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☆ Hair relaxer claims against L'Oreal, Revlon can proceed -U.S. judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Diana Novak Jones | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 13 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday allowed the majority of claims to move forward in sprawling litigation that claims chemical hair relaxer products made by L'Oreal USA, Revlon and others cause cancer and other injuries. Illinois-based U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland denied most of the companies’ arguments in their motion to dismiss the complaint in the multidistrict litigation over the products. The products, which include chemicals to permanently straighten textured hair, are typically marketed to women of color. Representatives for L’Oreal (OREP.PA) and Revlon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement posted online after the first lawsuits were filed, L'Oreal said it was "confident in the safety of our products and believe the recent lawsuits filed against us have no legal merit."

Persons: Sheila Bush, Lawrence Bryant, Mary Rowland, Rowland, Jennifer Hoekstra, Diana Jones, Leigh Jones, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, L'Oreal USA, Revlon, District, National Institutes of Health, L’Oreal, L'Oreal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: St, Louis , Missouri, U.S, Illinois, India

X, formerly known as Twitter, sued Atlas Exploration in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday in a complaint alleging breach of contract. X has faced an array of legal actions over unpaid rent and other invoices following Musk's $44 billion buyout last October. In one case, the owner of X's main office at 1355 Market Street in San Francisco sued X for more than $3.1 million in unpaid rent. Britain's Crown Estate, which manages the property portfolio belonging to the monarchy, in January filed claims against X over alleged unpaid rent on its London headquarters. The case is X Corp v Atlas Exploration Inc, San Francisco Superior Court, No.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Elon, X, Atlas, Kevin Hill, Hill, Jonathan Hawk, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Elon Musk's X Corp, San, Twitter, Atlas Exploration, San Francisco Superior Court, Inc, X, X Corp, Exploration Inc, San Francisco Superior, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, San Francisco, San Francisco's, Britain's, London

Qualcomm has denied any wrongdoing and had asked the judge to reject the consumers' claims. The consumers' case was in Corley's court following a 9th Circuit ruling in 2021 that struck down an order certifying a nationwide consumer class action. In January, Corley dismissed core antitrust elements of the plaintiffs' claims but let the case move forward. The consumers' lawyers told Corley that "Qualcomm turns a blind eye to the massive evidentiary record" backing the consumers' allegations of exclusive dealing. The case is In re: Qualcomm Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jacqueline Scott Corley, Corley, Joseph Cotchett, Kalpana Srinivasan, Susman Godfrey, Robert Van, Van, Gary Bornstein, Richard Taffet, Morgan, Lewis, Bockius Read, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Qualcomm, REUTERS, Tuesday, U.S, Apple, U.S . Federal, Circuit, Qualcomm Antitrust Litigation, Court, Northern District of, McCarthy, Thomson Locations: California, San Francisco, San Diego, Northern District, Northern District of California, Cotchett, Pitre, U.S

The U.S. consumer agency, which enforces federal antitrust law, and 17 states filed their lawsuit against Amazon in Seattle federal court on Tuesday, asking a U.S. judge to consider an injunction and other penalties to combat alleged unlawful conduct. The FTC's lawsuit is related to but broader than a series of private consumer cases filed in recent years against Amazon that are pending in the same U.S. federal court. The private antitrust cases offer an early window into some of the legal arguments Amazon could be expected to make to challenge the FTC's lawsuit. Generally speaking, U.S. judges are "wary of using antitrust law to punish low-pricing behavior," said antitrust scholar Sean Sullivan of the University of Iowa's law school. Sullivan said it is not always a clear line between "good low pricing" — based on market competition — and "bad low pricing" that helps a company acquire or maintain market power.

Persons: Mike Segar, David Balto, Diane Hazel, Foley, Lardner, Hazel, Tom Cotter, David Zapolsky, Zapolsky, Lina Khan, Ricardo Martinez, Martinez, George W, Bush, Sean Sullivan, Sullivan, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Federal Trade, Amazon.com, Amazon, Reuters, FTC, U.S, University of Minnesota Law School, District, University of, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Seattle, Washington, Mt, Rainier

Yelp (YELP.N) and News/Media Alliance, which are not defendants in the litigation but are targets of Google's subpoenas, argue that law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison should be disqualified. A spokesperson for Paul Weiss said the "firm's representation of Google is appropriate in all respects." Yelp said it hired Paul Weiss in 2016 for counsel on antitrust issues. The Justice Department's antitrust head, Jonathan Kanter, was on the Paul Weiss team representing Yelp. New York-based Paul Weiss, which has about 1,000 lawyers globally, is also representing Amazon.com in various antitrust lawsuits.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Paul, Weiss, Garrison, Leonie Brinkema, Paul Weiss, Yelp, Jonathan Kanter, Charles Molster III, Brandon Kressin, Brinkema, Kanter, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones, Rami Ayyub Organizations: Google, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Media Alliance, Yelp, U.S, Google LLC, Eastern, of, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, U.S, Rifkind, Wharton, New York, States, of Virginia

☆ SEC punts on whether syndicated loans are securities, in closely watched appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Law firm alerts have gone so far as to call the appeal an “existential threat” to the entire syndicated loan market. The SEC later added to the suspense by requesting two more extensions from the 2nd Circuit, noting the complexity of the issue. On the other hand, any remaining uncertainty will be resolved as soon as the 2nd Circuit issues a ruling. But it’s a good bet that the trustee's lawyers from McKool will urge the 2nd Circuit to read the SEC’s silence as proof of the complexity of the issue. An earlier version incorrectly reported that Judge Michael Park was part of the 2nd Circuit panel that heard oral argument.)

Persons: Cromwell, JPMorgan Chase, Marc Kirschner, Paul Gardephe, Manhattan, Gardephe, McKool Smith, Jose Cabranes, Joseph Bianco, Myrna Perez, ”, Malcolm Stewart, Christopher Johnson, McKool, SEC wouldn’t, Michael Park, Alison Frankel, Leigh Jones Organizations: Sullivan, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Circuit, SEC, 2nd, JPMorgan, Millennium, U.S . Justice Department, District, Trading Association, Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, Justice Department, U.S . Treasury Department, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S .

Crocs sued Joybees in federal court on Thursday, expanding on a separate lawsuit that the Colorado-based company filed in 2021. The new complaint, accusing Joybees and its chief executive of unfair competition, came a day after Joybees filed claims in the same court against Crocs. Joybees also said it was seeking a declaration that its shoes had not violated Crocs' intellectual property protections. Joybees, according to Crocs' lawsuit, hired key operations and manufacturing employees from Crocs. The cases are Crocs Inc v Joybees LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, 1:23-cv-01719-NRN and 21-cv-02859-PAB-MEH.

Persons: Crocs, Joybees, Kellen McCarvel, McCarvel, Porter Kaye Scholer, Jonathan Cooperman, Kelley Drye, Chad Nitta, Rock, Saul Rostamian, Sheppard Mullin, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Colorado Joybees, Crocs, Joybees, Investment, District of, Arnold, Warren, Thomson Locations: Colorado, Denver, Crocs, District of Colorado

☆ Apple to ask US Supreme Court to undo App Store order in Epic Games case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Mike Scarcella | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Circuit Court of Appeals that kept in place most of the order issued in 2021 by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. In appeals to the 9th Circuit, Epic challenged key parts of the judge's ruling that favored Apple, while Apple challenged the order concerning the App Store. On Friday, the 9th Circuit rejected petitions from Apple and Epic urging the court to revisit its April decision. Epic Games also can ask the Supreme Court to hear its appeal. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

Persons: Apple, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Rogers, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, Epic, San, Circuit, U.S, Apple, Apple ., Apple Inc, Thomson Locations: U.S, San Francisco, California

☆ BNSF Railway wins new trial over $228 million jury award in biometric data case
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Mike Scarcella | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But Kennelly said damages under the biometric law were discretionary, and so "BNSF is entitled to have a jury determine the appropriate amount of damages." The trial was the first to be held under the Illinois biometric privacy law, which is among the most stringent nationwide in protecting sensitive personal information. The jury in Chicago last year concluded BNSF "recklessly or intentionally" violated the Illinois biometric privacy law 45,600 times. Lawyers for BNSF said in a post-trial brief that the Illinois biometric law contains the word "may" and that "there is the option not to award damages, or to award damages in any amount less than the statutory maximum." The case is Rogers v. BNSF Railway Company, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No.

Persons: Berkshire Hathaway, Matthew Kennelly, Kennelly, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Jon Loevy, Myles McGuire, David Gerbie, Elizabeth Herrington, Lewis, Bockius Read, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Law, BNSF, Berkshire, BNSF Railway, District, Facebook, Rogers, . BNSF Railway Company, Court, Northern District of, McGuire Law, Thomson, & $ Locations: U.S, Illinois, Fort Worth , Texas, Chicago, Northern District, Northern District of Illinois, Morgan

Those figures are now 20% at Berkeley Law and 15% at Michigan Law. The Association of American Law Schools on July 10 is convening a virtual conference focused on admissions in a post-affirmative action landscape, chaired by Berkeley Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky. Alongside strategies to recruit and admit diverse students, Zearfoss said the changing demographics of the law school applicant pool have helped Michigan Law bolster student diversity—good news for law schools now facing an affirmative action ban. The law school also prioritizes recruiting at events geared toward minority applicants and at college and universities with significant minority enrollment, Zearfoss added. Michigan Law and Berkeley Law both voluntarily withhold information about each applicant's race to ensure they comply with their state laws, admissions officials said.

Persons: Sarah Zearfoss, Erwin Chemerinsky, Edward Blum, ”, Michigan’s Zearfoss, Zearfoss, Chemerinsky, “, ” Chemerinsky, Karen Sloan, Leigh Jones Organizations: U.S, Supreme, University of Michigan Law School, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley Law, American Bar Association, Michigan Law's, ABA, Michigan Law, Association of American Law Schools, Berkeley, Fair Admissions, Harvard University, University of North, Asian, Fair, Association of American Medical Colleges, American Dental Association, Law, Thomson Locations: Michigan, California, American, Sarah Zearfoss , Michigan, University of North Carolina, U.S

The lawyers said in the filing that the $725 million settlement is the largest data-privacy recovery in history and the largest private settlement Facebook has ever agreed to. Meta and an outside lawyer for the company from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the fee request on Thursday. While a 25% fee amounts to $181,250,000, the fees paid from the settlement fund would be about $180,449,782, the lawyers wrote. The company and its outside law firm, Gibson Dunn, already paid about $800,217 in sanctions, which can be deducted from the total fees, they wrote. The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which the judge granted preliminary approval of in March.

Persons: Keller Rohrback, Fonti, Auld, Derek Loeser, Lesley Weaver, Bleichmar Fonti, Dunn, Crutcher, Gibson Dunn, Vince Chhabria, Meta, Read, Sara Merken, Leigh Jones Organizations: San, Facebook, Meta, Gibson, U.S, Cambridge, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal

NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday imposed sanctions on two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fictitious case citations generated by an artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered lawyers Steven Schwartz, Peter LoDuca and their law firm Levidow, Levidow & Oberman to pay a $5,000 fine in total. Levidow, Levidow & Oberman said in a statement on Thursday that its lawyers "respectfully" disagreed with the court that they acted in bad faith. Lawyers for Avianca first alerted the court in March that they could not locate some cases cited in the brief. His order also said the lawyers must notify the judges, all of them real, who were identified as authors of the fake cases of the sanction.

Persons: District Judge P, Kevin Castel, Steven Schwartz, Peter LoDuca, Levidow, Oberman, Schwartz, LoDuca, Avianca, Bart Banino, Sara Merken, Leigh Jones, Jamie Freed Organizations: YORK, District Judge, Colombian, Avianca, Thomson, & $ Locations: U.S, York, ChatGPT . U.S, Manhattan

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour rejected bids from Apple and Amazon to dismiss the prospective class action on various legal grounds. Lawyers for Apple and Amazon and representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. In 2018, according to the lawsuit, there were some 600 third-party Apple resellers on Amazon. Apple agreed to give Amazon a discount on its products if Amazon reduced the number of Apple resellers from its marketplace, the lawsuit alleged. The judge in Seattle said "countervailing" motivations for the agreement between Apple and Amazon would be addressed later in the litigation.

Persons: iPads, John Coughenour, Coughenour, Steve Berman, Apple, Steven Floyd, Read, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: District, Apple, Amazon, Ninth Circuit, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Western District of Washington, Thomson Locations: U.S, Seattle, Western District

June 8 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) and "Fortnite" maker Epic Games on Wednesday both asked a U.S. appeals court to reconsider its April ruling in an antitrust case that could force Apple to change payment practices in its App Store. Apple and Epic, in separate court filings, mounted challenges to a ruling by a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Epic also argued that the appeals court did not conduct a "rigorous" balancing between asserted asserted consumer benefits and anticompetitive effects of Apple's practices. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.

Persons: Apple, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Gonzalez Rogers, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Apple, Circuit, Appeals, banc, U.S, Supreme, Apple Inc, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, Epic's, Apple's, South Korea, Netherlands, Japan

Online consumers alleged "social casino" games developed by the defendants "constitute unlawful gambling under Washington's gambling laws." International Game Technology, based in the U.K., and DoubleDown have denied any liability. Tens of thousands of class members "purchased and lost chips" by wagering at DoubleDown Casino, the plaintiffs' lawyers alleged. Logan said in the latest settlement "many class members stand to receive, individually, hundreds of thousands of dollars." The plaintiffs' lawyers had said they would seek no more than 30% for fees.

Persons: Robert Lasnik, DoubleDown, Lasnik, Todd Logan, Logan, Benson, Jay Edelson, Rafey Balabanian, Cecily Jordan, Tousley Brain Stephens, Jaime Drozd Allen, Davis Wright Tremaine, Lauren Case, Duane Morris, Adam Pankratz, Nash, Smoak, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: DoubleDown Interactive, Game Technology, District, International Game Technology, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, DoubleDown, Western District of Washington, Technology, Stewart, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, Seattle, Edelson, Chicago, Western District

A spokesperson for defendant Blue Cross Blue Shield Association declined to comment on pending litigation. A representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan also declined to comment. The lawsuit seeks to bar Blue Cross Blue Shield's alleged anticompetitive conduct, and it also seeks triple damages and other remedies. Ford's lawsuit said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is the country's ninth largest insurer based on its 4.5 million enrollees. The case is Ford Motor Co v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Company and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, No.

Persons: Ford, Travis Mihelick, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Ford Motor, Blue, Association, Ford, Shield Association, Circuit, Appeals, Shield, Michigan, Ford Motor Co, of Michigan Mutual Insurance Company, U.S, Eastern, Eastern District of, Thomson Locations: Detroit, Michigan, Alabama, Atlanta, Eastern District, Eastern District of Michigan

Fox will pay $6 million, and CBS, now known as Paramount Global (PARA.O), will pay $5 million, the court filing showed. Representatives for Cox, Fox and CBS either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Representatives from those defendants either declined to comment on the pending litigation or did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Plaintiffs' attorney Megan Jones at law firm Hausfeld, on Tuesday did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The case is In re: Local TV Advertising Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No.

Persons: Cox, District Judge Virginia Kendall, schemed, Sinclair, Kendall, Megan Jones, Hausfeld, Freed, Robins Kaplan, Jennifer Giordano, George Cary, Cleary Gottlieb Steen, Nathan Eimer, Eimer Stahl, Weil, Brian Sher, Bryan Cave Leighton, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: Fox, CBS, Cox Media Group, Fox Corp, CBS Corp, Northern, Northern District of Illinois, Paramount Global, U.S, District Judge, Cox, Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc, Scripps Company, TEGNA Inc, U.S . Justice Department, Local, Antitrust Litigation, Northern District of, Millen, Latham, Watkins, Hamilton, Thomson Locations: U.S, Northern District, Chicago, Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, federal court in his ruling called the settlement "fair, adequate and reasonable." Class members will receive $50 up to $395 based on the number and nature of repairs made to a keyboard. The court's ruling approved a request from the plaintiffs' lawyers for $15 million in legal fees. Two lead plaintiffs' lawyers at Girard Sharp and Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith in a statement said they "look forward to getting the money out to our clients." The case is In re: MacBook Keyboard Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

☆ Coinbase, crypto industry hope new Supreme Court doctrine is silver bullet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But the agency will have to provide a more detailed response if Ripple, Coinbase or crypto groups that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs pushing major questions doctrine arguments manage to pique a judge’s interest. Former Coinbase manager Ishan Wahi expanded on the major questions theory last February in his motion to dismiss the SEC’s insider trading case. Under the major questions doctrine, they said, the SEC does not have the requisite Congressional authority to regulate digital assets. Coinbase’s contention in that paper, released last Thursday, is all-encompassing: The major questions doctrine, according to Coinbase counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell, “forecloses” regulation of the trillion-dollar crypto industry. But if the SEC moves ahead with a case against Coinbase, the major questions doctrine could turn out to be, well, a major question.

Lawyers for Kroger said in a filing in California federal court that the grocery store shoppers who sued over the deal have failed to define the relevant market necessary to evaluate grocery store competition and to identify how the acquisition would hurt consumers. The attorneys said the lawsuit was lacking "real-world facts." U.S. competition law "does not turn every grocery store consumer in the country into a roving antitrust enforcer," lawyers for Kroger told U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. State antitrust enforcers also are looking at the deal. The case is Whalen v The Kroger Co, Albertsons Companies Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No.

April 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved a $75 million settlement between Smithfield Foods Inc and a class of consumers who accused the pork producer of conspiring to restrict supply in order to keep prices artificially high. Pork consumers last year settled with Smithfield rival JBS SA for $20 million. The judge in a separate order on Tuesday awarded nearly $25 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs firms representing the consumer class. The consumer class attorneys said in a court filing in January that they'd spent more than 37,000 hours pursuing antitrust claims over four years. The case is In re Pork Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, No.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the plaintiffs' first complaint in March after finding it failed to present enough information to back claims the acquisition would harm industry competition. The judge said at the time the plaintiffs could refile a new suit, which challenges the largest-ever video game industry deal. Lawyers for Microsoft said in a court filing last week that the gamers' original case "relied largely on flawed legal arguments based on outdated Supreme Court cases." The plaintiffs' lawyers have served subpoenas on companies including Activision and rivals including Nintendo of America Inc and Sony. The case is Demartini v. Microsoft, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 3:22-cv-08991-JSC.

CompaniesCompanies Law Firms Conocophillips FollowApril 3 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by environmentalists to temporarily suspend the U.S. government’s approval of ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) multibillion-dollar oil drilling project in Alaska’s Arctic. Gleason said an injunction was inappropriate because the groups wouldn't be irreparably harmed by the construction that ConocoPhillips has scheduled for this month, which includes building roads and a gravel mine. Bridget Psarianos, an attorney challenging the approval, called the planned construction schedule "aggressive" and said the judge's decision is "heartbreaking." The approvals for the project in northern Alaska give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The 30-year project would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, according to the company.

Two former college athletes filed the complaint against the NCAA, which is the governing body for U.S. intercollegiate sports, and a group of its member conferences. The lawsuit alleged an unlawful conspiracy to bar cash awards for academic success. The suit seeks to represent a class of "thousands" of current and former student athletes who competed on a Division I team starting in April 2019, before the academic awards were permitted. The complaint said the NCAA, its league conferences and member schools "generate billions of dollars a year in revenues from Division I sports." The plaintiffs "did not receive the academic achievement awards that they would have received in a competitive market," the complaint alleges.

In the data privacy case, Google has said its Chrome browser users consented to the company's data collection. The sanction in the data privacy action is not the first time Van Keulen has punished Google in the same case. The new sanctions order and the prior one from May 2022 addressed internal Google evidence concerning consumer use of the company's private browsing mode. Google, according to the judge's order, will be barred from relying on certain employee witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also said Google must pay fees associated with two experts working for the plaintiffs, and must also pay a $79,000 fine.

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