Jury Awards $175M In Real Estate Trade Secrets Retrial

By José Luis Martínez

A San Antonio jury awarded $175 million to real estate analytics firm HouseCanary Inc. in its claims accusing title company Amrock LLC of misappropriating proprietary appraisal technology and data, nearly eight years after the case culminated in a $706 million verdict that was later overturned.

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Texas AG Gets Temporary Ban On Chest Binder Sales

By Emily Field

A Texas state judge has issued a temporary restraining order against a New York-based online retailer of undergarments and chest binders for young women and teens from selling its clothing in the Lone Star State.

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Roblox Must Face Texas' Child Safety Suit, Judge Rules

By Emily Field

A Texas state judge on Friday said that Roblox can't escape claims brought by the state of Texas that it misled parents about the safety of their children using its popular online game platform.

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Fed. Circ. Wary Of Reviving Patent In $81M Samsung Case

By Ryan Davis

The owner of a standard-essential 5G wireless network patent that a Texas jury said Samsung owes $81 million for infringing got pushback from the Federal Circuit on Monday when it argued the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's invalidation of the patent should be overturned.

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DOJ Official Calls Live Nation Deal Win-Win As AGs Press On

By Bryan Koenig

The Justice Department's midtrial settlement with Live Nation on Monday created an instant rift with more than two dozen state attorneys general who vowed to press forward instead of accepting a deal that requires online ticketing technology to be open-sourced and forces the company to divest control over at least 13 amphitheaters.

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DOJ Deal With Live Nation Throws Antitrust Trial Into Disarray

By Pete Brush

U.S. Department of Justice lawyers told a Manhattan federal judge Monday that the government is settling its claims that Live Nation engaged in unlawful monopolization by tying ticket sales to the use of its venues, throwing an ongoing trial involving dozens of states into an uncertain posture.

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5th Circ. Won't Unwind Class In United Airlines Vax Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Fifth Circuit said Monday that United Airlines can't roll back class certification for workers who brought religious bias claims after opposing the air carrier's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and getting placed on unpaid leave, rejecting concerns that the courts would have to probe the sincerity of each worker's convictions.

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5th Circ. Revives Fraud Case Against Lockheed Martin

By Spencer Brewer

A split Fifth Circuit panel gave a former auditor at Lockheed Martin Corp. another shot at pursuing claims alleging that her erstwhile employer defrauded the government, with the majority ruling Monday that her lawsuit had enough differences from an earlier suit to go forward.

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5th Circ. Says Atty's Flaky Handling Justifies Axing Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A trial court was right to toss a suit from a former correctional facility employee who said he was passed over for promotion because he's Black and was fired when he complained, the Fifth Circuit ruled Monday, faulting his lawyer for ignoring her duty to pursue his case.

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Viridis Chemical Files Ch. 11 Amid Relocation Woes

By Ben Zigterman

Bio-based chemical technology company Viridis has filed for Chapter 11 relief in Texas with more than $17 million in debt, citing cost overruns related to moving its manufacturing plant from Nebraska to Illinois.

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Texas Jury Finds Lyft Owes $1M In Ride-Hailing Patent Case

By Elliot Weld

A Texas federal jury said Lyft owes $1 million to Quartz Auto Technologies, finding the ride-hailing giant was liable for infringing an automobile technology patent.

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Shell Sells Jiffy Lube To Monomoy Capital For $1.3B

By Spencer Brewer

A Shell USA Inc. subsidiary announced Monday that it will sell Jiffy Lube International Inc. to Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led Monomoy Capital Partners in a $1.3 billion deal.

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Bracewell Adds Holland & Knight RE Duo In Dallas

By Lynn LaRowe

Bracewell LLP announced Monday that it has launched a new real estate special situations practice with a pair of partners in Dallas who came aboard from Holland & Knight LLP.

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Baker Botts Adds King & Spalding M&A Whiz In Silicon Valley

By James Mills

Baker Botts LLP continues its California expansion, announcing Tuesday it is adding a King & Spalding LLP corporate attorney as a partner in its Silicon Valley office and as its West Coast mergers and acquisitions chair.

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When MDLs Drag, State Courts Can Speed Mass Tort Results

Understanding the structural dynamics that can delay resolution in multidistrict litigation is essential to understanding why a state court strategy is sometimes not merely attractive, but necessary for plaintiffs seeking timely and just outcomes, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

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Proposed DOL Rule Could Simplify Contractor Classification

If the U.S. Department of Labor's recently proposed rule governing employee versus independent contractor classification is finalized, it would permit energy sector employers to evaluate the nature of the working relationship with a more straightforward and predictable analysis than the 2024 rule's unweighted test, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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Kavanaugh, Jackson Debate High Court Emergency Orders

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back Monday against critiques that the high court is ruling in favor of President Donald Trump in emergency appeals more often than it did for prior presidents, saying people who believe those allegations have "short" memories. 

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Ex-DLA Piper Atty Alleging Rape Can't Remain Anonymous

By Lauren Berg

A former Boston-based DLA Piper associate cannot use a pseudonym to pursue a lawsuit alleging she was raped by one of the firm's former partners, a Massachusetts judge ruled, noting that she already publicly revealed her identity in a related suit against the accused attorney.

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Employment Law Cases Have Rebounded Except For FLSA

By Max Kutner

Employment law cases overall have bounced back from pandemic-era lows, especially discrimination and disability accommodation suits, though a slump has continued for Fair Labor Standards Act claims, according to a report by legal analytics provider Lex Machina.

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NJ US Atty Trio Booted In 2nd Leadership Ouster

By George Woolston

A federal judge on Monday disqualified the three assistant attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, finding the "byzantine" leadership structure is unconstitutional.

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Brief

SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein To Be Sentenced In June

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein, currently under home confinement in Washington, D.C., after a Maryland jury convicted him on tax evasion and mortgage fraud charges, will face sentencing in June.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket last week featured disputes spanning alleged forged board approvals at a telecom startup, evidence-destruction claims tied to WWE's blockbuster merger with UFC and investor scrutiny of a multibillion-dollar deal between Intel and the U.S. government.

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McGuireWoods Beats Sun Pharma's DQ Bid In NJ Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal court has denied Sun Pharmaceutical's bid to disqualify McGuireWoods LLP from representing pharmaceutical company Biofrontera in litigation over the alleged breach of a settlement agreement, ruling the firm's continued representation won't harm Sun Pharmaceutical and will avoid significant harm to Biofrontera.

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Lewis Brisbois Renews Bid To Force Paralegal To Arbitrate

By Adrian Cruz

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP asked a Florida state judge on Friday to have a former paralegal arbitrate her defamation claims that its actions tarnished her reputation and cost her a job at another firm.

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K&L Gates IP Atty Tapped For Wash. Supreme Court Seat

By Rachel Riley

A K&L Gates intellectual property litigator will become the Washington State Supreme Court's first justice of Middle Eastern descent, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said Monday, announcing his pick to replace veteran retiring Justice Barbara Madsen.

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