McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Wendy’s franchisees face ‘convict leasing’ suit

Incarcerated workers are suing Alabama and employers, including franchisees of major restaurant chains, over an alleged system of coerced labor.

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Dec. 14, 2023

Nuns take on big guns, sue Smith & Wesson board over AR-15 sales

Environmental law professor Victor Flatt said he expects to see more derivative suits filed over environmental, social and governance factors going forward.

By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 13, 2023

Deleted messages bedeviled Google in its loss to Epic

The judge in the antitrust case reportedly told jurors to assume the search giant was hiding unfavorable communications by allowing internal messages to delete automatically. 

By Robert Freedman • Dec. 12, 2023

ADA discrimination standing stays murky after SCOTUS rules case moot

Lower courts remain split on whether someone can sue for lack of accessibility information even if the person filing the complaint has no intention of going to the company’s physical location. 

By Robert Freedman • Dec. 6, 2023

Wells Fargo union-linked lawsuit, settlement get lost in the shuffle

An employee accused Wells of improperly denying overtime to its senior premier bankers. But that story was overtaken in the news cycle by another Wells legal matter: ex-CEO Tim Sloan's $34 million lawsuit.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 5, 2023

NYC adds height, weight to protected workplace categories

Employees who think they’ve been denied a position or other opportunity because of their stature have grounds to file a complaint under a law now in effect.

By Robert Freedman • Dec. 1, 2023

FTC dealt big loss in attack on direct sales company

Skincare and wellness company Neora won in federal court on all the counts brought against it, potentially shaping how the FTC can go after companies it thinks are operating a pyramid scheme.

By Ed Burbach • Dec. 1, 2023

Insurers hit with attorneys’ fees after trying to get out of indemnifying policyholders

A New York Supreme Court ruling creates precedent in the way it makes the loser in an insurance matter pay its client.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 30, 2023

3M, other chemical manufacturers score win in PFAS case

The Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati found the plaintiff could not tie the “forever” chemicals in his blood to the 10 named defendants.

By Lamar Johnson • Nov. 29, 2023

Lawyers face scrutiny for alleged role in hiding IP litigation funder

A federal judge is seeking an ethics review for attorneys who said they were representing plaintiffs in patent infringement cases but were working for a different company that was the “de facto owner.”

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 28, 2023

Hotel industry players challenge NLRB joint employer rule

As the rule continues to be contested, debates over its legality are playing out in the hotel industry, where labor disputes and shortages continue to impact hoteliers.

By Noelle Mateer • Nov. 28, 2023

Navigating religious accommodation after Groff v. DeJoy

Employers may need to institute more rigorous processes than they now have in place for handling such accommodations.

By Jonathan A. Segal and Adam D. Brown • Nov. 21, 2023

Christian Louboutin, Meta launch legal complaint against alleged counterfeiter

The joint complaint marks another instance of collaboration between fashion and tech companies over alleged counterfeit sales.

By Laurel Deppen • Nov. 21, 2023

Skechers settles patent dispute with nonslip shoe maker

Laforst Shoes can no longer sell the infringing shoe design, a federal judge ruled.

By Laurel Deppen • Nov. 16, 2023

Fox to hand off big docket of lawsuits to incoming legal chief

Adam Ciongoli, the Campbell Soup Co. CLO taking the top legal job from Viet Dinh at the embattled news company, faces class actions and other lawsuits for Fox’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 9, 2023

Companies hit with class actions under Illinois biometric data law

After years of little activity, the Biometric Information Privacy Act is spurring litigation by consumers and employees over use of their facial scans, fingerprints and other imaging data.

By Lisa Burden • Nov. 8, 2023

Preparing for legal risks as if they’re imminent

It costs money to anticipate investigations or lawsuits, but it’s cheaper to have a team and process in place before you’re surprised, litigation specialists say.

By Robert Freedman • Nov. 6, 2023

On the stand, Bankman-Fried blames FTX counsel

The head of the collapsed crypto exchange said his use of funds at the core of fraud charges against him was cleared by lawyers.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 27, 2023

ACC blasts FTC over allegation Amazon misused privilege

In a proposed amicus curiae brief, the Association of Corporate Counsel calls out the agency for claiming executives’ use of in-house attorneys implied they knew they were acting illegally.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 26, 2023

Bad rulings, overly broad discovery doomed Fox in defamation trial, outgoing CLO says

It wasn’t his legal strategy but pretrial rules set by the judge that forced the network to settle, Viet Dinh said at a law school forum.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 19, 2023

Taking judgments to the bank before the final win

An insurance policy that Appian took out adds $500 million in market cap to the software company for a court judgment that might not materialize.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 18, 2023

Trump lawyers didn’t forget to check a box on jury trial, Judge Engoron says

The equitable relief being sought is handled in a bench trial, the judge said during proceedings this week.  

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 12, 2023

Judge stays cancellation of Trump Org. business certificates

The ruling means the company can continue to operate its core businesses but the fraud trial against it will continue. 

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 9, 2023

Judge in civil fraud case had reason to worry Trump could move assets

A transfer of assets to a business entity his company created last year could complicate the court’s ability to enforce disgorgement, should that end up being one of the remedies.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 6, 2023

Improve D&O coverage while market is soft, broker says

Insurers are prepared to give on terms and pricing going into 2024, according to a Woodruff Sawyer survey.

By Robert Freedman • Oct. 2, 2023