Analysis

Trump Admin Cuts Raise Trade Secret Security Concerns

By Ivan Moreno

As the Trump administration reduces the size of the federal government, intellectual property attorneys are expressing concerns about the continued safeguarding of trade secrets that companies are required to disclose to certain agencies.

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CFPB Endgame Is Just 'Five Men And A Phone,' Filings Allege

By Jon Hill

Current and former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees alleged in D.C. federal court filings that the Trump administration is much more aggressively trying to gut the agency than it has let on, warning it has already damaged vital functions.

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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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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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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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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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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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SEC, Ex-Silvergate CFO Trade Shots Over Enforcement Case

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday urged a New York federal court not to throw out its claims that the former chief financial officer of defunct crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital concealed the bank's rocky financial position, saying that the executive is mischaracterizing its claims.

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CFPB Won't Drop MoneyLion Suit Despite Agency Shake-Up

By Dorothy Atkins

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau told a New York federal judge Friday that the agency plans to continue pursuing its lawsuit against MoneyLion Technologies Inc. under Trump-appointed leadership despite uncertainty about the agency's future and the CFPB's recent decisions to drop other actions due to the Trump administration's policy shake-up.

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T-Mobile Touts Broadband Benefits Of US Cellular Deal

By Nadia Dreid

T-Mobile continues to make its case to the Federal Communications Commission in the hopes of earning the agency's blessing on the mobile behemoth's $4.4 billion plan to pick up rival UScellular's wireless business since it holds the key to the transfer of all the latter company's licenses.

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CFPB Drops TransUnion Suit In Enforcement Retreat

By Katryna Perera

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice, a lawsuit against TransUnion alleging deceptive marketing practices, and another suit against 1st Alliance Lending LLC alleging deceptive mortgage lending practices, the latest in a string of enforcement actions the Trump administration has dropped without explanation.

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Brief

NY Man Found Guilty Of $7M Crypto Investment Scheme

By Elliot Weld

A New York man has been found guilty by a California federal jury of 14 counts related to allegations that he stole millions of dollars' worth of investment funds and moved them to sports betting sites located outside the U.S.

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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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La. Regulators Ask Justices To Review Tesla Sales Ban Case

By Matthew Perlman

Louisiana regulators have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review Tesla's case over the state's ban on direct sales by automakers, saying the presence of car dealership owners on a regulatory board does not violate the electric-car company's due process rights.

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9th Circ. Keeps Mass Starz Privacy Arbitration Consolidated

By Allison Grande

The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to allow a consumer whose video privacy arbitration claims against Starz Entertainment LLC have been merged with more than 7,000 similar allegations to break off from the pack, finding that the television network couldn't be blamed for the current "procedural stalemate" in the consolidated arbitration proceedings. 

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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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11th Circ. Asked To Revive Defect Claims In Tesla Crash Suit

By Carolina Bolado

The father of a teenager killed in a Tesla crash asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive his battery defect claims against the electric car maker, arguing that the lower court should have allowed them to go to a jury.

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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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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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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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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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The Current And Future State Of Bank-Fintech Partnerships

Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Donald Trump seems likely to cultivate an environment friendlier to the financial services industry, bank-fintech partnerships should stay devoted to proactive compliance and be ready to adapt to regulatory shifts that may intensify scrutiny from enforcers, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

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Assessing PE Risk After Mass. False Claims Act Amendments

A law recently passed in Massachusetts amends the commonwealth's False Claims Act by dramatically expanding potential liability for private equity firms and investors, underscoring the importance of robust diligence and risk assessments for private equity firms conducting transactions in the commonwealth, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

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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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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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