Transportation

  • August 22, 2024

    HVAC Co. Can't Upend $3.4M Verdict In Tire Crash Suit

    A New Jersey appeals court on Thursday upheld a $3.4 million verdict for a driver who was injured when a tire came loose from an HVAC company's truck and struck his car, saying the trial court wasn't wrong to instruct the jury that the company had the burden of showing the driver's injuries stemmed from another, later accident.

  • August 22, 2024

    Smuggling Suspect Arrested Over '22 Migrant Deaths In Texas

    A Guatemalan national was arrested Wednesday in his home country at U.S. officials' request for his alleged role in a human smuggling operation blamed for the deaths of 53 migrants who were found in a tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

  • August 22, 2024

    State Farm Can't Slash Fraud Suit, Even On The Merits

    An Illinois federal judge has stuck to her decision not to let State Farm significantly cut down a proposed class action targeting an allegedly unlawful totaled-vehicle valuation formula, even while acknowledging she should have considered the merits of State Farm's arguments.

  • August 22, 2024

    California Fires Back At Red State Attacks On Climate Torts

    California and a contingent of blue states told the U.S. Supreme Court that their climate change torts against fossil fuel companies are on solid legal ground and that an effort by Alabama and other red states to undercut them must be rejected.

  • August 22, 2024

    Flyers Chided For Late Bid To Block Alaska-Hawaiian Deal

    A Hawaii federal judge refused to pause the planned $1.9 billion tie-up between Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines on Wednesday, telling attorneys for the passengers and travel agents bringing a merger challenge that they appear to have "forgotten" the case was tossed.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ex-Delta Attendant Can't Revive Rape Suit, Split 1st Circ. Says

    A divided panel of the First Circuit has affirmed a summary judgment win for Delta Air Lines in a suit brought in Massachusetts by a former flight attendant who claimed the airline botched its investigation into her allegations that she was raped by a pilot.

  • August 22, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Saudi Fund, Disney-Reliance, Repligen

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund wants to launch a new cargo airline, India’s antitrust regulators worry about power over cricket rights if the $8.5 billion merger of Walt Disney’s Indian business with Reliance Entertainment is allowed, and drug manufacturing provider Repligen is eyeing Maravai LifeSciences. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • August 22, 2024

    Latham-Led Carlyle Scooping Auto Parts Distributor For $1.5B

    Advance Auto Parts said Thursday it has struck an agreement to sell Worldpac Inc., an automotive parts wholesale distribution business, to private equity firm Carlyle for $1.5 billion, as the company looks to streamline operations amid declining profits. 

  • August 21, 2024

    Lion Air Families Want Full 7th Circ. To Hear Boeing Case

    The last two estates pursuing claims over 2018's Lion Air crash argued Wednesday that the full Seventh Circuit should rehear their bid for jury trial damages relating to injuries the victims experienced over land because their initial panel applied the governing law in a way that was never intended.

  • August 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Upholds Toss Of Suit Over Car Insurer's Data Breach

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a proposed class action accusing auto insurance provider Noblr Reciprocal Exchange of failing to safeguard driver's license numbers exposed in a 2021 data breach, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to credibly allege that their data had actually been stolen. 

  • August 21, 2024

    Northern Trust's $2.5M Deal Approved In AutoZone 401(k) Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday granted preliminary approval to a $2.5 million deal to end class claims from participants in AutoZone's 401(k) employee plan who alleged Northern Trust shirked its duties as their 401(k)'s investment adviser.

  • August 21, 2024

    Alaska Air Seeks Clarification In Rogue Pilot Case

    Alaska Airlines has urged a Washington state judge to clear up his decision to partially dismiss a lawsuit alleging an off-duty crew member tried to crash a flight in October, saying the ruling doesn't clearly state the passengers suing the company can no longer pursue claims rooted in federal aviation safety regulations.

  • August 21, 2024

    Split 6th Circ. Partly Revives GM Drivers' Truck Emissions Suits

    A divided Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday revived drivers' state-law claims in consolidated litigation alleging General Motors deceptively marketed Chevrolet Silverado and Sierra vehicles as being more environmentally friendly than they actually were, rejecting a district court's finding that the claims conflicted with federal law.

  • August 21, 2024

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Wrinkle In Textile Family's $17M Fight

    The fate of a $17 million trust battled over by its trustees and Atrium Health, as well as attorney fees in a $1.1 million data breach settlement were cemented by the North Carolina Business Court in the first half of August. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.

  • August 21, 2024

    Car Buyers Say Claims Are Tolled Because GM Hid Defects

    A proposed class of car buyers is urging a Michigan federal court not to dismiss their suit claiming General Motors sold vehicles with defective transmissions, saying the automaker hid the defect, so they couldn't have discovered it until recently.

  • August 21, 2024

    Boeing Seeks Chancery Bar To Early Books Suit Depositions

    The Boeing Co. has asked a Chancery Court magistrate to shoot down a stockholder push for an order requiring early-stage depositions of company officials in support of a recent books and records suit, saying it's a new litigation pressure tactic.

  • August 21, 2024

    Judge Says Debtor Plan Will Get Hearing In Eletson Ch. 11

    A New York bankruptcy judge Wednesday said he will give a hearing to all three Chapter 11 plans proposed for shipping company Eletson Holdings, rejecting arguments that the creditor voting results spell the end of Eletson's proposal.

  • August 20, 2024

    Feds Say Chevron Doesn't Change Auto Standards Litigation

    The federal government told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion axing federal agency deference doesn't aid Republican-led states' and industry's attempt to undermine tighter greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

  • August 20, 2024

    USDOT Floats Vehicle-To-Everything Deployment Plan

    The U.S. Department of Transportation is setting out an aspirational timeline for vehicle-to-everything infrastructure deployment, saying it wants to see the technology deployed on 50% of the nation's highways by 2031.

  • August 20, 2024

    NJ County, Bus Co. Will Pay $26M To Settle Crash Injury Suit

    A southern New Jersey county and a charter bus company have agreed to pay a combined $25.75 million to resolve a lawsuit brought by the family of a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a county bus, according to an announcement Monday.

  • August 20, 2024

    Fla. Jury Awards Motorcyclist $8.5M After Box Truck Crash

    A Florida state court jury awarded a motorcyclist $8.5 million for medical expenses in a lawsuit she brought against the driver of a box truck following a 2022 crash that left her with a mangled leg.

  • August 20, 2024

    6th Circ. Refuses To Force Arbitration In ERISA Suit

    The Sixth Circuit refused Tuesday to let two auto part companies compel individual arbitration in a lawsuit alleging they allowed their employee retirement plan to be loaded with shoddy investment options, ruling that enforcing the pact would prevent workers from seeking planwide remedies allowed by benefits law.

  • August 20, 2024

    At-Fault Driver Must Repay $4M Policy Limit, Insurer Says

    An insurer is seeking reimbursement of a $4 million policy limit it contributed to a $10 million settlement in connection with separate, underlying personal injury lawsuits stemming from a car accident, telling a Georgia federal court the at-fault driver entered an agreement admitting liability for the accident.

  • August 20, 2024

    Boat-Maker Sued Over Anchor Issue Stranding Owner

    A Tennessee boat-maker, Malibu Boats Inc., was hit with a proposed class action claiming its anchor systems are poorly designed, causing one boater to become stranded and require rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard.

  • August 20, 2024

    Utah Tells Justices Feds Must Relinquish Land In State

    The federal government is unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in Utah, and the state is missing out on economic and development opportunities that are rightfully its own, it told the U.S. Supreme Court in a proposed lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Justices Clarify FAA But Leave Behind Important Questions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last month in Bissonnette v. LePage firmly shuts the door on any argument that the Federal Arbitration Act's Section 1 exemption is limited to transportation workers whose employers transport goods on behalf of others, but two major issues remain unresolved, say Joshua Wesneski and Crystal Weeks at Weil.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • Best Practices For Space Security In Our Connected World

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    NASA's recently published space security guide is another indication that cyber-resilience has become a global theme for the space and satellite sector, as well as a useful reference for companies and organizations reviewing their cybersecurity frameworks or looking to partner with the U.S. agency, says Hayley Blyth at Bird & Bird.

  • A Recipe For Growth Equity Investing In A Slow M&A Market

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    Carl Marcellino at Ropes & Gray discusses the factors bolstering appetite for growth equity fundraising in a depressed M&A market, and walks through the deal terms and other ingredients that set growth equity transactions apart from bread-and-butter venture capital investing.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

  • Notable Q1 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss notable insurance class action decisions from the first quarter of the year ranging from salvage vehicle titling to rate discrimination based on premium-setting software.

  • Manufacturers Should Pay Attention To 'Right-To-Repair' Laws

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    Oregon’s recently passed "right-to-repair" statute highlights that the R2R movement is not going away, and that manufacturers of all kinds need to be paying attention to the evolving list of R2R statutes in various states and consider participating in the process, says Courtney Sarnow at Culhane.

  • How Cos. Can Comply With New PFAS Superfund Rule

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous substances" under the Superfund law will likely trigger additional enforcement and litigation at sites across the country — so companies should evaluate any associated reporting obligations and liability risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Ill. Justices' Ruling Answers Corporate Defamation Questions

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's recent unanimous decision in Project44 v. FourKites provides needed certainty and direction for lower courts considering defamation cases involving communications to corporate officers from third parties outside the corporation, which could result in fewer unwarranted motions to dismiss in trial courts and nonmeritorious appeals, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.

  • As Arbitrator Bias Claims Rise, Disclosure Standards Evolve

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    The growth in post-award challenges based on arbitrators' alleged conflicts of interest has led to the release of new guidance and new case law on the topic — both supporting the view that professional familiarity alone does not translate to a lack of impartiality, say attorneys at Skadden.

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