3 Charged With Insider Trading On Trump Media Co. Deal
From Media & Entertainment Law360
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2023
TOP NEWS
3 Charged With Insider Trading On Trump Media Co. Deal
By Pete Brush
Three investors who backed Donald Trump-focused acquisition vehicle Digital World Acquisition Corp. were charged with insider trading in Manhattan federal court Thursday, accused of exploiting secrets about the former president’s media company to make $22 million in a criminal case lodged as part of a securities fraud crackdown.
5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
9th Circ. Backs Beach Boys Singer In Email Fight With Ex-Attys
By Henrik Nilsson
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ruled for Beach Boys singer Michael Love by tossing his former attorneys’ challenge to a discovery order requiring them to hand over thousands of emails concerning their fees, saying the circuit does not have jurisdiction over the appeal.
Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Travis Scott Won’t Face Criminal Charges In Astroworld Crush
By Catherine Marfin
A Harris County grand jury on Thursday declined to indict rapper Travis Scott for his involvement in the death of 10 people at his 2021 Astroworld concert in Houston.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Feds Drop ‘Varsity Blues’ Charges After 1st Circ. Setback
By Chris Villani
Boston federal prosecutors said Thursday they will drop charges against two parents whose convictions in the “Varsity Blues” scandal were thrown out by the First Circuit, bringing to a close part of the high-profile case that ensnared Hollywood stars and corporate executives.
2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
ChatGPT Is ‘Trained’ Using Copyrighted Books, Authors Say
By Lauren Berg
OpenAI is profiting from authors’ stolen works as its ChatGPT scoops up copyrighted materials as part of its “training,” according to a new proposed class action in California federal court over the artificial intelligence company’s practice of harvesting information from across the internet.
Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Most Of Vogue’s TM Opposition Came Too Late, TTAB Finds
By Jasmin Boyce
Vogue magazine’s owner has failed to completely sink a consumer electronics company’s bid to register the mark “eVogue” after a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board panel found that the publisher unduly waited over a decade to express concerns of consumer confusion.
Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Cos. Argue Social Media Immunity From Mental Health Claims
By Mike Curley
The companies behind Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms are urging a California federal court to throw out claims in multidistrict litigation seeking to hold them liable for harm to young users, saying the claims are barred by federal law granting immunity to the publishers of third-party content online, as well as the First Amendment.
Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Judge Set To OK Alex Jones Sandy Hook Ch. 11 Deal
By Aaron Keller
A bankruptcy judge in Texas on Thursday said he was poised to approve a confidential settlement proposal between Alex Jones, Free Speech Systems LLC and three remaining Sandy Hook plaintiffs whose claims have not been fully adjudicated, saying the settlement appears fair and reasonable to the Infowars host’s estate.
2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
IMedia Brands Hits Ch. 11 In Del. With $129M In Debt
By Leslie A. Pappas
Media company and shopping channel hub iMedia Brands Inc. and 11 of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware late Thursday with more than $129 million in debt.
Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
‘Shark Tank’ Investor Says Biz Partner Violated Order
By George Woolston
A “Shark Tank” investor is accusing the daughter of an ex-NFL player of soliciting emails for a newsletter to provide updates on her family’s “nightmare” working with him and a New Jersey food services company, arguing it violates a temporary order barring the family from making disparaging comments.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
DEALS
Authentic Brands Secures $500M Investment To Fuel Growth
By Jade Martinez-Pogue
Global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform Authentic Brands Group, advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, on Thursday announced that growth equity firm General Atlantic, advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, re-invested in the company, completing a $500 million primary follow-on investment that will be used to support Authentic’s global expansion.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Deal Rumor Mill: TRP Energy, Purell, Group Black
By Al Barbarino
TRP Energy’s Permian basin assets could attract $1.5 billion, bids for Purell maker Gojo Industries miss the mark, Black-owned media company Group Black mulls majority stake in Sports Illustrated’s publisher. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
2nd Circ. Won’t Revive Models’ TM Claims Against NY Clubs
By Lauren Berg
The Second Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a lawsuit against two New York nightclubs over their use of images of models on social media, saying the women who brought the Lanham Act false endorsement claims aren’t recognizable enough for the posts to confuse consumers.
Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Redditors Agree To Settle SatoshiStreetBets Crypto TM Suit
By Henrik Nilsson
A New York federal judge on Wednesday agreed to toss a trademark dispute launched by a Reddit forum moderator against a group of cryptocurrency sellers after the parties told the court they had settled.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION
Google Objectors Lower Fee Request To Avoid Legal Woes
By Aaron West
Two former public interest attorneys representing a class of plaintiffs over settlement distribution concerns after they sued Google in a recently settled decade-old privacy class action asked a California federal judge this week to lower the attorney fees they had requested by more than a million dollars to avoid further litigation.
Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
COMPETITION
FTC Faces Skeptical Judge As Microsoft Merger Hearing Ends
By Dorothy Atkins
A California federal judge appeared dubious Thursday of the Federal Trade Commission’s bid to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion merger with Activision Blizzard Inc. during closings of a five-day hearing, criticizing the FTC expert’s analysis and suggesting others could create a game rivaling Activision’s Call of Duty.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Broadcasters Want Changes To Ad Price-Fixing Deals
By Matthew Perlman
Broadcasters including Tegna, Sinclair and Gray Media have asked an Illinois federal court to reconsider its approval of $48 million in deals struck between advertising buyers and other broadcasters to end claims over an alleged scheme to artificially inflate prices.
2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
EMPLOYMENT
9th Circ. Denies Review Of NLRB Injunction Row
By Emily Brill
The Ninth Circuit stood by its decision to free an Oregon television station from the obligation to recognize a National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians local Thursday, tossing National Labor Relations Board prosecutors’ request for the court to reconsider its holding.
Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Post-Gazette Tells 3rd Circ. Labor Status Quo Didn’t Carry Over
By P.J. D’Annunzio
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked a Third Circuit panel on Thursday to undo a National Labor Relations Board decision requiring it to reinstate two laid-off employees, arguing that the board incorrectly said the newspaper had to preserve those employees’ jobs in accordance with the previous contract even though it was no longer in effect.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR
Atty Calls Contested Chancery AMC Class Settlement Historic
By Jeff Montgomery
Acknowledging investor losses and “meme” stock passions driving objections to a proposed AMC Entertainment Inc. stockholder settlement, a class attorney defended as historic on Thursday a potential $120 million deal to end a Delaware Chancery Court suit over a company share conversion and reverse stock split.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Broker Charged With Insider Trading On Morgan Stanley Info
By Ivan Moreno
A New York broker used confidential information stolen from Morgan Stanley to make millions of dollars in profits from trades on future corporate acquisitions, federal prosecutors alleged Thursday.
Indictment attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC To Tackle E-Rate, 988 Hotline Tweaks At July Meeting
By Nadia Dreid
The E-rate program to subsidize school and library internet costs has been on the Federal Communications Commission’s mind lately, and at its next meeting, the commissioners plan to greenlight a rule change that will make it easier for tribal college libraries to qualify for funds.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
REAL ESTATE
Twitter Says Eviction Suit Is Landlord’s Bid To Duck $5.8M Bill
By Grace Dixon
Twitter has filed a suit against the Boulder, Colorado, landlord that secured an eviction order booting the company for nonpayment of rent, telling a state court the eviction lawsuit disguises the landlord’s attempts to skirt a $5.8 million renovation bill.
Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
IMMIGRATION
ICE OB-GYN Gets Okay To Depose Patient In Defamation Suit
By Rae Ann Varona
A North Carolina federal court allowed a doctor accused of performing unnecessary gynecological procedures on immigrant women to question one woman in court for his defamation suit against NBCUniversal Media LLC, rejecting the woman’s arguments to quash the deposition.
Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
Diageo Says Fight With Diddy Must Be Arbitrated
By Caroline Simson
Diageo has fired back against Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawsuit accusing the British alcoholic beverage company of racism for typecasting his brands as beverages for “urban” consumers, calling him an “unreliable and untrustworthy business partner” and arguing that the dispute belongs in arbitration.
Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
PEOPLE
Hirschler Fleischer Brings On Litigation Atty In Va.
By Jack Rodgers
Hirschler Fleischer has added a litigation partner with nearly 20 years of experience to its office in Tysons, Virginia, who will focus on a range of clients in complex civil litigation matters, the firm said.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Charter Communications Labor VP Rejoins Littler In DC
By Donald Morrison
Littler Mendelson PC has expanded its labor management relations practice, adding a former special counsel with more than 20 years of experience who’s rejoining the firm in Washington, D.C., after a brief stint with telecommunications provider Charter Communications.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
EXPERT ANALYSIS
A ‘Trump Too Small’ TM Registration Could Curb Free Speech
If the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the Federal Circuit’s opinion asserting that First Amendment rights eclipse Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act and giving a T-shirt maker a proprietary right to the phrase “Trump Too Small,” it would counterintuitively pit commercial interests against the public’s free speech rights, says Maya Tarr at Carob Law.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Top Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action In Higher Education
By Chris Villani
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, undoing decades of precedent in a ruling that will have wide-ranging implications for academia and a potentially broad swath of the workforce.
Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Analysis
Affirmative Action Ruling Could Spawn ‘Years Of Litigation’
By Chris Villani
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina could kindle future legal challenges as schools scramble to find other ways to achieve diversity, experts told Law360, and could have broader implications for the workforce as a whole.
Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Harvard Ruling Ignores That ‘Race Matters,’ Court Liberals Say
By Brian Dowling
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday rued the court’s “impotence” to confront the enduring effects of race in American society, attacking the majority’s ruling that struck down affirmative action in higher education as a flawed, two-dimensional take from conservative justices that betrays precedent.
Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
High Court Revives Ex-USPS Mail Carrier’s Religious Bias Suit
By Vin Gurrieri
The U.S. Supreme Court upended the U.S. Postal Service’s win in a former mail carrier’s religious discrimination suit Thursday, clarifying a long-standing test for measuring the burden that religious accommodations pose on employers.
Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Biden Says Expanding Supreme Court Would Be ‘A Mistake’
By Hailey Konnath
President Joe Biden on Thursday slammed the U.S. Supreme Court for departing from decades of precedent and progress with its decision striking down affirmative action, but said expanding the high court would be “a mistake” because it has the potential to become “so politicized in the future.”
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
McElroy Deutsch Says Married Former Execs Stole Over $3M
By Jake Maher
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP said that its former chief financial officer and another firm executive — a married couple with over 20 years each at the firm — stole $3.2 million, with the CFO regularly padding his bonuses and the pair bankrolling luxury vacations on their corporate credit cards.
3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Chicago Bar Association Appoints 1st Openly Gay President
By Andrea Keckley
The managing member of Clark Hill PLC’s Chicago office was set to be sworn in Thursday as president of the Chicago Bar Association, the first openly gay person to hold the role.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Anti-BLM Tweeting Atty Didn’t Seek Violence, State Bar Told
By Gina Kim
A Los Angeles employment attorney on Thursday defended attorney Marla Brown in her California State Bar ethics trial over tweets calling for Black Lives Matter protestors to be shot, saying he’s known her for over 20 years and believes she was simply expressing her frustrations and didn’t intend to incite violence.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Eastman’s 1-In-A-Quadrillion Stat Proves Zilch, Bar Judge Told
By Craig Clough
A Stanford political science professor testified on Thursday at John Eastman’s California disbarment trial that an analysis touted by the attorney finding a less than one-in-a-quadrillion chance that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election in four key states is highly flawed and the result of its author “not thinking very carefully.”
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Analysis
What IP Attys Need To Know About Del. Judge Nominee Hall
By Dani Kass
President Joe Biden has named a former patent litigator turned magistrate judge, with advanced degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, as his nominee for judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Rhode Island District’s Judge Smith To Take Senior Status
By Katie Buehler
District of Rhode Island Judge William E. Smith announced Wednesday that he will take senior status in January after serving for more than two decades on the three-judge bench.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Class Benefits Becoming Larger Factor For Fees, Experts Say
By Lauraann Wood
Class action fee awards are experiencing a shift in which counsel’s compensation is becoming more about the benefits secured for class members than simply the amount of money involved in a settlement, according to a panel of experts who discussed the topic Thursday.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Judge Says ‘Breathtaking Dishonesty’ Ends Signal Co.’s Case
By Andrew Karpan
A Montana federal judge on Thursday kicked a Canadian portable traffic signal supplier’s patent lawsuit to the curb over the “breathtaking dishonesty” of using an “elaborate” ruse to secretly depose a rival’s top executive, comparing the startup’s efforts to keep the suit alive to those of “a child who has hidden a game console under his pillow begging for his punishment to be exile to his room.”
Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
8th Circ. Affirms $500 Atty Fee In Workers’ OT Suit
By Emily Sawicki
An Arkansas law firm will pocket just $500 in fees from workers it represented in an underlying Fair Labor Standards Act class action settlement, after the Eighth Circuit determined Thursday that a district court properly applied a reduction based on the firm’s “egregious” and “unprofessional” conduct.
Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Serial Fraudster Cops To Posing As Lawyers In Epstein Scam
By Rachel Scharf
A recidivist Florida fraudster pled guilty in Manhattan federal court Thursday to impersonating multiple white-shoe lawyers as part of a scheme to raise $1 million for a nonexistent investigation into two investment firms’ supposed ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Mich. Ups Judicial Watchdog Staff, Funds Youth Justice Office
By Carolyn Muyskens
The Michigan Legislature passed a new state budget that delivered several of the judiciary’s wish-list items, including funding for statewide juvenile justice initiatives and more staff for the division that prosecutes judges for misconduct.
Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »
Podcast
The Term: The Supreme Court Guts Affirmative Action
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismantled affirmative action in a 6-3 majority opinion that held that race-based admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Read full article » | Save to favorites »
JOBS
| Intellectual Property Patent Litigation Attorney Moore & Van Allen, PLLC Charlott, North Carolina | Intellectual Property Trademark Litigation Attorney Moore & Van Allen, PLLC Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Midlevel Patent Associate Company Confidential -, New York |
