Disney, Florida District Reach Agreement On Land Use Suit

By David Minsky

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District on Wednesday approved a settlement with Disney in its lawsuit over two land use agreements the company signed with a predecessor district for property surrounding the Walt Disney World theme park.

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Fla. Panel Reverses $43M Judgment In Tobacco Suit

By David Minsky

Florida's Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed a $43 million judgment against Philip Morris USA Inc. in a wrongful death case, issuing a split decision stating that hearsay testimony allowed during the trial wasn't offered to prove that the female decedent believed filtered cigarettes were safe.

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Justices Poised To Expand Repeat Offenders' Jury Trial Rights

By Jeff Overley

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared likely Wednesday to agree with the Biden administration and the criminal defense bar that repeat offenders have a constitutional right to let a jury decide if past offenses were sufficiently distinct to trigger lengthy prison terms under a prominent sentencing enhancement.

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​​​​​​​CSX Can't End DOL's Improper Retirement Plan Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Florida federal judge backed a magistrate judge's recommendation Wednesday that the court knock down CSX Transportation Inc.'s bid to dismiss a suit alleging it mismanaged its retirement plan fees, discarding the company's concerns that the report made improper legal conclusions.

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Backers Of Trump-Tied SPAC Sue To Confirm Manager Purge

By Tom Zanki

Investors behind the sponsor of the special-purpose acquisition company that took Donald Trump's Truth Social public sued its managing member, seeking a declaration from the Delaware Chancery Court that they have validly removed him from his post and that he has no authority to act on their behalf.

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Insurer Ducks Coverage Of Florida Law Firm Dispute

By Elizabeth Daley

A personal injury law firm involved in a joint venture dispute has no insurance coverage for the litigation, a Florida federal judge has ruled, finding its policy only provided professional services liability, not anything else.

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11th Circ. Affirms Experian's Win In Credit Reporting Suit

By Yun Park

The Eleventh Circuit has determined a district court didn't err in evidentiary rulings in a case brought by a Florida resident against Experian Information Solutions Inc. alleging it inaccurately reported a discharged mortgage in his credit history, upholding a verdict in favor of the company.

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On Deck In JPML: Baby Food, 23andMe Privacy, NCAA

By Cara Salvatore

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's packed meeting Thursday in South Carolina will see the panel mulling consolidation of privacy litigation against 23andMe, claims of heavy metals in baby food, and scholarship-fixing claims by student athletes against the NCAA — and that's just for starters.

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Kimco Sells 10 Shopping Centers For $248M After RPT Buy

By Nate Beck

Real estate investment trust Kimco Realty said it has sold 10 open-air shopping centers it gained in an acquisition of RPT Realty earlier this year for a total of $248 million.

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What Rescheduling Could Mean For Cannabis Bankruptcies

Bankruptcy courts have historically been closed for cannabis-related businesses, but recent case law coupled with a possible reclassification of cannabis provides cautious optimism, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

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A Defense Strategy For Addressing Copyright Fee-Shifting

Permissive fee-shifting under Section 505 of the Copyright Act poses unique challenges for copyright defendants, carrying an outsize impact on the economic incentive structure in copyright litigation, but relying on a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure may offer a potential solution by allowing defendants to recover attorney fees, say Hugh Marbury and Molly Shaffer at Cozen O'Connor.

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And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers

A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

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Lateral Hiring Plummets As Post-COVID Talent Wars Cease

By Tracey Read

Lateral lawyer hiring plummeted 35% overall in 2023 — marking the second consecutive annual decline and the softest market in 13 years, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association for Law Placement.

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Weil Latest Firm To Cut Back On China Presence

By Xiumei Dong

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is the latest to join a growing list of major international law firms scaling down their operations in China, confirming Wednesday that it has closed its Beijing office and is considering consolidating its Shanghai office with its operation in Hong Kong.

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Sedgwick Trustee's Valuation Of Firm Flawed, Judge Told

By Dorothy Atkins

An accounting expert hired by two ex-partners fighting the Sedgwick LLP trustee's bid to claw back $1.1 million testified at the close of a three-day California bench trial Wednesday that the trustee expert's valuation analysis is "materially flawed" and took a "sledgehammer" to the law firm's book value.

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Judge Agrees To Training For 'Overly Harsh' Workplace

By Lauren Berg

The Judicial Council for the Second Circuit has declined to review the dismissal of a law clerk's complaint against a federal judge, who acknowledged the clerk's claims of their "overly harsh" management style and agreed to participate in workplace conduct counseling and training.

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Eastman Should Be Disbarred, Calif. State Bar Judge Rules

By Lauren Berg

A State Bar Court of California judge on Wednesday recommended disbarring Donald Trump's onetime attorney John Eastman, who helped plan and promote the former president's strategy to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

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Rosen Tells Ethics Panel Jeffrey Clark Was 'Out Of Bounds'

By Ali Sullivan

Former acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen testified Wednesday that his onetime subordinate, former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark, went far beyond the scope of his duties in the final days of the Trump administration, as Clark faces disciplinary charges from a Washington, D.C., attorney ethics panel.

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Calif. Judge Decries DOJ's Broken Promises In Travel Ban Suit

By Alyssa Aquino

A California federal judge reprimanded U.S. Department of Justice attorneys for causing delays, breaking promises and hobbling the administration of justice while granting class certification to individuals who sought waivers to former President Donald Trump's travel ban targeting mostly Muslim-majority countries.

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Ex-GC For Lockheed Martin Space Joins Sherman & Howard

By Michele Gorman

A former general counsel and longtime attorney at Lockheed Martin has joined Sherman & Howard LLC as co-leader of the aerospace industry group, the law firm said Wednesday.

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Feds Say Murdaugh Lied, Broke Plea Deal Over $9M Fraud

By Jake Maher

Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney serving a life sentence for killing his wife and son, was dishonest with the government and should potentially face a harsher prison sentence than the one proposed in a plea agreement on federal charges of stealing at least $9 million from clients, prosecutors said. 

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Ex-SDNY Clerk Can't Skirt Prison For Bribe Plot, Feds Say

By Elliot Weld

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York pushed back on a former court clerk's request for no prison time after he was convicted of scheming to refer clients to a defense attorney for kickbacks, calling for a sentence of 41 to 51 months.

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