roger Goodell as the arbitrator, to prevail in Brian Flores' discrimination dispute with the league is "unconscionable" and "egregious," a dozen law professors have told the Second Circuit in an amicus brief supporting the former Miami Dolphins head coach.

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

By Rachel Rippetoe

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.

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'Texit' Atty Sues State Rep., Judge Over Defamation Fees

By Catherine Marfin

A civil rights attorney who has represented the group behind the "Texit" movement filed a lawsuit against a state representative and court officials in a North Texas county, accusing the group of colluding to run up attorney fees against him in a defamation case connected to the pro-Texas-secession group.

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Colo. Federal Judges Point Out Recent High Turnover

By Daniel Ducassi

Colorado's chief federal judge on Friday observed "there has been a lot of turnover" on the bench in the district over the past several years, noting five out of the seven active district court judges were nominated by President Joe Biden. 

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Blanche Law PLLC and Continental PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Florida federal judge tossed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

A kidney care company has asked a federal judge to throw out a former in-house counsel's lawsuit that claims she was fired for raising concerns about violations of federal anti-kickback statutes, and a study showed the world's most extensive public country-by-country tax reporting rules would require 51% of large U.S. multinational corporations to disclose tax arrangements. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen a libel clash between comedian Paul Currie and the Soho Theatre Company over allegations of anti-semitism, technology giant Huawei face a patents claim by Mediatek, Westfield Europe pursue action against Clearpay Finance for contract breaches and tour operating company Carnival hit chartered airline Maleth Aero for significant flight delays. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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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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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Alston & Bird

Baker Donelson

Baker McKenzie

Benanti & Associates

Bernstein Litowitz

Blake Cassels

Bodman PLC

Brooks Pierce

Bryan Cave

Clendenen & Shea

Clyde & Co

Continental PLLC

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

Davis Polk

Dentons

Dorsey & Whitney

Eggleston King

Elefterakis Elefterakis

Fieldfisher

Fox Rothschild

Franklin D. Azar & Associates

Freedman Normand

Gibson Dunn

Gowling WLG

Greenberg Traurig

Hahn Loeser

Hilgers Graben

Hogan Lovells

Hogen Adams

Holland & Knight

Howes Percival

Jackson Lewis PC

Jo Anne Simon PC

Jones & Keller

Jones Day

Kakalec Law

Kelly Guzzo

Kienbaum Hardy

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Loeb & Loeb

McCarthy Tetrault

Mishcon de Reya

Morgan Lewis

Morris Nichols

Morrison Foerster

Munger Tolles

Musick Peeler

Nelson Mullins

Nichols Kaster

Norton Rose

Osborne Clarke

Paul Hastings

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pirkey Barber

Polsinelli PC

Quinn Emanuel

Richards Layton

Rigrodsky Law

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Rosenberg Fortuna

Rukin Hyland

Rutan & Tucker

Seyfarth Shaw

Sidley Austin

Simmons & Simmons

Siri & Glimstad

Smith & Downey

Spencer Fane

Stein & Vargas

Stradling Yocca

Sullivan & Cromwell

Sweet James LLP

Thompson Hine

Troutman Pepper

Vann Attorneys

Venable LLP

Ward Hadaway

Washington & Washington

Weil Gotshal

Weiner Brodsky

Wheeler Trigg

Wigdor LLP

Williams Mullen

Womble Bond

Wright Hassall

gunnercooke LLP

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AXA SA

Adobe Inc.

Aegon NV

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Arbitration Association

Apple Inc.

Authentic Brands Group LLC

Aviva SA

Bank of America Corp.

Boston University

CSX Corp.

Carnival Corp. & PLC

Cerence Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Colorado Bar Association

Comerica Inc.

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.

Denver Broncos Football Club

Dow Inc.

EMI Group Ltd.

Epic Games Inc.

Equifax Inc.

Foxwoods Resort Casino

Google LLC

Houston Texans

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

Leo Burnett Worldwide Inc.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Loyola University New Orleans

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC

Miami Dolphins

Microsoft Corp.

Morningstar, Inc.

NASDAQ Inc.

NFL Enterprises LLC

Nascar Digital Media LLC

National Hockey League

New York City Bar Association

New York Football Giants Inc.

New York University

Omni Bridgeway Ltd.

Panoramic Health

Purdue Pharma LP

SolarWinds Corp.

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd.

State Bar of California

Symmetry Energy Solutions LLC

Syngenta AG

The Tennessee Titans

The Weather Co.

Twitter Inc.

Union Pacific Corp.

University of Southern California

Valeo Partners LLC

Vodafone Group PLC

Volkswagen AG

Walmart Inc.

Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

Xcel Energy Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Colorado Public Utilities Commission

Companies House

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

European Union

Federal Bureau of Investigation

HM Revenue & Customs

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

New York Attorney General's Office

Supreme Court of Nevada

Texas Legislature

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of State

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio