Transportation

  • September 18, 2024

    VW Can't Nix $4.7M Mechanic's Brake Pad Asbestos Verdict

    A Washington state appeals court has refused to throw out a $4.7 million verdict in favor of the estate of a mechanic who died of mesothelioma he claimed he contracted from asbestos in Volkswagen AG's brake pads, rejecting the automaker's arguments that the evidence didn't support the verdict or that the jury instructions were wrong.

  • September 18, 2024

    Cleanup Worker Wants Full 5th Circ. To Review BP Spill Suit

    A worker who alleges that he was exposed to toxic substances while cleaning up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 is urging the full Fifth Circuit to review a decision to dismiss his case, saying the panel that upheld the dismissal misconstrued precedent in finding that he needed to show that the discovery he sought was enough to defeat summary judgment.

  • September 18, 2024

    Mexican Parts Maker Rehires Worker To End USMCA Probe

    A Mexican parts manufacturer rehired a worker fired allegedly for conducting union activities and agreed to train its workforce on collective bargaining rights to end an investigation under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement into claims that the plant violated workers' organizing rights, the U.S. Trade Representative has announced.

  • September 18, 2024

    House Panel Easily Passes Mandate For AM Radio In Cars

    Congress has inched closer to passing a mandate on the auto industry to keep putting AM radio devices in cars, with a key House committee overwhelmingly approving the bipartisan bill Wednesday and brushing past some lawmakers' concerns about over-regulation.

  • September 18, 2024

    DOJ Says Ship Is Liable For $100M In Baltimore Bridge Collapse

    The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to recover $100 million from the owner and the manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, alleging gross negligence on their part killed six people and destroyed a vital transportation corridor.

  • September 18, 2024

    SF Says Oakland Airport Name Change Is 'Copycat Branding'

    San Francisco officials are urging a California federal court to block Oakland's attempt to incorporate "San Francisco Bay" into its airport name, accusing Oakland of "adopting a copycat brand" to attract more travelers.

  • September 18, 2024

    Treasury Floats Tax Credit Regs For EV Charging Property

    The U.S. Treasury Department proposed regulations Wednesday to define which electric vehicle charging ports, hydrogen fueling stations and other infrastructure that businesses, people and tax-exempt entities can build in underserved communities to qualify for a tax credit of up to 30% of installation costs.

  • September 18, 2024

    Chicago Slams Airline Group's Suit Against Sick Leave Law

    Chicago's recently enacted paid sick leave law doesn't clash with federal law because it doesn't affect airlines' prices or routes, the city said, urging an Illinois federal judge to toss a trade group's challenge to the ordinance.

  • September 18, 2024

    Car Dealership Strikes Deal To End EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    A Maryland car dealership agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it demoted and ultimately fired an employee because she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a motorcycle crash, according to a federal court order.

  • September 17, 2024

    EV Maker Lucid Illegally Fired Union Backers, Judge Finds

    An Arizona federal judge has granted a National Labor Relations Board official's petition for an injunction against electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors, ordering the company to rehire two workers who were fired amid a United Auto Workers organizing campaign and to take other actions to remedy unfair labor practices.

  • September 17, 2024

    Wheel Pros Floats $30M Ch. 11 Sale Of Its 4WP Unit

    Bankrupt automotive wheel company Wheel Pros LLC asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to bless a private $30 million sale of its recently acquired 4WP retail unit to a subsidiary of Australia's ARB Corp., a move that would bypass the usual Chapter 11 auction.

  • September 17, 2024

    Allstate Freed From Texas Auto Insurance Class Action

    A Texas federal judge handed Allstate a win in a proposed class action over allegedly discriminatory auto insurance premium rates, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendations that the class not be certified and that the insurer be freed from the suit before trial.

  • September 17, 2024

    Ford Barred From Using InterMotive Mark After $13M Verdict

    A Michigan federal judge permanently barred Ford Motor Co. from using the name of a California tech company's vehicle control module, following last year's jury award of more than $13 million to the tech maker for infringement by Ford.

  • September 17, 2024

    UAW Says Stellantis Reneging On Deal To Reopen Ill. Plant

    Automaker Stellantis is failing to live up to a promise it made in its last contract with the United Auto Workers to reopen an idled plant in Illinois, the union said Monday.

  • September 17, 2024

    DOT Clears $1.9B Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines Combo For Takeoff

    Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines intend to close their $1.9 billion merger within days as the U.S. Department of Transportation greenlit the deal Tuesday after convincing the companies to agree to conditions meant to protect travelers, rural communities and competition in the market.

  • September 17, 2024

    VivoPower Plots $1.13B Merger After Unit's SPAC Deal Closes

    Sustainable energy solutions company VivoPower and hydrogen technology company FAST are mulling a combination valuing the pair at $1.13 billion, in a potential deal that would follow the departure of VivoPower's electric utility vehicle subsidiary through a special purpose acquisition company merger.

  • September 17, 2024

    GC Base Salaries At Big Companies On The Rise

    General counsel base salaries at companies making $5 billion or more in revenue has increased from last year, while their total compensation has decreased, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Empsight International LLC.

  • September 17, 2024

    Travel Tech Co. Hotel Engine Books $2.1B Valuation

    Hotel Engine announced Tuesday it landed a $2.1 billion valuation in series C financing led by Permira, as the Denver-based business travel technology company looks to expand beyond hotels into flight and rental car bookings.

  • September 17, 2024

    Iveco Poland, Truck Distributors Fined $62M For Collusion

    A Polish antitrust authority has imposed a fine of 238 million Zloty ($62 million) on truck-maker Iveco Poland and 10 distributors of the vehicles for restricting competition for almost a decade by colluding to share the market between them.

  • September 17, 2024

    Drivers Claim Bolt App's 'Full Control' Makes Them Workers

    Drivers for Bolt testified Tuesday that the "full control" exercised by the ride-hailing app over aspects of their job means that they should be classed as workers as they pursue a mass claim against the company at a London employment tribunal. 

  • September 17, 2024

    Dutch Bike Maker Proves Rival's 'Fat Bike' Infringes Its Design

    A bicycle company has persuaded a Dutch court to prevent its rival from selling its "fat bikes" in the European Union, proving that the wide-tired mount infringes its design rights over a similar bicycle.

  • September 16, 2024

    Icahn Enterprises Beats Investor Suit Over Dividend Program

    Icahn Enterprises has beaten a proposed investor class action accusing it of propping up its stock price with unsustainably high dividends in order to support founder Carl Icahn's loans and financial interests, with a Florida federal judge saying the plaintiffs hadn't shown any misstatements the company made about the "true motivation" for its dividend program.

  • September 16, 2024

    Why A Tactic In The Youth Climate Change Battle Is Risky

    Young people suing the federal government for sweeping changes to climate policy are trying a new tactic, filing a mandamus petition in the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to get their case to trial. But some lawyers are worried the tactic may backfire, limiting the opportunity for others to use the courts to wage climate battles, experts told Law360. 

  • September 16, 2024

    Aviation Workers Say Volato Fired Workforce Without Notice

    Former employees of aviation company Volato Inc. filed a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging that 233 employees, nearly all the workers at a St. Augustine facility, were laid off without required advanced notice.

  • September 16, 2024

    Jet Fuel Tax Could Raise Almost £6B A Year, Report Says

    HM Treasury could raise up to £5.9 billion ($7.8 billion) a year by imposing tax on jet fuel to match the duty paid by motorists, according to a think tank report published Monday.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurer Quota-Sharing Lessons From $112M Bad Faith Verdict

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    In Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, an Indiana federal jury recently issued a landmark $112 million bad faith verdict, illustrating why insurers must understand the interplay between bad faith law and quota-sharing before entering into these relatively new arrangements, say Jason Reichlyn and Christopher Sakauye at Dykema. 

  • Insurance Types That May Help Cos. After Key Bridge Collapse

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    Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, businesses that depend on the bridge, the Port of Baltimore and related infrastructure for shipment and distribution of cargo should understand which common types of first-party insurance coverage may provide recoveries for financial losses, say Bert Wells and Richard Lewis at Reed Smith.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark

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    Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Unwitting Disclosure, Agency Deference

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    Roke Iko at MoFo examines two U.S. Court of Federal Claims decisions highlighting factors to consider before filing a protest alleging Procurement Integrity Act violations, and a decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the capacity of an agency to interpret its own solicitation terms.

  • Global Bribery Probes Are Complicating FCPA Compliance

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    The recent rise in collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and foreign authorities in bribery enforcement can not only affect companies' legal exposure as resolution approaches vary by country, but also the decision of when and whether to disclose Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to the DOJ, say Samantha Badlam and Catherine Conroy at Ropes & Gray.

  • Airlines Must Prepare For State AG Investigations

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    A recent agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and 18 states and territories will allow attorneys general to investigate consumer complaints against commercial passenger airlines — so carriers must be ready for heightened scrutiny and possibly inconsistent enforcement, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • What A Louisiana Ruling Means For Pipeline Crossings

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    After a Louisiana appeals court's recent ruling on a conflict between two pipeline projects, operators and developers should review pipeline crossings to ensure that they occur at safe distances — and keep in mind the value of crossing agreements for protecting both sides in case of a dispute, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • 4 Sectors Will Likely Bear Initial Brunt Of FTC 'Junk Fees' Rule

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    If the Federal Trade Commission adopts its comprehensive proposed rule to ban unfair or deceptive fees across the U.S. economy, many businesses — including those in the lodging, event ticketing, dining and transportation sectors — will need to reexamine the way they market and price their products and services, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Rebuttal

    Time For Congress To Let Qualified Older Pilots Keep Flying

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    While a previous Law360 guest article affirmed the current law requiring airline pilots to retire at age 65, the facts suggest that the pilots, their unions, the airlines and the flying public will all benefit if Congress allows experienced, medically qualified aviators to stay in the cockpit, say Allen Baker and Bo Ellis at Let Experienced Pilots Fly.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

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