Trump’s ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Rape Suit DNA Offer Nixed By Judge
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TOP NEWS
Trump’s ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Rape Suit DNA Offer Nixed By Judge
By Lauren Berg
A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday rejected former President Donald Trump’s “quid pro quo” offer of a DNA sample in E. Jean Carroll’s rape lawsuit in exchange for pages from a report on the dress she was wearing during the alleged assault, clearing the latest potential roadblock to an April trial.
Order attached | Read full article »
MGA Wants T.I.’s Atty Sanctioned Over Racism Allegations
By Craig Clough
MGA Entertainment urged a California federal judge to sanction a Winston & Strawn LLP attorney for alleging the company’s lawyer is racist, the latest fallout from an increasingly contentious intellectual property battle between the toy manufacturer and hip-hop moguls T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris.
Motion attached | Read full article »
Roc-A-Fella’s Damon Dash Cleared On Civil Sex Assault Claim
By Craig Clough
A California federal jury on Wednesday largely sided with Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash in striking down a photographer’s sex assault and civil theft claims, rejecting her bid for over $150 million, but found Dash and two co-defendants owed $15,000 for defamation and set the stage for possible punitive damages.
Reporter Sheds Charges Over Ohio Train Derailment Coverage
By Hayley Fowler
A TV news reporter who was arrested while covering a press conference about the Norfolk Southern Railway Co. train derailment in eastern Ohio won’t face criminal prosecution after the state attorney general on Wednesday dropped trespassing charges against him.
Motion attached | Read full article »
WallStreetBets Founder Says Reddit Hijacked Forum
By Lauren Berg
The founder of WallStreetBets, a stock and financial advice community built on Reddit, accused the social media platform of trying to commandeer the forum and infringe on his right to trademark his successful brand, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in California federal court.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
House Judiciary GOP Subpoenas Big Tech Executives
By Kelly Lienhard
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed the heads of Big Tech companies on Wednesday as part of the committee’s probe into allegations the industry colluded with the Biden administration to block free speech.
5 documents attached | Read full article »
Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2023 Editorial Boards
Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2023 editorial advisory boards.
LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE
Feds Knock Bid For Greater Counsel Access As Too Much
By Britain Eakin
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has urged a federal judge to dismiss a suit from advocacy groups alleging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees lack adequate access to counsel, saying they are asking for too much.
Memorandum attached | Read full article »
DEALS
2 Firms Lead NFT Gaming Platform’s $7M IPO
By Jade Martinez-Pogue
The NFT Gaming Co., a digital gaming platform focused on NFTs, began trading publicly Wednesday after raising $7 million in its initial public offering.
PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION
Class Says GameStop Must Face Pa. Web Wiretapping Suit
By P.J. D’Annunzio
A putative class urged a federal Pennsylvania judge to keep their suit against GameStop Inc. over allegedly illegal website tracking alive, arguing the case sufficiently shows that consumers did not consent to the “interception” of their electronic devices.
Memorandum attached | Read full article »
EU Lawmakers Refuse To Back US Data Transfer Pact
By Allison Grande
A European parliamentary committee is advising against the approval of a revamped framework that would allow personal information to flow freely from the EU to the U.S., arguing that the mechanism fails to address concerns over the U.S. government’s access to transferred data that led to the demise of its predecessor.
1 document attached | Read full article »
COMPETITION
EU Will Review Adobe’s $20B Figma Deal After Requests
By Matthew Perlman
The European Union’s antitrust enforcer said Wednesday that it will review Adobe Inc.’s planned $20 billion takeover of design collaboration company Figma Inc. after receiving requests from several member states.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
New Bill Seeks Stronger Vetting For ISPs Getting FCC Funds
By Nadia Dreid
Two senators are trying to make the vetting process tougher for rural broadband telecoms trying to get their hands on Federal Communications Commission-provided high-cost subsidies aimed at closing the digital divide with a new bill.
2 documents attached | Read full article »
FCC Denies Calif. Stations’ License Renewals After Dead Air
By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn
The Federal Communications Commission declined to review its decision to let the license of an AM station in South Lake Tahoe, California, expire after a long period of radio silence.
Order attached | Read full article »
‘Strike Force’ Needed To Defend Cyber Traffic, FCC Told
By Christopher Cole
AT&T, Verizon and Lumen are urging the Federal Communications Commission to develop a “strike force” of industry and government experts who could reduce threats to the backbone of the internet in case of cyberattacks.
Letter attached | Read full article »
Sinclair Sports Unit Skips $140M Debt Interest Payment
By Vince Sullivan
A subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. that operates 19 regional sports networks announced Wednesday that it will skip a $140 million debt interest payment on its senior notes, saying it will elect to enter a 30-day grace period that could set the stage for a bankruptcy filing.
HOSPITALITY
Cinema Investors Seek Sanctions In $457M Award Fight
By Caroline Simson
A group of investors trying to enforce a $457 million arbitral award against a Chinese entertainment tycoon urged a New York judge to sanction him for ducking their efforts to pin down his assets in the months since the court confirmed the award last fall.
Brief attached | Read full article »
INSURANCE
Benihana’s Virus Coverage Suit Latest To Fail In NY Courts
By Pete Brush
A Manhattan judge on Wednesday dismissed Benihana Inc.’s coverage suit against property insurers for losses sustained during the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to a line of defeats for New York hospitality and sports venues claiming damage from the virus.
PEOPLE
Mitchell Silberberg Hires Former HBO Senior Counsel In LA
By Beverly Banks
A former vice president and senior counsel of labor relations at HBO has come back to Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in Los Angeles as a partner, the firm announced, saying he will represent entertainment industry producers and distributors of motion pictures in arbitration and at the NLRB.
EXPERT ANALYSIS
‘OK Go!’ Suit Highlights TM Protection For Common Words
A recent trademark suit filed by Post Foods against the band OK Go over the cereal maker’s use of “OK Go!” provides the latest opportunity to look at the issue of trademarking common words, and illustrates why companies have to be careful when picking names, says William Honaker at Dickinson Wright.
Procedure Rule 7.1 Can Simplify Litigators’ Diversity Analysis
A recent amendment to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7.1 will help trial courts determine whether the parties to a case are diverse, and may also allow litigators to more quickly determine whether they can remove certain cases to federal court, says Steve Shapiro at Schnader Harrison.
LEGAL INDUSTRY
Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q4
A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the fourth quarter of last year.
Ex-Stanford Law Dean Signed Bankman-Fried’s Bond
By Rachel Scharf
The former dean of Stanford Law School signed a $500,000 bond to help FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried remain out of jail pending his trial over the crypto exchange’s stunning collapse, according to court filings unsealed by a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday.
3 documents attached | Read full article »
NY Senate Rejects Chief Judge Nominee LaSalle In Full Vote
By Frank G. Runyeon
The New York State Senate voted down the chief judge nomination of Justice Hector LaSalle in a surprise full floor vote Wednesday, following a month of deadlock after a contentious committee vote rejected his candidacy and spurred a constitutional debate.
Analysis
These Firms Are Pulling In The Most Patent Litigation Work
By Andrew Karpan
A former personal injury law firm that turned to intellectual property work during the pandemic filed more patent suits over the last three years than any other firm in the U.S., according to a new Lex Machina report.
Analysis
These Firms Are Pulling In The Most PTAB Work
By Jasmin Jackson
Intellectual property boutique Fish & Richardson PC continued to pick up the most work at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board over the last three years, with the firm attributing its success to its ability to draw on the patent expertise it has built across forums and to craft legal teams that are tailored to each client.
Analysis
PTAB Sees Uptick In Filings After Vidal’s Fintiv Guidance
By Andrew Karpan
Filings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board inched upward in 2022, a trend lawyers say has to do with guidance from the patent office director last year limiting the board’s use of discretion to deny patent reviews.
GOP Sens. Say Role In Assault Case Disqualifies 1st Circ. Pick
By James Arkin
A First Circuit nominee defended his past role representing a school facing a lawsuit from a sexual assault survivor’s family during a Senate hearing Wednesday, as Republicans questioned his judgment in the case that some said was “disqualifying” for his nomination to the bench.
9 documents attached | Read full article »
Oregon, DC Picks Secure District Judgeships
By James Arkin
The U.S. Senate confirmed Oregon Supreme Court Justice Adrienne C. Nelson to the District of Oregon and Williams & Connolly LLP partner Ana C. Reyes to a federal judgeship in the District of Columbia on Wednesday in bipartisan votes.
3rd Circ. Vacancy A Chance For More Professional Diversity
By P.J. D’Annunzio
With the impending retirement of Third Circuit Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr., President Joe Biden has an opportunity to further professional diversity on a federal appeals bench made up largely of judges with career backgrounds in prosecution and corporate law, observers say.
Calif. State Bar Considers Rules On Reporting Other Lawyers
By James Mills
Public reaction to a proposed new rule that would require California lawyers to tattle on other lawyers’ misconduct was mixed in a sparsely attended online meeting held by the California state bar on Wednesday morning.
NY Courts Need Better Tech, Staffing, Top Judges Say
By Emily Lever
The New York state court system should draw on the lessons of the pandemic to expand its use of technology to provide alternatives to in-person proceedings and analog paper filings as well as to beef up staffing, according to a report by a working group assessing the judiciary’s pandemic practices released Wednesday.
Feature
How Seattle Firms Are Trying To Find The New Normal
By Greg Lamm
Some of Seattle’s largest law firms say they hope pre-pandemic investments in workplace technology will help them return to normalcy with less office space and even help them prepare for a possible economic downturn.
Sidney Powell Wants Ethics Expert Out Of Misconduct Trial
By Ryan Boysen
Embattled attorney Sidney Powell wants a legal ethics expert excluded from a professional misconduct lawsuit in Texas state court over Powell’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, calling the expert a “total insider” who was “paid to provide a predetermined opinion.”
Motion attached | Read full article »
Calif. Bar Faces Bid To Revive Exam ADA Suit At 9th Circ.
By Bonnie Eslinger
Counsel for an attorney alleging the State Bar of California discriminated by failing to provide adequate accommodations for his disabilities during a COVID-19-era bar exam urged the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday to revive his claims, arguing the district court wrongly found the bar had sovereign immunity.
Conn. Atty Wants Ex-IP Firm Partner To Stop Using His Name
By Gianna Ferrarin
Connecticut-based intellectual property attorney Charles Ruggiero accused his former law partner on Wednesday of continuing to practice under Ruggiero’s name after he moved to dissolve their firm last year.
Complaint attached | Read full article »
JOBS
| Manager, Counsel – Employment Law Spectrum / Charter Communications Stamford, Connecticut |
