Meta’s Barrage Of Arguments Can’t Stop Ad Reach Class Cert.
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| TOP NEWS Meta’s Barrage Of Arguments Can’t Stop Ad Reach Class Cert.A California federal judge certified a class of Facebook advertisers that claim they were deceived about the company’s “potential reach” tool, ruling that parent company Meta Platforms inc. made an unfocused “blunderbuss of objections” to certification that did not hold up to scrutiny.  Order attached | Read full article »Trump Scores $245K Fee Award In Stormy Daniels Libel FightFormer President Donald Trump on Wednesday was awarded about $245,200 in fees for his former attorneys’ work representing him in Stormy Daniels’ failed defamation case, yet the Ninth Circuit appellate commissioner refused to award him additional fees for opposing Daniels’ petition for a writ of certiorari. Order attached | Read full article »‘Varsity Blues’ USC Recruits Were Noncontributors, Jury ToldAn assistant to former University of Southern California water polo coach Jovan Vavic told a Boston federal jury that three recruits the coach allegedly shuttled through the admissions process in exchange for payouts contributed nothing to the elite program.Read full article » |
| Rice Prof Defends Facebook’s Pre-IPO Valuation At Tax TrialA Rice University finance professor testified in a multibillion-dollar tax trial over Facebook’s 2010 tax bill that Facebook’s valuation that year was less than $29 billion — over $6 billion below the IRS expert’s estimates — due in part to significant risks Facebook faced going public.Read full article » Texas Drone Photography Ban Unconstitutional, Court RulesA Texas federal judge has declared unconstitutional the state’s ban on the use of drones for filming and photography in certain locations in a victory for a group of journalists and photojournalists. Order attached | Read full article » |
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Tech Lobby Slams Tillis-Leahy Anti-Piracy Bill
Opposition is mounting to a new anti-piracy bill that is being pushed by the top two members of the U.S. Senate’s intellectual property subcommittee, with law professors, lobbyists and representatives for companies like Redbubble, Vimeo and Etsy telling lawmakers that the bill would give the U.S. Copyright Office “authority far beyond its competence.”
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Judge Trims Anti-Piracy Suit Against YouTube
A Florida federal judge on Monday trimmed antitrust and copyright claims from the owner of a large collection of Mexican and Latin American films in its suit against YouTube and its parent Google but allowed allegations of violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to proceed for now.
Order attached | Read full article »
Comedians Consolidate Pandora Copyright Suits
The estates of the late comedians Robin Williams and George Carlin, as well as other active comics, have consolidated their copyright claims against Pandora into one suit seeking millions of dollars in damages, claiming that the streaming platform wrongfully profited from their works.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
EMPLOYMENT
3rd Circ. Nixes ‘Implied’ Union Contracts In Newspaper Row
A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday threw out an earlier circuit ruling that had allowed for “implied” contracts that could survive the expiration of a written agreement, and refused to make the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette arbitrate a grievance with unions for its printing press workers under their expired contract.
Decision attached | Read full article »
PERSONAL INJURY & MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Panel Addresses Survivor Rights In Fla. Wrongful Death Act
A Florida appeals court stood by its own precedent Wednesday in finding that the widow of a mesothelioma victim cannot recover damages for pain and suffering as a “surviving spouse” under the state’s Wrongful Death Act because their marriage followed the victim’s injury but ruled that his two surviving children can, under the circumstances.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
INSURANCE
Ill. Judge Says IT Co. Owed Coverage For BIPA Suits
Citizens Insurance Co. of America must provide coverage to an information technology company for two underlying BIPA lawsuits, an Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the policy does not unambiguously bar coverage.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
PEOPLE
Fashion Industry Atty Joins Holland & Knight In Miami
An attorney with more than 20 years of experience representing high-profile clients in the fashion industry has moved her practice from Reed Smith LLP to Holland & Knight’s Miami office.
MoFo Brings Aboard Bankruptcy Partner From Arnold & Porter
Morrison & Foerster LLP announced Tuesday the hiring of a former Arnold & Porter partner for its business restructuring and insolvency group out of New York and Chicago.
EXPERT ANALYSIS
In Warhol Case, Justices May Clarify Fair Use Standard
When the U.S. Supreme Court hears Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Lynn Goldsmith, it will have an opportunity to articulate a unified, flexible and helpful fair use standard that gives courts and creators sufficient guidance to foster artistic speech, while allowing artists the right to control their own work, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
Navigating Ambiguities In New Cyber Reporting Law
The recently passed Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act requires increased cybersecurity defense and response disclosures, but owners and operators should take the law’s lack of clarity on certain parameters into account as they prepare to comply, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
Bill attached | Read full article »
Opinion
The Problem With GOP Attack On Jackson Immigration Ruling
Republican criticism of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s decision in Make the Road New York v. McAleenan, halting a Trump administration immigration policy, is problematic because the ruling actually furthered the separation of powers ideals that the GOP claims to support, says Thomas Berry at the Cato Institute.
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Attorney Lateral Hiring Increased 111% In 2021
Associate and partner lateral hiring across the U.S. increased 111% in 2021 compared to 2020, when hiring dipped 30%, marking the largest year-over-year gain since 2011, according to survey data released Wednesday by the National Association for Law Placement Inc.
MoFo To Give Pro Bono Counsel To Zelenskyy
Morrison & Foerster LLP is providing pro bono counsel to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, including guidance on Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion, the firm said in a filing this week with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Clinton Campaign Fined Over Reporting Of Perkins Coie Fee
Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee have agreed to pay a combined $113,000 in fines to resolve a Federal Election Commission investigation into whether they violated campaign finance laws by reporting payments to Perkins Coie LLP as “legal services” rather than “opposition research,” according to the FEC.
Feature
‘COVID Ate My Homework’ Excuses Aren’t Flying In Appeals
Some attorneys who’ve lost cases have blamed the once-in-a-century pandemic, but appellate courts across the country are telling litigators they can’t use the coronavirus as an excuse for blown deadlines and a lack of due diligence.
Collins Will Vote For Jackson, Ensuring Some GOP Support
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced she would vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Republican senator to back President Joe Biden’s nominee and guaranteeing at least some bipartisan support for the confirmation.
Supreme Court Seeks Input On Amicus Rule Changes
The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that it will consider public feedback on proposed changes to its rules, including the elimination of a requirement for amicus filers to obtain consent from either the parties or the court.
Hack Drove Wedge Between Law Firm And Client, Jury Told
Cooperation between a hacked law firm and an insurer client crumbled over days and weeks of intense efforts to co-manage technical experts and notify stakeholders, a Missouri federal jury heard Wednesday.
Eversheds Sutherland Opens Office In San Francisco
Eversheds Sutherland has opened an office in San Francisco, expanding its corporate and data privacy offerings in California as it adds a former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP corporate attorney to head the new location, the firm announced Wednesday.
NY Law Office Loses Coronavirus Coverage Suit
A New York federal judge on Tuesday tossed a Manhattan law office’s COVID-19 coverage suit against its insurance company because the Second Circuit has said provisions for “direct physical loss and physical damage” do not extend to the loss of use of an office under government shutdown orders.
High Court Urged To Review SEC Judges Alongside FTC Case
A nonprofit civil rights organization wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit ruling that its client can challenge the constitutionality of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative legal proceedings, rebutting the agency’s attempts to pause the case until the court opines on a similar lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission.
Judge OKs $83M Deal In Surfside Collapse Over Objections
The Florida judge overseeing the consolidated litigation over the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse on Wednesday approved the $83 million deal that will allow property loss victims to exit the litigation, calling it an “outstanding result” for survivors who lost their units.
Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Robbins Geller’s Daniel Drosman
Daniel Drosman knew at a young age that being an attorney would suit his hypercompetitive personality, but the work of a trial lawyer had also appealed to him for another reason. He enjoyed theater and telling stories on the stage.
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