Today's Legal Pulse
Biden sues DOJ to block release of interview audio
President Biden filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Department of Justice from publishing an audio interview, arguing the release would be improper. The action has sparked political commentary, including remarks from former President Trump.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader clear final merger hurdles
Applebee’s Franchisees Sue Chain over Dual-Branding Exclusivity
Apple Texas Restaurants and Apple Houston Restaurants have filed a federal lawsuit accusing Dine Brands of breaching franchise exclusivity clauses by opening dual‑branded IHOP‑Applebee’s locations in Texas trade areas they control. The plaintiffs argue the new concept, which Dine touts as a revenue driver, infringes on their protected territories. Dine Brands plans to operate about 80 dual‑branded sites this year and up to 900 over the next decade, citing 1.5‑2.5× higher sales versus single‑brand restaurants. The case could force an injunction that halts further dual‑brand rollouts in contested markets.
Trump's $10B IRS Suit Hits Snag with Skeptical Judge
President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury over a 2020 tax‑record leak, alleging damages. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams questioned whether the case can proceed, noting that Trump controls both the plaintiff and the defending...
Sew What? Ohio Supreme Court Concludes Apparel Wholesaler’s Evidence Is Insufficient for a Refund
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected Jones Apparel Group/Nine W. Holdings’ claim for a Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) refund, finding the company’s evidence insufficient to prove that most of its products shipped to an Ohio distribution center were later sent out...
Don’t Let Compliance Gaps Cost You a Merger
Law firm mergers in the UK are set to surge in 2026, with roughly one‑third of firms eyeing consolidation and private‑equity pouring about £1.2 billion (≈ $1.5 billion) into the sector. The FCA’s tightening AML oversight means that any compliance gaps—especially in client‑onboarding—can...
Quebec’s New Minimum Wage Taking Effect May 1
Quebec will raise its general minimum wage to C$16.60 (≈ $12.30 USD) per hour on May 1, 2026, up from C$16.10. The tipped‑worker floor will be C$13.30 (≈ $9.80 USD) and sector‑specific rates for strawberry and raspberry pickers will be C$1.32 and C$4.93 per kilogram respectively....
Maine Governor Vetoes Broad Criminal Records Sealing Bill
Maine Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD 1911, a bill that would have automatically sealed criminal‑history records for most Class D and E misdemeanors five years after conviction. The proposal required the judicial branch to review decades of docket files by hand...
The Fiction of Non-Entry Meets the Fiction of Remaining: AG Emiliou in Sedrata
On 23 April 2026 Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou issued an opinion in the Sedrata case that tackles the Italy‑Albania protocol on relocating asylum and return procedures to a third country. The AG rejected a strictly territorial view of EU migration law, asserting...
Supreme Court to Hear Argument on Whether Corporations Can Be Held Liable as Accomplices in Violations of International Law
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Cisco Systems v. Doe, a case that asks whether the 1793 Alien Tort Statute can impose aiding‑and‑abetting liability on corporations for alleged human‑rights abuses in China’s Golden Shield surveillance program. Plaintiffs, including Chinese nationals...
The Legal Tech Giants Powering ICE, Part 1 — How Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis Helped Support America’s Immigration Surveillance Machine
Legal‑tech powerhouses Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis have sold ICE extensive data‑aggregation tools, CLEAR and Accurint, under contracts totaling roughly $51.6 million. Between 2003 and 2024 the Department of Homeland Security paid over $333 million to these firms for surveillance‑grade databases that compile...
HRW Condemns a Proposed Bill in Uganda Criminalizing ‘Foreign Agents’
Human Rights Watch warned that Uganda's Protection of Sovereignty Bill, introduced on April 15, would criminalize activities that favor foreign interests and carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison. The draft requires anyone deemed a "foreign agent" to...
Wyoming Judge Halts Enforcement of New Fetal‑Heartbeat Ban
Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey granted a temporary injunction on Friday, stopping the Human Heartbeat Act—a law that bans most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected—from taking effect. The ruling cites probable success under Wyoming's constitutional right to...
NHTSA Escalates Probe of Tesla's Full Self-Driving System Amid Visibility Concerns
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stepped up its investigation of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, zeroing in on low‑visibility conditions. The move pits regulators against Tesla's rapid, data‑driven deployment model and raises questions about how the industry will...
Federal Judge Declares RFK Jr.'s Gender‑Affirming Care Threat Unlawful, Protecting Minors' Access
U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai in Oregon ruled that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s December 18 declaration threatening to cut Medicaid and Medicare funding for gender‑affirming care to minors was unlawful. The decision, brought by...
China’s Manus Cancellation Exposes Singapore Regulatory Loophole Myth
China cancelling the Manus deal has been so heavily flagged in the last month that it shouldn’t surprise anybody now.  The notable thing is that the convenient fiction where you could get around both American and Chinese regulations by...
Musk Vs. Altman: Can a Fair Jury Exist?
Elon Musk and Sam Altman are about to face off in court. Is an impartial jury even possible? https://t.co/quWDFFCLz0
Kansas Enacts Sweeping Anti‑Trans Bill, Raising DEI Alarm for Employers
On Feb. 18 the Kansas Legislature passed Senate Bill 244, a law that retroactively nullifies driver’s licenses and birth certificates for transgender Kansans and criminalizes their use of public restrooms. The measure has triggered immediate concern among human‑resources leaders about...
Comedy Club Can't Get Injunction Blocking Claims of Sexual Assault, Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Sexism
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Judy Kim denied Rodney's Comedy Club's request for an injunction that would have forced defendant Chanel Omari to delete or refrain from posting social‑media accusations of sexual assault, racism, anti‑Semitism and sexism. The judge emphasized that...
Kiitos Brewing Files for Chapter 11 as Craft Beer Market Slumps
Kiitos Brewing, a two‑time Great American Beer Festival gold‑medalist, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 24, 2026. The petition lists assets between $100,000 and $500,000 against liabilities of $1 million to $10 million, highlighting the strain on niche craft breweries in a market...
Florida Ransomware Negotiator Pleads Guilty, Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison
Angelo Martino, a Florida‑based professional ransomware negotiator, pleaded guilty to conspiring with hackers to launch attacks on at least five U.S. companies. The Department of Justice says he supplied attackers with insurance limits and negotiation tactics, and helped deploy ransomware...
Cyber Security Update
Rail operators face new cyber‑security mandates as Europe’s NIS2 directive and the UK’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill come into force, imposing board‑level accountability, 24‑hour breach reporting and fines up to 2% of global turnover. At the same time, the...
Trump Deregulation Yields $212B Savings, Markets Unaware
The Trump administration finalized 646 deregulatory actions in 2025 — against just 5 new regulations. That's a 129-to-1 ratio. Net cost savings: $211.8 billion. Roughly $600 per American. Most investors haven't priced any of it in yet. Thread on what's already changed 👇
Questel Launches QaECTER, a New AI Model Claiming State-of-the-Art Performance in Patent Search
Questel has unveiled QaECTER, an AI model built for semantic patent retrieval that claims state‑of‑the‑art accuracy across every query type, technology domain and jurisdiction tested. The model leverages novel citation‑driven supervision and multi‑view self‑alignment on Questel’s proprietary patent corpus. To...
Final Arguments of the Term
The Supreme Court’s 2025‑26 term is entering its final week of oral arguments, with the bench hearing high‑stakes cases such as Mullin v. Doe on Temporary Protected Status, Chatrie v. United States over geofence warrants, and Hikma v. Amarin concerning...
The Week in Data April 27: A Look at Legal Industry Trends by the Numbers
Law.com’s weekly data roundup spotlights a flurry of award nominations across the legal sector, including the D.C. Legal Awards, New England Legal Awards, Texas Legal Awards, and the Pennsylvania Legal Awards shortlist. The publication also opened nominations for its Best...
Judge Skeptical as California AG Unveils Dated Price‑fixing Evidence
California AG just delivered the “receipts” in the state’s price‑fixing case against Amazon. But the judge wasn’t sold, noting the examples date back to 2019–2021. California Unseals Evidence Supporting Price-Fixing Allegations Against Amazon via @forbes https://t.co/CYtqQYB2Va
Regulators Target Hotel AI Use Over Data Privacy
Regulators turn attention to hotel AI governance “Hotels are increasingly deploying AI for functions such as … dynamic pricing, and personalised marketing. These systems rely on large volumes of behavioural and transactional data, raising questions about consent, storage, and secondary...
California’s 3D Printer Law Would Criminalize Open Source, Enshittify The 3D Printing Space
A wave of state legislation targeting 3‑D printed firearms is poised to reshape the industry. California’s A.B. 2047 would require every printer to embed a “censorware” algorithm that scans files for gun‑like geometry and criminalizes any attempt to disable it....
Prediction Markets in the Spotlight: Key Legal Issues in the UAE
Prediction markets are gaining global traction, with analysts forecasting trading volumes could reach $1 trillion by 2030. In the United Arab Emirates, the rapid rise has exposed a murky regulatory environment, prompting questions about licensing, gambling classifications, securities law, and anti‑money‑laundering...
How Reform Happens
A new NBER study of 3,590 regulatory reforms in 189 nations from 2005‑2022 finds that richer countries pursue and pass more reforms, yet each reform has a smaller net impact on business‑friendliness. Regulations have become more business‑friendly in certain sectors,...
Radiology Staff Sue Hospital over Alleged Cancer Cluster
« Cancer cluster » among radiology professionals …. Troubling … « A hospital is being sued by one of its former rad techs, who alleges that the organization’s lack of proper safety protocols is behind a cancer “cluster” among staff. » 👇 @RadiologyBiz https://t.co/M7oeT20ylo
CFTC Staff Down 24% Under Trump, Enforcement at Risk
“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission workforce has dropped by 24% since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to the latest available data, raising concerns about its ability to police insider trading and protect consumers.” https://t.co/yJdy3vYjRg
Fordham 33 (Report 8): IP in Washington
At Fordham’s 33rd IP Conference, a panel discussed how intellectual‑property policy is shaped in Washington, D.C. Panelists from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, High Tech Inventors Alliance, and House and Senate Judiciary committees identified Congress members, staff, and corporate sponsors...
Fordham 33 (Report 7): IP and Frontier Technologies
The Fordham 33 IP conference panel, chaired by Joshua Simmons, examined how frontier technologies, especially generative AI, are reshaping intellectual‑property law. Panelists from OpenAI, academia, and the federal judiciary noted that copyright, not patent law, now dominates regulatory concerns for AI...
Fair Elections Alert: April 27, 2026
The FBI’s director signaled imminent arrests linked to the debunked 2020 election conspiracy while the DOJ demanded 2024 election records from Michigan, echoing similar seizures in Arizona and Georgia. A new Alabama study revealed that 815,000 voting‑age residents—over 20%—are effectively...
Don't Care Bears and Intellectual Property Law
A Manhattan federal judge rejected a plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order against vendors selling "Don't Care Bears" merchandise that mixes the Care Bears brand with marijuana imagery. The court found the plaintiff had not demonstrated a likelihood of...
I Thought Alito Was History’s Worst Supreme Court Justice. But Thomas Has Outdone Him | Robert Reich
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich argues that Justice Clarence Thomas is the Supreme Court’s worst justice, surpassing Samuel Alito. In a recent Texas university speech, Thomas denounced progressivism, blaming it for historic totalitarian regimes, a claim Reich deems historically inaccurate....
CureVac Takes Moderna to Court over mRNA Vaccine Patents
CureVac has filed a lawsuit against Moderna alleging infringement of its mRNA‑stabilisation and delivery patents that underpin Spikevax. The case, backed by BioNTech after its 2025 acquisition of CureVac, seeks a share of the multibillion‑dollar revenues from COVID‑19 mRNA vaccines....
Three Charged in Federal Drug Distribution & Money Laundering Conspiracies
Three men—Marcus Dewayne Gulley, Tristian R. Harris, and Monteles Terrell Burden—were indicted in Pensacola federal court on conspiracy charges for distributing methamphetamine, using telephone facilities to facilitate the drug trade, and laundering the proceeds. The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney...
Saipan Woman Sentenced to 71 Months in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud Scheme Targeting Multiple Victims
Sze Man Yu Inos, known as “Yuki,” was sentenced on April 23, 2026 to 71 months in federal prison for a multi‑state wire‑fraud scheme. The court ordered three years of supervised release, $769,355.67 in restitution, a $684,848.34 personal‑money forfeiture, and a $200 special assessment. From...
Legislating for Data Centers — an Interactive Tour
Data centers are expanding rapidly across the U.S., prompting local and state officials to craft new regulations aimed at managing their hefty electricity and water demands. In 2025, legislators introduced 238 data‑center bills, with at least 40 becoming law, covering...
Fordham 33 (Report 6): Unified Patent Court
The Fordham IP Conference’s 33rd‑annual panel dissected the Unified Patent Court (UPC), covering its jurisdiction, remedies, and future trajectory. Speakers highlighted the UPC’s cross‑border injunctions and rapid judgments as major benefits, while noting challenges for small firms and pharmaceutical companies...
UK Government Moves to Future-Proof Payments Regulation
The UK government unveiled a sweeping payments reform package that unifies regulation for traditional payments, stablecoins, tokenised deposits and AI‑driven transactions. By creating a single framework, it seeks to eliminate overlapping crypto‑asset licences and give firms clearer market routes. The...
Senate Bill Would Give Critical Infrastructure Sites Counter-UAS Authority
Senator Tom Cotton introduced the Critical Infrastructure Airspace Defense Act to grant private owners of high‑risk facilities authority to detect, track and neutralize unauthorized drones. The bill amends the Homeland Security Act, requiring DHS‑run training and certification and real‑time FAA...
Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Speed up Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage
Congress introduced the bipartisan Medicare Advantage Improvement Act to cut prior‑authorization delays. The bill mandates health plans to complete standard authorizations within 72 hours and publish timing data. It also requires real‑time, EHR‑integrated approval systems and limits extensions to seven...
Board Oversight of AI: Do Boards Need AI Experts?
Boards are grappling with how to oversee rapidly expanding AI initiatives while meeting fiduciary duties. The article outlines three considerations: the scarcity and governance challenges of appointing a dedicated AI expert, the legal ability to rely on management and outside...
The Push for Permitting Reform
Congress is reviewing H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025, which would overhaul permitting for wireless and wired infrastructure. The bill imposes a 60‑to‑150‑day "shot clock" for state and local authorities to approve or deny permits, automatically granting...
Six Years Fighting PASPA Undermine 2010 Legalization Claim
“If Congress really intended to legalize nationwide sports betting in 2010 (as proponents of prediction markets claim), then why did we spend six years trying to overturn PASPA?” https://t.co/MCmzlkEL39
Adversaries You Might Meet Negotiating an AI-Friendly ESI Protocol: Artificial Intelligence Trends
The article identifies a "Willing Collaborator" as a key adversary in negotiations over AI‑friendly ESI protocols. This party is cooperative, curious, and already using generative AI, seeking clear, defensible validation workflows that can be explained to a judge. The piece...
Even Amended, the Hagerty-Alsobrooks Bill Remains the Wrong Answer
Congress has revised the Hagerty‑Alsobrooks bill, cutting the proposed special deposit‑insurance cap for non‑interest‑bearing transaction accounts from a 40‑fold increase to a $5 million limit. While the amendment reduces the size of the guarantee, it still creates a permanent, government‑backed safety...
Ninth Circuit Clarifies Limits on Civil Appellate Review in Judge M. Smith Opinion
The Ninth Circuit’s April 20, 2026 opinion by Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr. clarifies how appellate courts evaluate preserved issues, district‑court reasoning, and the appellant’s burden. It reinforces the circuit’s pattern that appellants must not only identify error but also prove preservation, abuse...