FDIC Must Face Some Of SVB Ex-Parent's Claims In $1.9B Suit

By Clara Geoghegan

A California federal judge has pared down a lawsuit looking to force financial regulators that stepped in after the high-profile collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to return some $1.9 billion in frozen deposits to the bank's former operator as part of a multipronged effort to recover the funds.

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Judge Isn't Seeing 'Good Faith' Compliance In Probiotic Feud

By Andrew Karpan

A Maryland federal judge said Monday that a drug company is, yet again, failing to make "good faith substantial compliance" with the terms of an injunction that followed a $15 million jury verdict in a dispute over a proprietary probiotic formula.

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DOJ, AGs Back Block Of ESPN Sport Streaming JV At 2nd Circ.

By Bryan Koenig

The Justice Department and a group of Democratic state attorneys general are backing a lower court injunction against a sports-only streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, telling the Second Circuit the sports giants can't claim they have a right to refuse dealing with rivals after joining forces.

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Metropolitan Commercial Bank Aided Voyager Fraud, Suit Says

By Sarah Jarvis

Voyager Digital's former bank, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, has been hit with a 53-count complaint in New York federal court alleging it was complicit in bad behavior by the now-defunct crypto lender and should be on the hook for repaying platform users.

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Trial Begins In Trader Joe's Vendor's Fight With Poultry Supplier

By Rachel Riley

Employees of a poultry producer cracked vulgar jokes about the quality of the meat while packaging raw chicken tainted with bone fragments, a Washington-state grocery store vendor told a federal jury on Monday, blaming the meatpacker for the demise of the Chili Lime Chicken Burgers previously made exclusively for Trader Joe's.

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Monsanto PCB Jury Is Told Cancer Link Isn't Solid

By Cara Salvatore

A longtime Monsanto PCB expert told a Washington state court jury Monday that there is no solid evidence that the once-ubiquitous chemicals cause cancer in humans, saying "a cancer death here, a cancer death there" isn't conclusive.

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Pool Co. Says Rival CEO Fled To China To Duck Paying $16M

By Hayley Fowler

A bankrupt Chinese pool parts supplier has been accused by an American competitor of going to great lengths to skirt a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment in continued violation of court orders, including allegedly funneling assets and allowing its owner to flee to China.

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Newsom Wants $25M For Expected Legal Fights With Trump

By Craig Clough

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he wants up to $25 million for litigation and legal fights he foresees with the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, kicking off the first day of a special session the state Legislature held at the governor's request after Trump's win.

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'Pull The Plug': Broadband Program Wasteful, GOP Sen. Says

By Christopher Cole

The government's $42.5 billion program to deploy broadband to underserved locations throughout the U.S. should be stopped because it's wasting money hand over fist, according to a Republican senator.

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Analysis

SEC Crypto Cases To Face Review Under Trump

By Aislinn Keely

President-elect Donald Trump's promises of a friendlier approach to the digital asset industry means a review is coming for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial crypto suits, but experts agreed that this doesn't mean enforcement actions in the space will grind to a halt.

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Gov't Owned Broadband Often Fails, Report Says

By Christopher Cole

A new report from an industry-backed think tank skewers government-owned broadband networks for purportedly relying on public resources to survive but operating inefficiently and competing unfairly against private internet service providers.

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EPA Pitches Partial Ban On Food Crop Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

By Gina Kim

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it is proposing a rule to revoke tolerances over the use of chlorpyrifos on foods, a year after the Eighth Circuit said the agency hurriedly instituted a ban and didn't fulsomely consider the possibility of allowing some beneficial uses to continue.

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CFPB Pitches Plan For Tighter Regulation Of Data Brokers

By Jon Hill

In a late push before the Biden administration's end, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved Tuesday to clamp down on the so-called data broker industry with a new draft rule that pivots off existing credit reporting protections for consumers.  

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Bipartisan Bill Calls For AI Studies From Financial Regulators

By Aislinn Keely

Leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee want to codify their commitment to regulating and cultivating the use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry with legislation introduced Monday that directs financial and housing regulators to produce reports on the use of AI in their respective sectors.

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Brief

FCC Chair Makes Last-Ditch Plea For 'Rip And Replace'

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's chief called on key lawmakers to act soon to fund a program for securing telecom network equipment that faces a $3.08 billion shortage.

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GoodRx Inks $25M Deal With Users Over Alleged Data-Sharing

By Craig Clough

A proposed class alleging GoodRx breached privacy laws by sharing users' sensitive health data with advertisers asked a California federal judge Friday for preliminary approval of a proposed $25 million settlement with the company, saying it still leaves the potential for additional recoveries from co-defendants Meta Platforms, Google and Criteo Corp.

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Bankrupt Dental Co. To Repay Customers $4.8M, NY AG Says

By Elliot Weld

Dental telehealth company SmileDirectClub has agreed to pay $4.8 million in refunds to customers who were improperly charged after the company went bankrupt and shut down in 2023, according to a settlement announced Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

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Heritage's $10M Generic Drugs Deal With AGs Gets 1st OK

By Ryan Harroff

A Connecticut federal judge gave his initial approval on Monday to Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s $10 million settlement agreement with state attorneys general to resolve allegations it took part in an anticompetitive, price-fixing scheme focused on generic drugs.

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Fla. Tribe Sues Eli Lilly, CVS, Others Over Insulin Price-Fixing

By David Minsky

The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida is alleging drugmakers like Eli Lilly & Co. and pharmacy benefit managers like CVS illegally conspired to limit competition and artificially inflate the price of insulin drugs, according to a new lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

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SEC Taps Former Crypto Chief To Head Litigation Efforts

By Jessica Corso

The former acting chief of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unit in charge of overseeing cybersecurity and cryptocurrency-related cases has been promoted to chief litigation counsel, expanding his oversight authority even as a more crypto-friendly administration is slated to enter the Oval Office in January. 

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Apple, Google Hit With Class Claims Over Casino Apps

By Carla Baranauckas

Apple Inc., Google LLC and several online casino companies are operating an illegal gambling enterprise through "sweepstakes casino" apps and websites, in violation of New Jersey gaming laws, consumer protection statutes and federal racketeering laws, according to proposed class claims.

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X Escapes Former Twitter Security Head's Firing Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge has sent a former Twitter security chief's suit claiming he was fired for protesting massive budget cuts to arbitration, ruling that the claims fail under the provisions of the company's arbitration agreement.

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Google Can't Yet Appeal Ruling Preserving Kids Tracking Suit

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge on Monday declined to let Google immediately appeal his earlier ruling leaving intact allegations the search giant surreptitiously tracks children's web activity, finding Google hasn't shown that the issues underlying that ruling warrant an appeal at this stage in the litigation.

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Porsche Taycan's EV Batteries Are Defective, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Porsche Cars NA Inc. is facing a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over allegations that it failed to disclose or adequately repair a defect in the 800V lithium-ion batteries in its Taycan electric vehicles for the model years 2020-2024.

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Bonus Spotlight

Mid-Law Firm Seward & Kissel Matching Milbank Bonus Scale

By Tracey Read

Seward & Kissel LLP, a Mid-Law firm with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., has joined the bonus bandwagon for associates by matching the year-end and special cash rewards set by Milbank LLP, according to media reports.

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The Top In-House Hires Of November

By Sue Reisinger

Legal department moves in the last month included high-profile announcements at CSX Corp., Cohen & Steers Inc. and Pershing Square Holdings Ltd., including two general counsel joining boards of directors. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house appointments from November.

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Jackson Walker 'Extinguished' Privilege Over Judge Romance

By Lynn LaRowe

An Oregon federal judge has said Holland & Knight LLP lawyers must turn over documents regarding their advice to Jackson Walker LLP on how to handle the "debacle" of a former firm partner's intimate relationship with a former bankruptcy judge, finding Jackson Walker has "utterly extinguished" any claim to attorney-client privilege.

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Analysis

Biden's Pardon Is Another Blow To Special Counsel Probes

By Phillip Bantz

President Joe Biden's pardon of his son over the weekend marks the latest example of a special counsel investigation fizzling and raises doubts over the future use of such probes, which can drag on for years and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

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NC Judge Is 2nd To Reverse Senior Status Plans After Election

By Courtney Bublé

A second federal judge appointed by a Democratic president has reversed his decision to take senior status in the wake of former President Donald Trump's win in the 2024 presidential election.

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Senate Sends Calif. Judge To Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 48-43 on Monday evening to confirm California Superior Court Judge Anne Hwang to a federal judgeship in the Central District of California.

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Girardi Won't Get New Fraud Trial Despite Memory Claims

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Monday denied Tom Girardi's bid for a new trial after a jury found he misappropriated $15 million worth of client settlement funds, standing by a prior assessment that the disbarred attorney was "exaggerating" symptoms of mild cognitive impairment.

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Hagens Berman Sued For Slice Of Atty Fee From Effexor Deal

By Rae Ann Varona

A pharmaceutical reseller's in-house counsel and founder lodged a breach of contract suit against Hagens Berman in Mississippi federal court, accusing the law firm of refusing to pay him his share of a $13 million attorney fees award stemming from an antitrust class settlement with Pfizer Inc. unit Wyeth.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Who Killed Wife Faces Depo Over Settlement

By Jack Karp

Former Fisher Phillips partner Claud "Tex" McIver, who is serving a prison sentence for killing his wife, is set to be deposed as soon as Tuesday as part of the legal battle in Georgia state court over who is entitled to the settlement of the wrongful death suit brought by his wife's estate.

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