California

  • February 06, 2025

    Meta AI Used 'Astonishing' Load Of Pirated Works, Writers Say

    Meta Platforms allegedly downloaded tens of millions of pirated copyrighted works from peer-to-peer networks to train its Llama artificial intelligence product, and its employees repeatedly discussed this "illegal" strategy with lawyers, with one engineer writing, doing so "from a corporate laptop doesn't feel right," according to internal communications unsealed in copyright infringement litigation Wednesday.

  • February 06, 2025

    State AGs To Sue Over DOGE Access To Payment Systems

    Over a dozen state attorneys general are set to file suit challenging Elon Musk and Department of Government Efficiency staffers' access to people's sensitive personal information through government payment systems, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office announced Thursday.

  • February 06, 2025

    Block's Dorsey, Others Face Derivative Suit Over AML Woes

    Officers and directors of Square and Cash App parent company Block Inc. face a shareholder derivative complaint over alleged anti-money laundering compliance failures weeks after the company reached an $80 million settlement of related claims with state banking regulators.

  • February 06, 2025

    Credit Union's Arb. Pact Not Unconscionable, Court Says

    A California state appeals court has reversed a ruling finding an arbitration agreement contained in a credit union's employment contract to be unconscionable, saying the JAMS rules incorporated in the pact permit an arbitrator to allow for necessary third-party discovery.

  • February 06, 2025

    Courts Are Getting Alice Wrong, Google Foe Tells Justices

    A tech startup that lost an advertising technology patent case against Google is the latest party to tell the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its legal precedent covering patent eligibility.

  • February 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Premera Teen Treatment Coverage Case

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday declined to renew a family's suit against Premera Blue Cross for refusing to cover extensive residential mental health treatment for a Washington teen, backing the insurer's determination that the treatment was not medically necessary.

  • February 06, 2025

    Kraken Co-Founder Accuses 'Elite' SF Condo Of Political Bias

    Crypto-exchange Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell sued the owner of a landmark condominium — dubbed "Susie's Building" — in California state court Wednesday, claiming the property's allegedly "elite" Democratic shareholders discriminated against him by blocking his efforts to buy a condo due to his conservative views and role in the crypto industry.

  • February 06, 2025

    Sony Blocked From Axing CBS Deals Amid Game Show Battle

    A California state judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Sony Pictures Television from terminating its distribution agreements for popular game shows "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" with CBS while the pair dukes it out in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to a minute order.

  • February 06, 2025

    Buyers Want Kratom Cos. Addiction Suit To Go On

    Two California kratom manufacturers shouldn't be allowed to escape a lawsuit claiming they failed to warn about the "highly addictive" nature of their products, a proposed class of consumers argued, pointing to a podcast where a company executive suggested their products were more potent than morphine.

  • February 06, 2025

    TikTok Moderators Alleging Harm Face Uphill Cert. Battle

    A California federal judge suggested on Thursday there might be too many individualized issues to certify a class of thousands of current and former TikTok content moderators in a suit alleging the social media platform is responsible for mental health issues the workers developed after being exposed to graphic content.

  • February 06, 2025

    In Microchip Feud, Fed. Circ. Says PTAB Error Was 'Harmless'

    The Federal Circuit handed down a precedential decision Thursday finding that a claim construction error made by patent board judges was "harmless," declining to breathe new life into claims asserted against Microchip Technology.

  • February 06, 2025

    Judge Questions Firm's Candor In Apple, Amazon Docs Row

    A Washington federal judge said on Thursday there was "troubling shifting" around Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP's explanation of texts and emails with a client who disappeared from a proposed class action targeting Amazon and Apple, while also saying it might not matter because the firm found substitute plaintiffs.

  • February 06, 2025

    Sam Altman Calls Musk's Claim Of Ban On Rivals 'False'

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the key claim made in a preliminary injunction request from Elon Musk in their ongoing investment spat is false, saying in a new declaration that he never told OpenAI investors that they wouldn't be able to invest in the company if they also invested in Musk's xAI.

  • February 06, 2025

    Amazon Patent Suit Was Wrongly Sent To Calif., Tech Co. Says

    Software company VirtaMove Corp. has argued that its patent infringement lawsuit against Amazon and two affiliates was wrongly transferred from Texas to California, saying it dismissed the case against two of the three defendants before the court's order went out.

  • February 06, 2025

    Western Digital Seeks To Toss SPEX $553M Patent Verdict

    Western Digital asked a California federal judge Wednesday to throw out a jury's $316 million verdict that was later increased to $553 million, which held that the data storage company infringed a SPEX Technologies' patent related to hardware encryption technology, saying SPEX did not prove infringement.

  • February 06, 2025

    Papa John's Franchisee Fails To Pay All Wages, Worker Says

    A Papa John's franchise owner failed to properly pay workers minimum wage and overtime pay and did not provide workers with meal and rest periods, according to a lawsuit filed in California state court.

  • February 06, 2025

    Calif. Firm Settles Photographer's IP Claim Over Photo Use

    A New Mexico photographer told a California federal judge on Thursday that he was ending his copyright infringement suit against Santa Monica immigration law firm Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP over ownership of a photograph on the firm's website, as the two sides have reached a settlement.

  • February 06, 2025

    MLB Star Ohtani's Ex-Interpreter Gets 57 Months For $17M Theft

    A California federal judge on Thursday ordered Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter to serve 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar to pay off massive gambling debts, remarking that he found the defendant's claims regarding his financial stress "to be a bit misleading."

  • February 06, 2025

    Judges Balk At CFPB's Stay Bids In Capital One, SoLo Suits

    Two federal judges have turned down requests from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to suspend activity in ongoing enforcement lawsuits amid its acting director's litigation freeze, including in the agency's case against Capital One NA.

  • February 06, 2025

    House Committee Weighs Wildfire Strain On Calif. Insurers

    A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee met Thursday to discuss the recent California wildfires and how regulatory policy may aid future prevention of natural disasters, as experts emphasized that the fires only further exposed the state's ongoing insurance crisis.

  • February 06, 2025

    Nixon Peabody Adds Greenberg Glusker Cannabis Co-Chair

    Nixon Peabody LLP is boosting its West Coast litigation team, bringing in a former federal prosecutor, who was most recently the founder and co-chair of the cannabis practice at Greenberg Glusker LLP, as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • February 06, 2025

    Girardi's Mental Evaluation At NC Prison Extended By 15 Days

    A California federal judge Thursday ordered Tom Girardi's psychiatric evaluation at a North Carolina federal prison to be extended by 15 days, and she also lectured Girardi's public defender while saying she "could not have imagined" why it took 17 days to get his client's medical records sent to the facility.

  • February 06, 2025

    HP Defeats Ex-Worker's Suit Over 401(k) Forfeitures

    A California federal judge dismissed a proposed class action claiming HP Inc. should have used forfeited funds in its 401(k) plan to pay down administrative fees instead of its own contributions, stating the former worker behind the case hasn't shown the tech company did anything wrong.

  • February 06, 2025

    Tort Report: Kiss Death Suit Must Be Axed, Band Says

    A bid to escape a suit accusing legendary rock band Kiss of causing a guitar technician's coronavirus death and the $8.5 million settlement of a convoluted medical malpractice case lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

  • February 06, 2025

    Globus Medical Buys Device-Maker Nevro In $250M Deal

    Musculoskeletal solutions company Globus Medical, advised by Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, on Thursday announced plans to buy Latham & Watkins LLP-led medical device company Nevro Corp. in an all-cash deal with an equity value of roughly $250 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Legal Personhood Can Give Natural Entities Their Day In Court

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    Granting legal personhood to natural entities like the River Thames, or vulnerable species like the Pacific bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal, could protect them from ecological threats and the vagaries of politics, and help us transform our relationship with nature, says Sachin Nandha at the International Centre for Sustainability.

  • Calif. Cannabis Decision Deepens Commerce Clause Divide

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    In Peridot Tree v. Sacramento, the Eastern District of California joined a growing minority of courts that have found the dormant commerce clause inapplicable to state-regulated marijuana, and the Ninth Circuit will soon provide important guidance on this issue, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • A Defendant's Guide To 4 Common CFPB Discovery Tactics

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    With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent flurry of new lawsuits showing no signs of stopping, defendants should know the bureau's most relied-upon discovery strategies — and be prepared to resist them, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery

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    Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: Nov. And Dec. Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five federal court decisions and identifies practice tips from cases involving takings clause violations, breach of contract with banks, life insurance policies, employment and automobile defects.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Trump's Energy Plans For Generation, Transmission And More

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    The executive orders and presidential memoranda issued by President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration, unwinding the Biden administration's energy policies and encouraging development of fossil fuels, may have significant impacts on the generation mix, electric transmission construction and the state regulatory environment, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

  • LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort

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    Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.

  • How PAGA Reform Can Inform Employer Strategies In 2025

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    While recent changes to California's Private Attorneys General Act will not significantly reduce PAGA claims, employers can use the new law to potentially limit their future exposure, by taking advantage of penalty reduction opportunities and more, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • Key Trends In PFAS Regulation And Litigation For 2025

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    The critical policy milestones for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances expected in 2025 will not only shape the trajectory of PFAS regulation, but also set key precedents for environmental accountability, potentially reshaping the corporate approach to these "forever chemicals" for decades to come, say attorneys at MG+M.

  • California's New Homeowner Law Could Hamper Foreclosures

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    While A.B. 2424, which took effect this month in California, gives homeowners in default additional protections, it also provides loopholes that can be used to delay foreclosure auctions, and the cost of these delays will likely be passed on to the borrower, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • UK Lawyers Can Access Broad US Discovery To Win Cases

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    Given its breadth, U.S. discovery can be a powerful tool in litigation in the U.K. and other jurisdictions outside the U.S., and a survey of recent cases indicates that discovery requests made in the U.S. are likely to be granted — with many applications even proceeding without contest, say lawyers at Miller & Chevalier.

  • Courts Must Stick To The Science On Digital Addiction Claims

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    A number of pending personal injury and product liability lawsuits allege that plaintiffs have developed behavioral addictions to the use of social media and video games — but this is not yet recognized by relevant authorities as an addiction, so courts must carefully scrutinize such claims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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