Daily Commerce

GUEST COLUMNS

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Machines are skilled at persuading each other, so if machines replaced human judges, engineers could understand the judge-machine's decision-making process and program lawyer-machines to come to the "right" decision.

Monday, August 28, 2023

Generative AI systems may be creative but aren't human enough to hold copyrights

District Court holds that copyright law is designed to adapt to the times but can't be stretched to works generated with no human involvement.

The rise of law school flash trials are replacing their slower counterparts

While traditional mock trials let law school students simulate courtroom proceedings in a controlled environment, Flash Trials accelerate this process. This high-paced competition offers a condensed trial experience: 45 to 60 minutes to prepare a case for trial in front of a three-jury panel.

How federal legislation can effectively tackle NIL collectives

The NCAA's interim policies on name, image and likeness rights have created a Gordian Knot for athletes and teams, which college sports leaders are calling on Congress to untie. Federal legislators are introducing bills to kick off the new era of NIL in college athletics, with an eye on collectives and their off-the-field impact.

Crafting your legal identity: navigating attorney business development

Welcome to the premiere of 'The Source,' your monthly column to the dynamic realm of attorney business development. Whether you're a budding lawyer or a seasoned practitioner, join us as we unearth strategies to bolster your legal brand, foster meaningful client relationships, and ascend as a beacon in your domain.

Judge John F. Walter

Biological relationship is not required for parent to pass citizen to child, circuit rules

US judge insists on better state prison staff testing

Men's rights attorney killed by would-be rival, sheriff confirms

Agility

NEWS

General News Monday, September 25, 2023
Master complaint plaintiff list grows in Carson fire lawsuits According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the September 2021 warehouse fire in the city of Carson released chemicals including ethanol into the Dominguez Channel, as well as elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide into the air.

General News Monday, September 25, 2023
Gun restriction challenge is moot, 9th Circuit rules In a lengthy dissent, 9th Circuit Judge Daniel P. Collins — another Trump appointee — argued that U.S. District Judge David O. Carter's decision against the couple should be reversed because it is still a "live controversy."

General News Monday, September 25, 2023
Noble Work Neutral Steven Kruis applies a human approach to dispute resolution, attorneys say.

General News Friday, September 22, 2023
Most of Southwest class action over refunds is dismissed Matthew D. Pearson of Baker & Hostetler LLP emphasized in the demurrer that Congress' intended to preempt lawsuits such as this when it passed the Airline Deregulation Act almost 50 years ago and said the breach of contract claim was added to keep the lawsuit in court.

General News Friday, September 22, 2023
DA acts on threat to sue Sacramento over homeless District Attorney Thien Ho announced in July that he had opened an investigation to determine whether Sacramento could be held accountable for creating a public nuisance by failing to administer city ordinances like clearing the sidewalks and providing legal, emergency spaces for homeless people.

General News Friday, September 22, 2023
San Francisco CARE Court emphasizes free will Judge Michael Begert, who is presiding over the CARE Court in San Francisco, made clear in an informational meeting for social workers Monday night that participation will be free of coercion.

General News Thursday, September 21, 2023
'We're going to litigate a lot.' Management-side lawyer offers prediction on labor's moment Robert Millman, who's spent 49 years representing employers at Littler Mendelson PC, predicts "more and more legal fees" because litigation is "the only recourse that the employer community is left."

General News Thursday, September 21, 2023
20-year fraternal fight over $1B in assets to start trial An oral agreement among brothers? A fanciful claim to diamonds and property? Decades of fighting among five brothers are to culminate in an LA trial next week.

General News Thursday, September 21, 2023
Cities say cars need anti-theft device; companies say police better Most of the cities' litigation has been combined before Senior U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in the Central District of California, who will consider the automaker's motion to dismiss the case because the wave of auto thefts was sparked by TikTok videos.

General News Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Griffith Park advocates sue over LA Zoo expansion The petition, filed by Michelle Black of Carstens, Black & Minteer LLP, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, says that efforts to modernize the zoo and increase its annual capacity from 1.75 million to 3 million visitors will come at the expense of sensitive bat species and other wildlife.

General News Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Officials in Los Angeles are neglecting homeless veterans, suit says "It's quite a journey for the court, looking through this spaghetti of bureaucracies trying to interact at the expenditure of time," U.s. district Judge James O. Carter said.

General News Wednesday, September 20, 2023
No stay on Baldwin lawsuit despite possible criminal case "Based on the information provided by the parties to the court, the possibility of criminal action against Baldwin appears speculative at this time," Los Angeles County Judge Maurice A. Leiter ruled.

General News Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Firm sued by client's former employee after data breach Hill, Farrer & Burrill LLP sent a letter about the breach in March 2022, but did nothing since, the lawsuit complains.

General News Tuesday, September 19, 2023
State OKs $14M to improve services to deaf consumers "I actually have felt that this is a good example of how a case ought to be handled," said Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston. "It doesn't happen that often."

General News Monday, September 18, 2023
Long Beach sued over oil, gas drilling program The lawsuit claims that the city and the State Lands Commission have never conducted a California Environmental Quality Act review of the operations or any of its five-year extraction plans.

General News Monday, September 18, 2023
Judge charged with wife's murder can't work, draws salary Orange County Presiding Judge Maria D. took away Judge Jeffrey Ferguson's calendar after his arrest and requested that his murder case be heard by a Los Angeles County judge.

General News Monday, September 18, 2023
Empathetic Approach Neutral Jeanne Behling uses patience and understanding to resolve disputes, attorneys say.

General News Friday, September 15, 2023
SEC fines 'Stoner Cats' group $1M over unregistered NFT offering Stoner Cats 2 LLC raised $8 million after over 10,000 NFTs — a type of digital asset — were sold in 35 minutes in July 2021, the SEC said.

General News Friday, September 15, 2023
Businesses show no appetite for suing over emissions bill SB 253 cleared the Senate on a 25-8, party-line vote on Tuesday and now sits on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

General News Friday, September 15, 2023
Hawaiian Electric board prioritized green energy over safety, lawsuit says The board of directors "spent millions of dollars towards efforts to achieve a 100 percent renewable energy goal," earning the utility millions of dollars in bonuses, which the executives used to increase their compensation, the lawsuit claims.

General News Thursday, September 14, 2023
'Undisputed evidence' belies bias claims, McDonald's says Byron Allen and his companies "now stake their case on a 'core theory' that cynically misrepresents" the defendant's affiliation with a Black-owned advertising agency in Chicago, Amy C. Andrews wrote in McDonald's motion for summary judgment.

General News Thursday, September 14, 2023
Illumina's attorney tells appeals court merger would save lives David R. Marriott, a partner with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, emphasized the practical benefits of the merger in arguments to a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel instead of constitutional challenges to the Federal Trade Commission's authority, accusing the commission of "cherry-picking the record."

General News Thursday, September 14, 2023
Pockets of resistance try to scuttle deal of fast-food worker pay Some business groups and Republican lawmakers say they want a referendum.

General News Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Panel leery of remanding Tinder case to LA federal judge Two of the three 9th Circuit panelists expressed doubt about whether the district court judge approvingly quoted the dissenting judge on a different panel instead of the majority.

General News Wednesday, September 13, 2023
3rd trial over doll IP is likely after ruling from Supreme Court Weeks after a complete defense verdict, the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a "Bad Spaniels" dog toy, resembling a Jack Daniel's whiskey bottle, was protected under the First Amendment because it communicated a humorous message.

General News Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Cannabis company, ex-landlord trade suits over soured deal The cross-complaint filed in Los Angeles on behalf of landlord 9419 Mason Partners LLC states that Original Balboa Caregivers owed more than $1.3 million in unpaid rent for a warehouse space by the time it ceased operations in October 2019.

General News Tuesday, September 12, 2023
US judge tosses challenge to 'mansion tax,' state case remains "In this case it's killed the real estate market. Lenders are not lending here. Investors not investing in multiunit housing. We wanted the opportunity to prove it's to the detriment of the public," said plaintiff's attorney Keith M. Fromm.

General News Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Balance and big cases Attorneys at The Dixon Firm employ a passionate, but balanced approach to helping clients.

General News Tuesday, September 12, 2023
State Bar liable for Girardi's misconduct, lawsuit claims "I don't think they would be held responsible for monetary damages … Bar employees and the State Bar itself have immunity from liability for monetary damages," Susan L. Margolis of Margolis & Margolis LLP in Los Angeles commented.

General News Monday, September 11, 2023
Kanye West claims leak of unreleased songs violated state trade secrets law "Ye's musical composition, with its distinctive arrangement and unique elements, constitutes a trade secret due to its economic value, secrecy, and the efforts taken to safeguard it," attorney Gregory K. Nelson wrote in the complaint.

General News Monday, September 11, 2023
Penalty calculation next step in Grubhub PAGA action Attorneys for Grubhub want to limit the scope to drivers employed during the lead plaintiff's four-month employment from 2015-2016 and dismiss this PAGA claim entirely.

General News Friday, September 8, 2023
LA DA sets up Labor Justice Unit of seasons prosecutors The unit's first case was filed under Penal Code 487m, which allows theft of wages to be charged as a felony.

General News Friday, September 8, 2023
Initiative would end CEQA private right of actions "It's very challenging to do CEQA reform through the Legislature. A ballot initiative is the other path," said UC Davis School of Law professor Christopher S. Elmendorf.

General News Thursday, September 7, 2023
Challenge to LA county's vendor restrictions scheduled for trial "Hopefully we get to a spot where the city realizes its mistakes and repeals the 'no-vending zones' ordinance," said Katherine J.G. McKeon with Western Center on Law & Poverty in Los Angeles.

General News Thursday, September 7, 2023
Adverse ruling points up 'flawed' administrative law system, Intuit says "You can't make this stuff up — it's a flawed system and a groundless ruling," Intuit spokesperson Tania Mercado said.

General News

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Gamers can depose Microsoft, Activision executives in antitrust action

A federal judge in San Francisco tentatively set a bench trial date of Feb. 5, 2024, notably much later than the self-imposed Oct. 18 deadline Microsoft and Activision have to consummate the deal. If that deadline is missed, either party can terminate the agreement, in which case Microsoft may have to pay Activision a $3 billion termination fee.

General News Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Tenant wins $7.4M for fall through sliding glass door Counsel for the defendant company denied liability, arguing that the plaintiff could not establish causation because there was no evidence the conditions of the apartment caused him to fall.

General News Wednesday, September 6, 2023
FTC ends block to Amgen merger, settles claims Amgen said it is disappointed by the FTC's decision to file the claims, denied wrongdoing, and said it remains committed to completing the acquisition of its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics in Ireland.