Conn. Union Says Prison Bureau Axed CBA As Retaliation

By Brian Steele

The Federal Bureau of Prisons violated the constitutional rights of its employees when it unilaterally canceled a collective bargaining agreement in September in an effort to suppress union speech and activities, according to a new lawsuit in Connecticut federal court.

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Customer PFAS Cases Against Conn. Water Cos. Can Proceed

By Brian Steele

Connecticut's utility and public health regulators do not have the authority to grant the relief that customers are seeking through two proposed class actions alleging The Connecticut Water Co. and Aquarion Water Co. sold water contaminated with "forever chemicals," a state court judge ruled in declining to dismiss each case.

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Hartford Wants Ex-Murder Suspect's Civil Rights Suit Tossed

By Elizabeth Daley

The city of Hartford, Connecticut, has urged a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it and its police detectives by a man who was falsely accused of murder, arguing the city cannot be liable for the alleged conduct of its employees and that statutory deadlines weren't met.

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Costco Tequila Buyers Say They Were Misled About Quality

By Hailey Konnath

A group of consumers accused Costco of falsely marketing its Kirkland Signature tequila as pure agave when, in fact, its tequila products feature a "significant presence" of non-agave sugars, according to a proposed class action filed Friday in Washington federal court.

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Purdue's $7.4B Ch. 11 Plan To Be Confirmed

By Vince Sullivan

A New York bankruptcy judge agreed to confirm the $7.4 billion Chapter 11 plan of Purdue Pharma LP on Friday, saying he would issue a formal bench ruling next Tuesday explaining his decision.

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Roundup

Real Estate Recap: Public RMBS Revival?

By Real Estate Authority Staff

Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission veteran's view into how public offerings of residential mortgage-backed securities could return for the first time since financial crisis-era reforms.

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FTC To Make Valvoline, Greenbriar Divest 45 Oil Shops

By Rae Ann Varona

The Federal Trade Commission said Friday that it will require Valvoline Inc. and Greenbriar Equity Group LP to divest 45 quick oil change shops to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding the automotive services company's planned acquisition of Breeze Autocare from the private equity firm for $625 million.

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Analysis

UK Firms Drive Transatlantic Appetite For M&A Dealmaking

By Aebra Coe and Chris Villani

The merger announced Monday between British legal giant Ashurst LLP and American law firm Perkins Coie LLP is the latest in a spate of deals driven, in part, by an appetite among global firms to gain a strong presence in the U.S.

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'Astounding' Holland & Knight Conduct Drives Liability Ruling

By Ryan Boysen

Holland & Knight LLP has forfeited a malpractice lawsuit in Alaska by refusing to turn over information to a Native American tribal corporation, with a state judge entering a default judgment as a sanction and calling the firm's conduct "a head scratcher" and "astounding."

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Brief

ABA Decries Lawmaker Calls For Impeachments Of Judges

By Courtney Bublé

The American Bar Association said on Monday it's "alarmed" by lawmakers' interest in impeaching judges just because they don't like their rulings.

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Judge Orders Grand Jury Docs Released In Comey Case

By Brandon Lowrey

A Virginia federal magistrate judge Monday ordered the disclosure of all grand jury materials related to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, saying government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury proceedings.

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DOJ Backs White House's Military Lawyer Transfers

By Courtney Bublé

A newly released legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice says the Trump administration is allowed to detail military lawyers to serve as immigration judges and special assistant U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia.

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Senator Slams Trump For 'Blowing Up' Wis. US Atty Process

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., accused President Donald Trump on Monday of skirting the process to nominate U.S. attorneys in Wisconsin with his pick of a failed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate for the office that covers Milwaukee.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court and Delaware Supreme Court last week had a dense slate of fiduciary duty battles, merger-process challenges, post-bankruptcy fights and a series of cases probing the limits of fraud pleading, credible-basis inspections and board-level disclosure duties.

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Law School Admission Council Pushes To Toss Antitrust Suit

By Andrea Keckley

The Law School Admission Council is continuing its push to toss a proposed class action accusing it of fixing application fees with its member schools, saying in a Pennsylvania federal court filing last week that the applicant's opposition to its dismissal motion "entirely fails to engage with the incoherence at the core of his case."

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Holyoak Leaves FTC For Interim US Atty In Utah

By Bryan Koenig

Melissa Holyoak left the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to become Utah's interim U.S. attorney, leaving the FTC down to two commissioners, both Republicans, in the Trump administration's latest use of interim U.S. attorney appointments.

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