Civil Litigation, California Courts of Appeal
Judge keeps Frank Miller's comic adaptation dispute alive for jury
By Skyler Romero
Judge Doreen Boxer denied comics creator Frank Miller's summary judgment bid, allowing producer Stephen L'Heureux to take his ...
Labor/Employment, Class Action
Google to pay $7M in fees as part of $28M settlement with employees
By James Twomey
Google agreed to a $28 million settlement over pay discrimination claims, with a Santa Clara County judge approving $7 million...
Constitutional Law
Lincenberg, Schiff, Padilla push back on Trump's troop deployment
By John Roemer
In a high-stakes 9th Circuit case, attorney Gary Lincenberg and UC Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky drafted a brief for Democra...
Radius Telematics seeks an injunction against former executives accused of launching Waypoint, a copycat business allegedly bu...
Judges and Judiciary, Government, Criminal, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Hawaii judge assigned after Central District recusal in U.S. attorney dispute
By Craig Anderson
After Chief Judge Dolly M. Gee ordered every judge in the Central District to step aside, 9th Circuit Chief Judge Mary H. Murg...
Civil Litigation
Putative class claims Allstate underpaid auto policyholders through deductions
By Antoine Abou-Diwan
A putative class action alleges Allstate unlawfully deducted storage and towing fees from total loss settlements, with plainti...
Torts/Personal Injury, Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Judge fines attorney in wrongful death lawsuit against Kaiser
By James Twomey
An Alameda County judge sanctioned plaintiff's counsel in a wrongful death suit against Kaiser for repeated failure to file ca...
Civil Litigation
Judge takes blame, denies sanctions bid in O'Melveny fee dispute
By Skyler Romero
Los Angeles Judge Michael Small denied O'Melveny's sanctions motion against Ocean Towers, citing unclear language in his prior...
The Legislature approved SB 47, an urgency measure authorizing the state auditor to investigate widespread problems with Febru...
A proposal to curb damages against schools and local governments in civil sexual abuse cases failed Wednesday after late-sessi...
Trevor Shelton, who is based in Los Angeles, co-leads the team of renewable energy finance attorneys.
Torts/Personal Injury
Fitbit sued after smartwatch allegedly explodes, burns customer
By James Twomey
A woman is suing Fitbit in San Francisco, alleging her smartwatch exploded and caused third-degree burns. The lawsuit claims F...
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit appears split over Oxnard campaign contribution limits
By Craig Anderson
Judges pressed both sides in an en banc hearing over Oxnard's Measure B, a voter-backed law capping campaign contributions tha...
MGA contends a new jury trial would force a retrial of willfulness, closely tied to liability, that could potentially trigger ...
Environmental & Energy
Plastics pollution suit against Exxon to proceed in part
By Laurinda Keys
A federal judge has allowed a key claim, public nuisance, to proceed in a high-profile lawsuit accusing ExxonMobil of worsenin...
Lenders, trade groups sue to block California 'zombie mortgage' law
By Malcolm Maclachlan
Mortgage industry plaintiffs claim a law designed to curb foreclosures on old debts is unconstitutional and will have sweeping...
Government, Constitutional Law, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit upholds most of California's social media law
By Craig Anderson
A federal appeals court has allowed California's child-protection social media law to take effect, except for one provision th...
Litigation & Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Class Action
San Francisco federal judge skeptical of $1.5B copyright settlement with Anthropic
By Craig Anderson
Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup said he was disappointed with unanswered questions in a proposed $1.5 billion settlem...
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
Judge disqualifies Blackstone Law over attorney's conflict in lawsuit
By James Twomey
A judge tentatively disqualified Blackstone Law from a wage case after finding a newly hired attorney previously advised the d...
Land Use, Civil Procedure
Norwalk settles AG's suit over city's pause in following housing laws
By Skyler Romero
Norwalk settled a state lawsuit over its housing moratorium, agreeing to repeal restrictions and invest in housing, in a case ...
Family court overstepped in limiting spousal support changes, panel rules
By Douglas Saunders Sr.
The case involved attorney Christian Chapman, who had challenged orders requiring him to pay $3,461 per month in child support...
The plaintiffs are dependents of servicemembers who for years received gender-affirming hormone therapy through the military h...
Antitrust & Trade Reg.
Pro swimmers reach $4.6M settlement with World Aquatics in antitrust suit
By Devon Belcher
Professional swimmers secured a $4.6 million settlement with World Aquatics, ending a six-year antitrust case that challenged ...
Intellectual Property
9th Circuit revives Trader Joe's trademark suit against union over merchandise sales
By Craig Anderson
The court ruled that a district judge erred in dismissing allegations that apparel and tote bags sold by Trader Joe's United c...
Government
Santa Monica weighs fiscal emergency as abuse claims mirror dioceses' crises
By Malcolm Maclachlan
Attorneys say the city's plight mirrors that of Catholic dioceses hit by AB 218 lawsuits--though without the same level of ban...
Torts/Personal Injury, Government
LA defends officer's actions in lawsuit over high-speed collision
By Skyler Romero
A trial begins over a crash involving an LAPD officer accused of excessive speeding, with plaintiffs seeking damages for lifel...
Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
LA, opponents want more money for disputes in encampment settlement
By Devon Belcher
Los Angeles opposes $1.8 million in legal fees sought by advocacy groups after a federal judge found the city failed to meet o...
Torts/Personal Injury, Civil Litigation
Judge denies mistrial motion as Uber sex assault bellwether trial starts
By James Twomey
A mistrial motion was denied at the start of a bellwether Uber sexual assault case, as attorneys clashed over pretrial rulings...
Constitutional Law, Civil Rights
Bonta sues L.A. County over 'inhumane' jail conditions tied to 206 deaths
By Douglas Saunders Sr.
After failed negotiations, the state seeks sweeping court-ordered reforms to address what investigators call a humanitarian cr...
Immigration, Constitutional Law
Supreme Court lifts block on ICE detentions in Los Angeles
By Craig Anderson
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said ethnicity can be a relevant factor in assessing reasonable suspicion, while Justice Sonia Sotomay...