Media & Entertainment Law360
| TOP NEWS Stormy Daniels Tells Jury Avenatti Lied And Stole From Her Former Michael Avenatti client Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Thursday in the criminal case accusing the celebrity lawyer of defrauding the adult film actress out of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a book deal, saying Avenatti “stole from me and lied to me.”Read full article » Robinhood Defeats Investors’ ‘Meme Stock’ ClaimsRobinhood on Thursday defeated claims that it wrongly blocked investors from buying “meme stocks” during last year’s market volatility, with a Florida federal court finding the stock-trading platform acted within the scope of its customer agreement.  Order attached | Read full article »Judge Says Shkreli’s Picasso Can Be Sold To Pay $2.6M DebtA New York federal judge on Thursday authorized a receiver to sell a Picasso etching seized from imprisoned “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli to settle a $2.6 million debt the former drug firm executive owes to a Pennsylvania pharmaceutical industry consultant. Order attached | Read full article » |
Netflix Can’t Checkmate ‘Queen’s Gambit’ Defamation Suit
A California federal judge denied Netflix’s attempt to dismiss a defamation suit from Georgian chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili over her portrayal in the hit show “The Queen’s Gambit,” ruling Thursday that while the show is fictional, the reference to Gaprindashvili could be interpreted as a true historical detail.
Order attached | Read full article »
Injured Live Nation Worker, Atty Take $5M Fee Spat To Court
An event worker who won a historic award from Live Nation over an accident that left him with severe brain injuries is embroiled in an acrimonious dispute over attorney fees with his lawyer, who is suing him in New York over a $5.5 million fee.
2 documents attached | Read full article »
FCC Revokes China Unicom’s Right To Operate In US
The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to block China Unicom from continuing to operate communications networks in the U.S., citing national security risks based on the company’s ties to the Chinese government.
EU Clears Facebook’s Kustomer Deal, But Rivals Get Access
European Union antitrust officials announced Thursday that they will permit Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. to buy customer service management provider Kustomer, assuaged by commitments to guarantee 10 years of access to rival providers.
JUSTICE BREYER
Analysis
Breyer’s Departure Opens Door For More Reliable Privacy Vote
Retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has had a mixed record on defending individuals from warrantless government searches and unwanted robocalls, presenting an opportunity for the “wild card” to be replaced with a jurist who’s more solidly on the side of protecting privacy and civil liberties.
Analysis
Breyer Retiring As Supreme Court Lurches Right
Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court at a time when his conservative colleagues on the bench seem intent on dismantling landmark precedents on abortion, affirmative action and the administrative state, to name a few. Can his successor preserve his liberal legacy?
Judge Jackson Back In Spotlight As High Court Contender
The upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court quickly threw the spotlight back on D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer whose stature as a likely successor to the retiring justice was suddenly raised Wednesday.
2 documents attached | Read full article »
Podcast
The Term: Breyer’s Legacy And The Nomination To Come
Justice Stephen Breyer on Thursday formally announced he would be retiring at the end of the Supreme Court term. Here, The Term breaks down the legacy he will leave behind and takes a look at what lies ahead for his potential successor with two special guests.
Biden At His Side, Justice Breyer Announces Retirement
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer joined President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday to formally announce his retirement, kicking off a rush among Democrats to confirm a new member of the court to replace the oldest serving justice.
1 document attached | Read full article »
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Zillow Gets Damages Cut To $1.9M In Photo Copyright Fight
Zillow has convinced a Washington federal court to trim a damages award against it to $1.9 million in a copyright dispute over the use of real estate photographs on its website, a considerable reduction from the $8 million it was initially supposed to pay.
Order attached | Read full article »
Lil Yachty Says NFT Biz Used His TMs To Boost Cash Flow
Rapper Lil Yachty filed a trademark infringement suit in California federal court against two music companies he claims used his likeness and name without his permission to raise over $6.5 million in venture capital funds for a line of nonfungible tokens.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
DVD Pirate Must Face Over 2 Years In The Brig, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday asked a New York judge to sentence a British hacker to more than two years in prison after he admitted his role in a syndicate responsible for pirating nearly every major motion picture released on disc from 2011 to early 2020.
Letter attached | Read full article »
PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION
Privacy Groups Push ‘Fourth Amendment Not For Sale’ Bill
Consumer privacy advocates are urging lawmakers to advance a bill to prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying Americans’ private data from telecom providers.
Letter attached | Read full article »
FTC Says Social Media Is A ‘Gold Mine’ For Crypto Scammers
Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are a “gold mine” for scammers, according to a new consumer protection data report from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which said last year saw a sharp spike in online fraud schemes, particularly bogus cryptocurrency ventures.
FCC Kicks Off Study For Broadband ‘Nutrition Labels’
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to begin considering new rules that would require broadband providers to display easy-to-understand labels to allow consumers to comparison shop for broadband services, similar to nutrition labels on foods.
Proposed Rule attached | Read full article »
COMPETITION
Apple Can’t Hide Behind Privacy In Epic Fight, 9th Circ. Told
Nearly 40 law, business and economics academics urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to upend Apple’s win over Epic Games’ allegations that the technology giant’s App Store policies are anti-competitive, arguing the judge wrongly accepted Apple’s justifications that restrictions on third-party app distribution are necessary to protect users.
3 documents attached | Read full article »
Facebook Data Antitrust Suits Get New Judge
A string of cases in California federal court accusing Facebook of monopolizing social media markets through its use of consumer data have been reassigned to a new judge thanks to the recent elevation of Judge Lucy H. Koh to the Ninth Circuit.
Order attached | Read full article »
SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR
Labaton Nabs Lead In Honest Co. Investor’s Diaper IPO Suit
Labaton Sucharow LLP will represent a proposed class of investors in the Honest Co. baby and beauty concern in a suit accusing the company of failing to properly explain that it might see a post-lockdown slump in diaper sales ahead of its May 2021 initial public offering.
Order attached | Read full article »
AEROSPACE & DEFENSE
Ex-Defense Chief Esper Close To Deal On Book Redactions
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has neared an agreement with the Biden administration on redacting portions of his upcoming memoir to deal with security concerns, lawyers told a D.C. federal judge Thursday.
ENVIRONMENTAL
EPA Asks Court To OK $1.8M CERCLA Deal For Past Navy Site
The U.S. government asked a North Carolina federal court to sign off on a deal for the Defense Department to put $1.2 million toward cleaning up the site of an old Navy base while ViacomCBS and two other companies agreed to pay over half a million dollars for pollution tied to cabinet manufacturing.
Motion attached | Read full article »
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Analysis
Why Breyer Is To Thank (Or Blame) For Sentencing Guidelines
Justice Stephen Breyer will retire as a great deal maker at the U.S. Supreme Court, but in the shadow of his jurisprudence lies a more complicated part of his legacy: the often-maligned federal sentencing guidelines that fundamentally reshaped the practice of criminal law.
Winston & Strawn Antes Up With Associate Pay Bump
Winston & Strawn LLP has raised its associate pay, falling in line with a new salary scale set by Milbank LLP, the firm confirmed to Law360 Pulse Thursday.
141 Law Firms Honored For LGBTQ+ Equality
The number of U.S. law firms receiving a perfect score for LGBTQ+ equality has increased since a report last year, indicating that the legal industry has further advanced workplace protections.
1st Circ. Chief Judge Steps Back, Giving Biden Another Pick
First Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey R. Howard, a George W. Bush appointee, will take senior status, opening up a second seat for President Joe Biden to fill on the nation’s smallest federal appellate court.
Biden Nominates 6 US Attys, From New England To Alaska
President Joe Biden has announced the nomination of four current prosecutors and two former ones to lead U.S. attorney’s offices in the districts of New Hampshire, Alaska, Utah, Connecticut, Montana and New Mexico.
Analysis
Meadows On Shaky Legal Ground With Privilege Claim
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week rejecting former President Donald Trump’s bid to block certain White House documents from the House select committee probing the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack will make it more difficult for his allies, such as his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, to keep documents or conversations they had with Trump pertaining to the attack private.
Trump Spokesman Fights To Keep Jan. 6 Bank Docs Private
A lawyer representing a spokesman for former President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that he plans to revise a lawsuit against the House select committee investigating last year’s U.S. Capitol riot to block Chase Bank from handing over more of his client’s private financial records to the panel.
Edelson, Ex-Girardi Attys Can Post Separate Financial Charts
An Illinois federal judge probing contempt liability over Thomas V. Girardi’s misappropriation of $2 million said Thursday that he’ll accept separate charts reflecting certain Girardi & Keese accounts’ cash flow, after learning a dispute arose over how to present the information to the court.
10th Circ. Deals Trial Lawyer Partial Loss In TM Fight
Siding against famed litigator Gerry Spence in his bitter trademark fight with the legal training school he founded, a Tenth Circuit panel has said a lower court rightly found he couldn’t use statements that could create confusion about his relationship with his former institution.
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