Transportation

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Gives Plaintiffs' Attys $1M In Fees For Derivative Row

    A Massachusetts federal judge sliced 60% off a request for attorney fees in a shareholder derivative lawsuit Wednesday, awarding plaintiffs' counsel $1 million for their work on the case, which led to a noncash settlement.

  • August 15, 2024

    Semiconductor Co. Challenges 'Chinese Military' Designation

    The U.S. Department of Defense is again catching heat for designating a company as being affiliated with the Chinese armed forces, this time from a semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker that accused the agency of disregarding "incontrovertible evidence" that it is not a Chinese military company.

  • August 15, 2024

    Gas Co. Tells Chancery Texas Settlement Spikes Pipeline Duty

    A settlement and Texas court's direction to vacate an earlier arbitration award has revived an Energy Transfer LP subsidiary's bid to scuttle a Delaware Court of Chancery order requiring it to build costly, high-pressure natural gas pipelines for free.

  • August 15, 2024

    Ford Wants Judge Booted Off Paraplegic's Suit After Podcast

    Ford Motor Co. pushed the North Carolina Court of Appeals to remove state Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener from a product liability suit, arguing the jurist made disparaging remarks about the company after prosecuting a similar suit against the carmaker years ago as a private attorney.

  • August 15, 2024

    Prof Rips DOJ, VW's 9th Circ. Bid To Shield Jones Day Docs

    A Loyola Marymount University professor has urged the Ninth Circuit to shut down the U.S. Department of Justice and Volkswagen AG's relentless "obfuscation" in a long-running dispute over access to confidential Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.

  • August 15, 2024

    Levi & Korsinsky To Lead Hertz EV Cost Shareholder Suit

    Levi & Korsinsky LLP will represent a proposed class of investors in car rental giant Hertz Global Holdings Inc. in litigation alleging it exaggerated demand for electric cars, then took a $200 million earnings hit as it worked to offload those cars.

  • August 15, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Engineer Asks 3rd Circ. To Revive ADA Suit

    A train conductor urged the Third Circuit to reinstate his disability bias suit claiming he was unlawfully disqualified from his position because of his history of seizures, saying Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and a lower court ignored evidence that he could safely perform his job.

  • August 15, 2024

    Rising Star: K&L Gates' Elle Stuart

    K&L Gates LLP's Elle Stuart has helped shape maritime legislation in the wake of the turbulent waters of COVID-19 disruptions and increasingly strong hurricane seasons, earning her a spot as one of the transportation law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 15, 2024

    Delaware Judge Sends Tracking Tech IP Dispute To California

    A Delaware federal judge sent a patent infringement suit brought by a company that sells truck driver tracking software to California federal court, questioning in her opinion whether the company "ever fully intended" to pursue its claims in the First State in the first place.

  • August 15, 2024

    Delta Facing Second Customer Suit Over IT Outage Response

    A Florida resident hit Delta Air Lines with a second proposed class action claiming the company failed to properly refund and reimburse passengers when their flights were canceled or significantly delayed in the wake of the global CrowdStrike computer outage.

  • August 14, 2024

    LinkedIn Can't Shake Privacy Suit Over DMV Data Collection

    A California federal judge has refused to ax a proposed class action accusing LinkedIn Corp. of unlawfully obtaining users' personal disability information from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles website, rejecting the company's arguments that it was merely acting as a "recording service" for the DMV and that the dispute couldn't proceed without the agency being added as a defendant. 

  • August 14, 2024

    Tesla Factory Race Bias Class Action Will Go To Trial In 2025

    A California judge said at a case management conference Wednesday that a certified class action by Black workers alleging Tesla allowed racial discrimination to run rampant will go to trial in 2025, noting the plaintiff sued in 2017 and "everybody, the plaintiffs and the defense, needs to have closure on these issues."

  • August 14, 2024

    Holland & Knight Out, Polsinelli In For Tesla After Atty Moves

    As Holland & Knight LLP steps out of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit alleging Tesla allowed rampant racism to overtake a California factory, a California federal judge allowed Polsinelli PC to step in as the electric carmaker's counsel after three attorneys switched to the incoming firm.

  • August 14, 2024

    DOJ Defends Boeing Plea Deal Over Families' Objections

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Boeing's plea agreement is the best possible criminal resolution that holds the company accountable for defrauding regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, rejecting claims from crash victims' families that the "morally reprehensible" deal lets Boeing skirt culpability.

  • August 14, 2024

    Ill. Judge Trims Ex-Navistar Employee's Collective Wage Suit

    A former Navistar employee can pursue wage claims against the manufacturer for allegedly mishandling meal breaks and shift differentials when calculating her pay, but she'll need to beef up allegations regarding protective gear to pursue those in the suit, an Illinois federal judge said Tuesday.

  • August 14, 2024

    GSA Hit With Protest Over $985M Migrant Kid Transport Deal

    Trailboss Enterprises Inc. is protesting the General Services Administration's decision to award a $985.4 million transportation and logistics contract for unaccompanied children in federal custody to a competitor, saying it lost the contract because of a flawed selection process.

  • August 14, 2024

    Harley-Davidson Liable For $287M In 'Trike' Crash Verdict

    A New York state jury on Tuesday awarded $287 million in damages to a man and his late girlfriend's estate in a suit alleging a defective Harley-Davidson "trike" motorcycle caused a deadly crash in Pennsylvania, with punitive damages making up the bulk of the award.

  • August 14, 2024

    Suit Over United Flight Plunge Remanded To Ill. State Court

    A family that sued United Airlines for emotional distress after their December 2022 flight from Hawaii to California took a "precipitous dive" shortly after takeoff can pursue their claims in Illinois state court after a judge determined the suit doesn't belong in federal court.

  • August 14, 2024

    BP Unit Can't Escape Truck Stop Suit, Developers Claim

    Companies suing a BP subsidiary for terminating their truck stop franchise agreement and leaving them stuck with unrecoverable development costs hit back against its "shotgun approach" to have their suit seeking more than $300 million in damages thrown out, telling an Ohio federal judge that their complaint is grounded in compelling claims.

  • August 14, 2024

    Texas Atty Must Pay Volkswagen $200K In Fees For Patent Suit

    A Texas federal judge has ordered litigation firm VDPP LLC and its counsel, Texas attorney William Ramey III of Ramey LLP, to pay Volkswagen $207,543 in fees stemming from a now-dismissed patent case after determining a fee multiplier that applies to "exceptional" cases was appropriate due to the suit's "obvious lack of merit."

  • August 14, 2024

    Insurer Fights $29M Judgment Over Fatal Crash Coverage

    An insurer urged a North Carolina state appeals court Wednesday to undo a nearly $29 million judgment in a lawsuit stemming from a claim for a fatal vehicle crash, citing a policy exclusion that barred coverage for injuries to fellow employees.

  • August 14, 2024

    Boeing Scraps Electric Jet Co.'s $72M Trade Secrets Trial Win

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday canceled a $72 million jury award against The Boeing Co. for misappropriating electric jet startup Zunum Aero Inc.'s trade secrets, finding Zunum offered "only vague and amorphous descriptions" of the trade secrets at trial.

  • August 14, 2024

    Fuel Co. Can't Halt Fund's Contributions Dispute, Judge Says

    An airplane fueling services company can't escape claims from a Teamsters benefit plan seeking more than $150,000 in unpaid contributions and other costs, a New York federal judge ruled, finding ambiguities with provisions in an agreement about contribution obligations preclude dismissal.

  • August 14, 2024

    Michigan's Airport PFAS Pollution Suit Escapes Foam MDL

    A Michigan federal judge has agreed to disentangle state regulators' PFAS pollution claims against an airport from claims against manufacturers of the chemicals, a move that prevents the state's case from being absorbed into multidistrict litigation over firefighting foam.

  • August 14, 2024

    NC DOT Looks To Ditch Race Bias Suit Over $17.8M Megasite

    The North Carolina Department of Transportation wants an early exit from a subcontractor's suit claiming that its Black employees were met with racial discrimination on a large development site, saying the subcontractor's real beef is with the main contractor on the project.

Expert Analysis

  • Practical Private Equity Lessons From 2 Delaware Deals

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    A pair of Delaware Chancery Court cases remind private equity sponsors that specificity is crucial through the lens of deal certainty, particularly around closing conditions and agreement sections of acquisition agreements, say Robert Rizzo and Larissa Lucas at Weil Gotshal and William Lafferty at Morris Nichols.

  • New Laws, Regs Mean More Scrutiny Of Airline Carbon Claims

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    Recent climate disclosure laws and regulations in the U.S. and Europe mean that scrutiny of airlines' green claims will likely continue to intensify — so carriers must make sure their efforts to reduce carbon emissions through use of sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen and carbon offsets measure up to their marketing, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

  • How Uyghur Forced Labor Law Affects Importing Companies

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    Amid a growing focus on forced labor in supply chains and a likely increase in enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, companies may face costly import delays unless they develop and implement compliance best practices, say Thad McBride and Lauren Gammer at Bass Berry.

  • Series

    Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • Careful Data Governance Is A Must Amid Enforcement Focus

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    Federal and state regulators' heightened focus on privacy enforcement, including the Federal Trade Commission's recent guidance on consumer protection in the car industry, highlight the importance of proactive risk management, compliance and data governance, say Jason Priebe and Danny Riley at Seyfarth.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Yellow Corp. Lease Assumption Shows Landlord Protections

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    Yellow Corp.’s recent filing of a motion to assume unexpired leases is a helpful reminder to practitioners to maintain a long-term approach about what is most beneficial for an estate and to not let a debtor's short-term cash position dictate business decisions, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.

  • Navigating New Safe Harbor For Domestic Content Tax Credits

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent notice simplifying domestic content calculations for certain solar, onshore wind and battery storage projects, which directly acknowledges the difficulty for taxpayers in gathering data to support a domestic content analysis, should make it easier to qualify additional domestic content bonus tax credits, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation

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    Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age

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    As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What Alternative Fuel Proposals Mean For EU Infrastructure

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    The European Union’s proposed Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, covering activities in the transport sectors supporting the decarbonization process, sets ambitious standards regarding the deployment of adequate supply infrastructure and offers new funding opportunities for port operators and shipowners, says Christian Bauer at Watson Farley.

  • What 4 Cyber Protection Actions Mean For Marine Transport

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    Several recent steps by the Biden administration are necessary to address the cyber threats that increasingly disrupt the maritime sector, but also impose new legal risks, liabilities and operating costs on the owners and operators of U.S.-flagged vessels and facilities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing

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    When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception

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    Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.

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