GUEST COLUMNS
Thursday, October 23, 2025
A billion-dollar Los Angeles verdict over baby powder and mesothelioma underscores how junk science, aggressive trial lawyer advertising, and weak judicial gatekeeping are fueling an endless cycle of litigation that drives up costs, distorts justice, and undermines public trust in California's courts.
The allegations of widespread fraud in Los Angeles County sexual abuse claims demand immediate, independent action from experienced, unbiased plaintiffs' firms to protect real victims and restore integrity to the settlement process.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Businesses across industries are facing a surge in "Shine the Light" law requests under California Civil Code ยง1798.83, exposing those unprepared to respond to significant litigation risks and penalties despite compliance with newer privacy laws like the CCPA.
Amid "No Kings" protests over his authoritarian tactics, Trump's March 22 directive to punish lawyers challenging his policies looks less like reform -- and more like an effort to intimidate dissent.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
The EPA's proposal to gut greenhouse gas reporting would sideline nearly all sectors, leaving a gaping hole in climate accountability until at least 2034.
The California Air Resources Board released a preliminary list of in-scope entities and draft guidance on the state's mandatory climate reporting requirements. Certain companies doing business in California will have to publicly post their first reports on or before Jan. 1, 2026, in accordance with the guidance.
Monday, October 20, 2025
Sen. Ted Cruz plans bipartisan legislation to curb government "jawboning" -- pressure on media or platforms to silence speech -- arguing that protecting free expression requires applying First Amendment principles evenly, no matter the politics.
Recent California legislation will enable municipalities -- and reviewing courts -- to conserve valuable resources and time during CEQA-related litigation.
Friday, October 17, 2025
Despite longstanding precedent affirming the public's right to access civil court proceedings, recent actions in Los Angeles courtrooms underscore the need to reaffirm a core principle: Public and press access to civil proceedings is a constitutional right -- one that has never been more vital.
Banksy's mural at London's Royal Courts of Justice highlights the complex legal landscape of the Visual Artists Rights Act, which grants authors of recognized visual art the 'right of integrity' to prevent destruction or alteration of their works, creating potential liability for building owners even when artworks are installed without permission.
Thursday, October 16, 2025
California personal representatives must
conduct diligent, country-specific searches to identify heirs abroad, since failure to do so can reopen estates, delay distributions, and expose fiduciaries to liability.
The 2025 California Legislative Session enacted major reforms to the state's cannabis and hemp laws -- including new hemp regulations, a temporary cannabis tax cut, tighter controls on online sales, and faster approval for substance research -- marking one of the most significant overhauls of the industry since legalization.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
In California trust litigation, determining whether a settlor's mental ability meets the lower testamentary standard or the higher contractual one often decides who controls an estate -- and the outcome of the entire case.
Class actions in California are high-stakes, complex and slow -- demanding strategy, persistence, and careful management to deliver real results.
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
The pending 3rd Circuit appeal in Thomson
Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence could set a landmark precedent on whether
using proprietary legal research headnotes to train AI constitutes copyright
infringement or fair use, potentially reshaping how commercial AI platforms are
developed across legal, medical, financial and other research-intensive fields.
California's diverse, high-value specialty crops are poorly served by federal farm subsidy programs designed for bulk row crops, and modernizing aid to reflect real economic losses, export risks, and timely delivery is critical to sustaining the state's farms and the national food supply.
Monday, October 13, 2025
Trump's bid to use the National Guard as a political tool has sparked lawsuits claiming he overstepped his authority and threatened the balance between federal and state power.
Under the Government Claims Act, a claimant need not file a pre-suit claim with a public entity when seeking purely declaratory relief, though any subsequent monetary claims must be preceded by a government claim.
Friday, October 10, 2025
Opened in 1891, Los Angeles' Red Sandstone Courthouse symbolized the city's civic pride, growth and legal development, and though it was demolished after earthquake damage in the 1930s, its legacy endures through preserved architectural elements and its influence on subsequent courthouses.
Effective commercial mediation requires recognizing and managing the human elements -- emotions, histories, biases and interpersonal dynamics -- that can either facilitate or impede settlement, rather than focusing solely on financial and legal positions.
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Bronshteyn
serves as a reminder of the broad discretion trial courts hold in awarding
attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs in employment litigation -- and the
difficulty defendants may face when trying to overturn such awards on appeal.
School injury cases can be complex and fact specific -- Doe v. Mount Pleasant Elementary School District serves as a practical starting point for analyzing claims tied to school-sponsored overnight retreats.
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Despite more than 20 years of mandatory harassment training in California, workplace sexual harassment complaints have risen sharply, highlighting that compliance-focused programs fail to change culture and that effective prevention requires ongoing, interactive, and inclusive approaches emphasizing bystander intervention, relevance and psychological safety.
If you want to be paid, refusing to hand over a Form W-9 may not make sense.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Many workers believe they're in a hostile work environment, but unless mistreatment is tied to a legally protected trait, the law often doesn't consider it unlawful.
War teaches luck matters. So does the law. Survival in court often depends on which lawyer, judge, or county you get -- not just your merits. To make justice fair, we need funding parity, standardized protocols and consistent representation -- so outcomes aren't left to chance.
Monday, October 6, 2025
Ross Intelligence is appealing a Delaware court ruling that held its use of Thomson Reuters' copyrighted headnotes for AI training was not fair use, in a case that could have sweeping implications for how AI models legally access and learn from copyrighted material.
By grounding complex disputes in universal moral principles, trial lawyers can make any business case accessible and compelling.
Friday, October 3, 2025
The music industry's 1990s sampling battles mirror today's AI copyright disputes: both pit innovation against ownership, both sparked chaos and lawsuits, and in both cases, the path forward lies not in endless litigation but in creating predictable licensing systems that balance creativity with compensation.
California's new "No Secret Police" Act aims to restore public trust, but its real test is whether state power can withstand federal supremacy in enforcing accountability.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
California's Honest Pricing Law and the FTC's Junk Fees Rule are forcing businesses to show all-in prices, driving costly system changes and exposing them to lawsuits and consumer backlash.
Vietnamese American nail salon owners and manicurists are challenging California's AB 5 law, claiming it unfairly forces nail techs into employee status while sparing other beauty professionals.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
The 9th Circuit's unpublished Moreland decision
reinforces that private CERCLA cost recovery hinges on strict compliance with
the National Contingency Plan (NCP), not on state agency labels.
Despite decades of settled law, the federal government is still fighting airport noise claims -- this time over Navy jet flights.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Assembly Bill 365, the Justin Kropp Safety Act, transforms the tragedy of journeyman lineman Justin Kropp's preventable death into a lasting legacy of worker protection by requiring AEDs, training, and emergency protocols at high-voltage worksites to save lives in the future.
Vexatious litigants pose unique challenges for public entities when acting as defendants, since existing California statutes focus primarily on abusive plaintiffs, leaving a gap in the law that forces municipalities and other plaintiffs to waste resources responding to frivolous motions and appeals -- a problem that may require legislative reform to address.
Friday, September 26, 2025
With geopolitical threats mounting, venture capital is pouring into dual-use tech startups as the U.S. defense sector finds new allies in Silicon Valley.
Thursday, September 25, 2025
Assembly Bill 288, recently passed by the California Legislature and awaiting Governor Newsom's signature, empowers the state labor board to enforce workers' and businesses' rights when the federal NLRB is defunct or inactive, ensuring fair resolution of labor disputes, protection of union rights, and stability for employers and employees alike.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
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NEWS
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General News
Thursday, October 23, 2025 |
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| MGA Entertainment seeks appellate review to avoid a fourth jury trial, arguing punitive damages tied to equitable relief like disgorgement should be decided by judges, not juries, in IP litigation. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 23, 2025 |
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| A judge ruled Los Angeles County improperly approved a battery storage project in Acton, siding with a local group that claimed the facility violated zoning laws and threatened public safety. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 23, 2025 |
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| Newsom's slow roll protects him from taking any meaningful actions, thus bequeathing reparations to his successor, like his many other unresolved California issues. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 |
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| As voters weigh in on Proposition 50, which will appear on the ballot next month, the debate over the measure is complicated by one common concern and one common misconception: The concern is that the proposed redistricting moves California away from hard-won fairness in drawing congressional boundaries. The misconception is that this is a simple gift to Democrats. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 |
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| Los Angeles jury ruled for Disney's 20th Century Television, rejecting actor Rockmond Dunbar's claim he was unlawfully fired from "9-1-1" over religious objections to the studio's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 |
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| Ford Motor Co. and California lemon law firms continue their racketeering dispute, with Knight Law and co-defendants urging dismissal of Ford's $100 million fraud suit ahead of a November hearing. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 |
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| High school seniors applying to college may cross some schools off their list when they see the nearly six-figure "sticker" prices, not realizing that the actual cost may be far lower. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 |
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| A Los Angeles judge denied a bid to disqualify Playboy's experts and counsel in a trademark suit against Advanced Vita Supplements but also rejected Playboy's motion for sanctions. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 |
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| Authors sued Salesforce, alleging its AI model XGen was trained on pirated books. The putative class action, led by attorney Joseph Saveri, adds to mounting copyright battles against AI companies. | |
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General News
Monday, October 20, 2025 |
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| Eight years ago, as he began his campaign for governor, Gavin Newsom described fixing the state's chronic housing shortage as a moral imperative. | |
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General News
Monday, October 20, 2025 |
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| A Los Angeles judge is weighing class certification for homeowners claiming property damage from smoke and ash caused by the 2017 Thomas Fire, as experts and attorneys spar over damages methodology. | |
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General News
Monday, October 20, 2025 |
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| Health insurance prices for next year under the Affordable Care Act are now available in about a dozen states, giving Americans their first look at the sharp increases many will pay for coverage if Congress does not extend subsidies that have made some plans more affordable. | |
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General News
Friday, October 17, 2025 |
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| October in California is typically known as a dangerous moment in peak fire season, the month when the state has seen some of its most destructive wildfires, but an early-season storm that swept from the Bay Area to Los Angeles this week has lessened the risk that wildfires will spark, according to state fire meteorologists and other experts. | |
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General News
Friday, October 17, 2025 |
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| The city of Palm Springs agreed to pay $5.91 million to the families--primarily Black, Latino, and Native American--who were forcibly removed from Section 14 during midcentury redevelopment. | |
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General News
Friday, October 17, 2025 |
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| You're never too young to get your finances in order, and the decisions you make now can help you develop positive habits to build wealth down the road. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 16, 2025 |
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| The American garage's reincarnation looks different depending on the resident: It might be a hideaway man cave, a she shed, a home theater, a workshop, a crafting zone or a band practice room. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 16, 2025 |
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| An Orange County Superior Court judge severed and advanced CEQA claims in a lawsuit challenging Santa Ana's citywide short-term-rental ban, saying judicial economy favors addressing environmental issues before other claims. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 16, 2025 |
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| A federal judge is weighing whether Acting U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli is lawfully serving, amid claims his appointment violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act's limits on temporary federal roles. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
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| Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed a bill that would phase out harmful "forever chemicals" used in nonstick cookware, saying he was worried it would make pots and pans more expensive for Californians. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
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| Upstart financial technology firms are connecting outside financial advisers to employer-sponsored plans, allowing the advisers to take steps like rebalancing accounts on behalf of their clients. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
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| The Orange County Superior Court complaint claims the firm aided a minority owner's "illegal coup" against a majority partner in violation of conflict-of-interest rules. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
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| The Palisades Fire master complaint broadens litigation to 12 defendants, alleging shared responsibility among utilities and telecoms, potentially triggering crossclaims and complex liability battles over Los Angeles' worst wildfire. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
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| The estate of writer Travis Michael Flores claims prominent entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman mishandled Flores's 2021 copyright suit against director Justin Baldoni, later breached confidentiality, and now represents Baldoni in high-profile litigation against actress Blake Lively. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
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| The arrival of Sora, along with similar AI-powered video generators released by Meta and Google this year, has major implications. The tech could represent the end of visual fact -- the idea that video could serve as an objective record of reality -- as we know it. | |
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General News
Monday, October 13, 2025 |
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| Midjourney, defended by Cooley LLP, rebuts Warner Bros.' copyright claims, arguing its AI mimics human creativity, uses fair use principles, and shouldn't be forced to impose broader restrictions on innovation. | |
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General News
Monday, October 13, 2025 |
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| Judge Peter A. Hernandez criticized an attorney for citing fake AI-generated cases but considered his argument to let a defamation suit by the former Dodger proceed despite serious concerns over legal ethics. | |
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General News
Monday, October 13, 2025 |
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| Oakland, long regarded as a scrappy, more affordable city across the bay from San Francisco, has struggled since the pandemic with crime, an enormous deficit and a civic embarrassment when its mayor was recalled and federally indicted. But the city's residents are especially frustrated with illegal dumping these days. | |
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General News
Friday, October 10, 2025 |
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| As companies increasingly turn to AI to sift through thousands of job applications, candidates are concealing instructions for chatbots within their resumes in hopes of moving to the top of the pile. | |
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General News
Friday, October 10, 2025 |
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| Scott Paetty, who led high-profile fraud prosecutions including the case against Tom Girardi, has joined DTO Law as a partner in Los Angeles, where he will focus on white-collar defense and complex litigation. | |
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General News
Friday, October 10, 2025 |
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| Federal prosecutors charged a man with arson in the Palisades Fire, but victims' attorneys say the criminal case confirms their causation theory and leaves civil claims against LADWP and the state unchanged. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 9, 2025 |
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| Thankfully, last week's explosion and fire at California's second largest refinery, Chevron's El Segundo plant, was not an environmental catastrophe. But it could have serious economic and political impact. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 9, 2025 |
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| A Los Angeles jury found Johnson & Johnson acted with malice in the death of 88-year-old Mae Moore, awarding her family nearly $1 billion in damages for what plaintiffs said was asbestos contamination in the company's talc-based baby powder. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 9, 2025 |
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| Federal defenders in California argue Bilal Essayli's acting U.S. attorney role violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, citing a Nevada ruling that disqualified a similar appointment under nearly identical circumstances. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 |
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| Pay-advance apps are marketed as a way to help workers living paycheck to paycheck pay for unexpected expenses, but workers are often using the apps to manage basic expenses like groceries, rent and other needs, a new report found. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 |
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| Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed AB 1155, a McGeorge clinic-originated bill requiring California law schools to allow students to receive compensation for professional externships that also carry academic credit, effective Aug. 1, 2026. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 |
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| A coalition of solar energy companies, labor unions, nonprofit groups and homeowners sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday over its termination of $7 billion in grants intended to help low- and moderate-income families install solar panels on their homes. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 |
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| This is both an admission and an observation: The ramifications of homelessness, for most people, are anecdotal. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 |
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| Drivers for gig companies like Uber and Lyft gained the right to unionize in California on Friday, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 |
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| A new class action accuses Disney of illegally collecting children's data on YouTube by mislabeling videos, following a recent $10 million FTC settlement over similar privacy violations. | |
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General News
Monday, October 6, 2025 |
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| Plaintiffs in the Eaton Fire case pushed to advance the trial date, accusing Edison of delaying tactics while quietly developing a compensation program. The judge denied the request, citing fairness concerns. | |
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General News
Monday, October 6, 2025 |
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| Former LA city attorney James Clark denied knowledge of a reverse auction scheme in the 2013 water billing scandal, claiming shock upon discovering incriminating documents on a colleague's computer. | |
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General News
Monday, October 6, 2025 |
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| Some of the events planned for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 are far from the heart of the city. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 23, 2025 |
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| Two judges on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel signaled concern Tuesday with an Oakland judge's order barring Apple from collecting commissions on purchases made outside its apps, suggesting the sanction may have gone too far in Epic Games' long-running antitrust dispute with the company. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 |
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| The ranking Democratic members of two congressional oversight committees announced Monday that they had started an investigation into reports of misconduct by federal agents during immigration arrests across the country, focusing on the detainment of American citizens. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 |
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| Los Angeles County reached a tentative $828 million settlement in over 400 AB 218 childhood sexual abuse cases, adding to a prior $4 billion agreement over county facility abuse. | |
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General News
Monday, October 20, 2025 |
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| A state appellate panel ruled in an unpublished decision that a man selling drugs from a sidewalk tent in Hollywood had no reasonable expectation of privacy, upholding a trial court's decision that police didn't need a warrant to search the illegally placed structure. | |
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General News
Friday, October 17, 2025 |
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| Immigrant advocates sued Homeland Security and ICE, alleging new enforcement guidance unlawfully strips humanitarian protections and detains or deports crime victims, violating due process and decades-old policies safeguarding survivors of trafficking and abuse. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 16, 2025 |
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| The California Faculty Association sued Cal State over disclosing employee data to federal investigators probing antisemitism, arguing it violated privacy rights and failed to notify staff before releasing sensitive information. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
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| Southern California Edison moved to strike class allegations in wildfire litigation, arguing individualized property damage defeats class treatment in lawsuits over the Eaton Fire that destroyed thousands of structures in January. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
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| A Los Angeles judge rejected Edison's demurrer and motion to strike in a back-billing class action, calling arguments "frivolous," allowing plaintiffs to pursue exemplary damages. | |
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General News
Monday, October 13, 2025 |
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| The new laws expand oversight, add funding options, and extend coverage under the state's insurer of last resort, as officials race to steady California's volatile property insurance market. | |
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General News
Friday, October 10, 2025 |
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| California regulators accuse Tesla Insurance of widespread claims mishandling, bolstering a pending class action. The Department of Insurance alleges systemic delays and violations that harmed policyholders, vendors and communities across the state. | |
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General News
Thursday, October 9, 2025 |
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| The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said Tuesday that the law that opened a statute of limitations window for old sexual abuse claims should be reviewed. Meanwhile it is seeking an investigation of reports that its $4 billion settlement contained many false plaintiffs. | |
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General News
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 |
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| An attorney for LA Alliance warned receivership could return if Los Angeles continues delaying approval of independent homelessness monitors, while the city's counsel argued expanded oversight exceeds the terms of a prior settlement. | |
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General News
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 |
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| CAOC is urging an urgent State Bar probe into DTLA Law Group over allegations of paying people to file false sex abuse claims, amid broader concerns about unethical attorney solicitation practices. | |
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General News
Monday, October 6, 2025 |
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| A federal judge ruled that an advance conflict waiver signed by investors' counsel bars the disqualification of Quinn Emanuel in a shareholder lawsuit brought by Masimo Corp., despite claims that one of its attorneys improperly switched sides. | |