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
M&A Monday: Non-Compete and Other Must-Have Restrictive Covenants
The article stresses that robust restrictive covenants—especially non‑competes—are essential in M&A transactions to safeguard a buyer’s investment. Sellers are typically bound for five years, with clauses covering family affiliates and tailored side‑ventures. Proper drafting, often in a separate agreement, ensures enforceability and prevents accidental carve‑outs, while lenders and investors routinely demand these protections. If a breach occurs, buyers should engage specialized litigators and seek swift injunctive relief to halt competition and preserve business value.
Valve Sued by The Performing Right Society for Allegedly Using Its Members' Musical Works "without Permission"
Roblox announced two new developer initiatives—Incubator, a six‑month mentorship for seasoned teams, and Jumpstart, a rolling program for newer and experienced creators. Both provide subject‑matter experts to help refine concepts, build audiences, and scale games. The launch coincides with age‑checked...
Legal Conflict Between Art-Dealing Brothers Escalates Into Competing Assault Accusations
A legal battle between New York art‑dealing brothers Prajit and Projjal Dutta, stemming from a 2019 split of Aicon Gallery, has escalated from trademark and contract disputes to physical‑assault accusations. On April 11, 2025, gallery director Harry Hutchison filed a...
San Francisco to Pay Family Claiming Wrongful Death After Laguna Honda Transfers
San Francisco agreed to a $500,000 settlement with the Pham family, who sued over the wrongful death of their father after his transfer from Laguna Honda Hospital. The settlement comes as the safety‑net hospital, which lost certification in 2022, regained...
F.D.A. Opens Door to More Flavored E-Cigarettes
The FDA announced a draft guidance that would permit e‑cigarette flavors such as mint, coffee, tea, and spices while maintaining a ban on sweet and fruity varieties. The shift follows earlier attempts to curb teen vaping with a broad flavor...
Live Nation Settles Antitrust Lawsuit, Penalties Revealed
Live Nation, the parent of Ticketmaster, reached a settlement in the DOJ‑led antitrust case, agreeing to pay roughly $200 million to participating states. The deal mandates structural reforms, including opening Ticketmaster’s platform to third‑party vendors and allowing venues to list tickets...
Employees Across OpenAI and Google Support Anthropic’s Lawsuit Against the Pentagon
Anthropic sued the Department of Defense after the Trump administration labeled the company a supply‑chain risk for refusing to enable domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. Hours later, roughly 40 engineers and researchers from OpenAI and Google filed an...
Employee Sues IBM over Firing One Day After Profit-Sharing Bonus
IBM faces a federal lawsuit after paying a profit‑sharing bonus to Stephen P. Gutierrez on March 17, 2025, and terminating him the next day. The complaint alleges retaliation, age, national‑origin, and sex‑based wage discrimination, as well as violations of the...
The Company Behind One of Trump's Oft-Worn Shoe Brands Is Suing His Administration over Tariffs
Footwear maker Weyco Group, owner of Florsheim, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking refunds for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The company alleges it paid up to a 145% duty on Chinese imports and...
Lawsuits Accuse MITRE HR of Mishandling Vaccine Religious Claims
Five former MITRE employees have filed federal lawsuits alleging the firm mishandled religious exemption requests for its COVID‑19 vaccine mandate, leading to terminations despite viable remote‑work options. MITRE introduced a company‑wide mandate on August 16, 2021, two months before the...
Court Strikes Down Employer Tactic to Limit Discrimination Claims
A federal appeals court in the Fourth Circuit ruled that employers cannot enforce pre‑employment “limitations agreements” that shorten the statutory deadline for filing federal discrimination claims. The decision overturns a lower‑court dismissal of a former EOTech employee’s Title VII and ADEA...
Unprofessional Conduct, Not FMLA Retaliation, Led to Doctor’s Suspension, 6th Circuit Says
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a resident physician’s suspension at Meharry Medical College was not retaliation for taking Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. The doctor had taken leave after his child’s birth, then missed...
Workday Takes Partial Loss as Judge Refuses to Dismiss Claims in AI Bias Lawsuit
A federal judge denied Workday's request to toss disparate‑impact age discrimination claims, allowing plaintiffs to pursue ADEA relief against the company's AI‑driven recruiting tools. The court dismissed a disability claim and some California state law allegations, but left the core...
Four-Plaintiff Chicago Trial Opens Against Abbott Over Preterm Infant Formula
A fourth federal trial opened in Chicago alleging Abbott Laboratories' cow‑milk‑based infant formula triggered necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants. The case follows a $495 million Missouri verdict against Abbott and a $60 million Illinois verdict against Mead Johnson, both in 2024. A...
Sixth Circuit Becomes First Federal Appeals Court to Reject NLRB Cemex Ruling
On March 6, 2026 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s newly‑crafted Cemex bargaining‑order standard in Brown‑Forman’s Woodford Reserve case. The court affirmed the Board’s finding of unfair labor practices but...
Verizon Loses Bid to Change Wage Rules for Broadband Workers
Verizon's attempt to reclassify wage rates for Pennsylvania broadband workers was rejected by the Commonwealth Court, which upheld the electric‑lineman prevailing‑wage determination. The ruling applies to 53 state‑funded fiber projects awarded in 2024, ensuring workers receive higher wages than Verizon...
COFINA Bondholders Argue MBIA Inc. Is Responsible for Actions of Subsidiaries
COFINA bondholders have filed a second amended complaint against MBIA Inc., alleging the insurer used its control over subsidiaries to allocate assets that disadvantage bondholders. A Connecticut judge previously dismissed claims against the subsidiaries for lack of jurisdiction but permitted...
GSA Proposes Sweeping Changes to Multiple Award Schedule Program
The General Services Administration issued a draft of Refresh 31, proposing sweeping reforms to the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program. The changes make quarterly transaction data reporting mandatory for an additional 112 special item numbers and require contractors to accept...
Macy's Wins Court Battle to Enforce Employee Arbitration Program
A federal appeals court upheld Macy’s opt‑out arbitration program, ruling it enforceable even without a signed employee agreement. The Third Circuit found that the mailed Plan Document and accompanying opt‑out forms satisfied legal notice requirements, and the employee’s silence constituted...
Court Ruling Raises the Bar on Diversity-Based Promotion Decisions
On March 6, 2026 the Third Circuit reversed a lower‑court dismissal, allowing a white deputy police chief’s racial and religious discrimination claim to proceed to a jury. The court highlighted explicit council statements that race and religion influenced the promotion of an...
Legal: Former Advisor Sues J.P. Morgan, Alleges Firm Weaponized FINRA Compliance
George Gile, a former J.P. Morgan wealth advisor, filed a federal lawsuit alleging sex and sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation after refusing to market LGBTQ‑focused materials. The complaint claims the firm weaponized FINRA compliance rules, cut his travel budget, reassigned...
Congressional Republicans Push Bills That Would Block Kids Access To Content For Ideological Reasons
Congressional Republicans advanced two bills—the App Store Accountability Act and the KIDS Act—that would require parental consent for minors to install apps and use direct‑messaging features. The measures expand parental control beyond the existing COPPA framework, applying to both for‑profit...
A Complete Analysis of the Winter 2026 eDiscovery Pricing Survey
The Winter 2026 eDiscovery Pricing Survey of 53 practitioners reveals stable forensic collection rates at $250‑$350 per hour, while data processing and hosting are increasingly commoditized except for analytics‑enabled tiers. Document review pricing remains anchored at $0.50‑$1.00 per document, but GenAI‑assisted...
APS BioGroup, Inc - 04/05/2018
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning‑letter close‑out to APS BioGroup, Inc. on April 5, 2018, confirming that the company’s corrective actions addressing the July 2017 warning letter were satisfactory. The agency stressed that this closure does not relieve APS BioGroup...
Legalweek 2026 Day 1: Identifying Law Firm Return on Investment in AI
Legalweek 2026 opened with a deep‑dive into how law firms can quantify the return on investment (ROI) of artificial intelligence. Panels highlighted three core dimensions—quality of work product, economic gains, and integration potential—as the basis for a unified measurement framework....
D.C. Circuit Review – Reviewed: A Brief Recap of Orders
The D.C. Circuit issued two notable orders last week. In Miot v. Trump, the panel rejected the government’s request to stay the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals, voting 2‑1 and finding the administration had not demonstrated irreparable...
Health Pharma USA LLC - 588155 - 12/18/2019
The FDA issued Warning Letter #588155 to Health Pharma USA LLC after a May‑June 2019 inspection uncovered multiple CGMP violations at its Rahway, New Jersey facility. Major deficiencies included a dysfunctional quality‑control unit that released products before review, incomplete batch...
Offerpad Receives Second Delisting Warning in 11 Months
Offerpad received a second NYSE delisting warning within 11 months after its share price fell to $0.73, staying below the $1 minimum for 30 consecutive trading days. The company now has six months to restore compliance by maintaining an average...
COMESA, WhatsApp Business, and Antitrust in Search of a Theory
Meta’s October 2025 amendment to WhatsApp Business API barred third‑party AI providers while favoring Meta AI, prompting antitrust probes by the EU, Italy and now COMESA. COMESA’s investigation invokes Regulation 36 but mistakenly applies the substantial‑lessening‑of‑competition (SLC) merger test rather...
Trump Wants Court to Toss Suit Trying to Protect Digital Equity Act
The federal government has moved to dismiss the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s lawsuit challenging the termination of the Digital Equity Act’s funding. The motion argues the program’s race‑based grant criteria violate the Fifth Amendment’s equal‑protection clause and that the district...
Florida District Court Rules Leapfrog Used Deceptive Practices for Hospital Safety Rating System
A Florida district court concluded that Leapfrog Group employed deceptive practices in its hospital safety rating system, finding the organization misrepresented how scores were calculated. The ruling highlighted that several hospitals received inflated safety grades based on opaque criteria. Leapfrog...
Leverage AI to Identify and File Product Patents
request from portco making manufactured product with a ton of process IP: "got anyone who can help me file patents? two things needed - 1. figuring out what of what we’ve made can be patented 2. writing and filing the patent" i said...
DOJ Lawyers Discover Settlement Simultaneously with Judge
According to this, DoJ trial lawyers in the Ticketmaster case learned about a settlement at the same time the trial judge did. It takes so much time & effort to bring these cases on behalf of the public, such...
EU Kicks Off Panel Discussions on Social Media Age Restrictions
On Thursday the European Commission convened its first expert panel to discuss age‑restriction policies for social media, gaming, messaging apps and AI. Simultaneously, the EU is piloting its privacy‑preserving Age Verification app in five member states—Denmark, Greece, Spain, France and...
Valve Faces Copycat Gambling Lawsuit in Washington
New York's odd gambling lawsuit against Valve has spawned a copycat class action lawsuit filed in Washington. https://t.co/OWiA3NcG98
Legal Week: Judges Clash, DOJ Reverses, Tariff Cases Rise
In the latest Judicial Notice, my weekly legal news roundup: - judges trading benchslaps - the DOJ reversing course - firms filing tariff cases - antitrust lawyers making moves LINK: https://t.co/dOea2DwQJY https://t.co/4P4jByhpqZ
AIFMD 2.0- Investor Disclosures and Reporting
AIFMD 2.0 takes effect on 16 April 2026, tightening disclosure and reporting rules for EU‑authorized alternative investment fund managers and non‑EU AIFMs that market in the EU. The directive adds a mandatory fee‑allocation disclosure in pre‑contractual documents and revises Annex IV reporting, with a...
Pro‑Homes Backs ‘Golden Girls’ Bill Protecting Bedroom Rentals
Pro-Homes Connecticut is backing SB 399—dubbed the "Golden Girls" bill—would protect the right of homeowners to rent out bedrooms of their home. It's moving to the senate. https://t.co/oRyGglGZa2
US Administration Finally Addresses Cross‑border Monopoly Concerns
Regulators around the world who were still wondering if the administrative branch of the United States government would solve the monopoly problems emanating from our borders, rejoice: You now have your answer.
Spotlight On: Rituxan® (Rituximab) / Truxima® (Rituximab-Abbs) / Ruxience® (Rituximab-Pvvr) / Riabni™ (Rituximab-Arrx) - March 2026
The March 2026 spotlight reviews recent challenges to rituximab patents—including Rituxan®, Truxima®, Ruxience®, and Riabni®—in both Inter‑Partes Review (IPR) proceedings and federal litigation. Patent owners report that each claim is counted per case, meaning identical claims appear multiple times across...
Paywalls Ransom Legal Data, Blocking Citizens' Access
legal data is held for ransom behind paywalls, denying access to citizens who paid for it.
Spotlight On: Biosimilar Litigations - March 2026
The Venable LLP update clarifies what constitutes a biosimilar litigation, focusing on disputes between biosimilar applicants or manufacturers and reference‑product sponsors, as well as conflicts among biosimilar applicants themselves. It explicitly excludes lawsuits between two reference‑product sponsors, non‑practicing entities, universities,...
NIVA Slams Live Nation Settlement as 'Failure of the Justice System'
The U.S. Department of Justice and Live Nation announced a settlement that keeps Ticketmaster under Live Nation ownership, with a reported payout of $280 million—roughly four days of the company’s 2025 revenue. The deal includes structural changes but no explicit safeguards...
FATF Regulations Fail to Stop Money Laundering
Listening to Oliver Bullough talk through his new book, “Everybody loves our dollars”. He’s giving a good account of how useless FATF inspired money laundering regs have been at actually preventing money laundering. https://t.co/9Cl6i6atJY
The Justice Department Is Lowering Its Ethical Guardrails
The Justice Department has eliminated the "further restricted" classification for its senior political appointees, allowing them to engage in campaign activities under the Hatch Act. For decades, DOJ leaders were subject to stricter limits to preserve impartiality in election‑related investigations...
FDA Draft Guidance Streamlines Low‑Cost Biosimilar Approval
New FDA draft guidance outlines important streamlining of path to getting low-cost biosimilars to the market - could reduce cost of pharmacokinetic studies and allow ex-U.S. comparitor products to be used for proving biosimilarity to U.S.-licensed drugs https://t.co/ErjNOga0qo
Federal Circuit Sends Spectrum Property Rights Case Back for More Briefing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded Ligado Communications' claim that the Department of Defense’s use of spectrum interferes with its FCC‑granted license, citing insufficient factual detail to decide whether such licenses constitute property rights. The panel...
Spotlight On: Lantus® / Lantus® SoloSTAR® (Insulin Glargine Recombinant) / Basaglar® (Insulin Glargine) / Semglee® (Insulin Glargine) / Rezvoglar™ (Insulin...
The March 2026 Venable LLP analysis dissects ongoing patent challenges to insulin glargine products such as Lantus®, Basaglar®, Semglee® and Rezvoglar®. It details the types of claims contested in Inter‑Partes Review (IPR) proceedings and traditional litigation, and explains how each claim...
Lawmakers File Amicus Brief Opposing Trump’s Plans For Independence Arch
Six Democratic lawmakers filed an amicus brief in federal court to block President Trump’s proposed 250‑foot Independence Arch on federal parkland in Washington, D.C. The brief cites the Commemorative Works Act and 40 U.S.C. § 8106, which require explicit congressional authorization for any...
Judge Halts Trump Administration Move to Restrict Immigration Appeals
A federal judge, Randolph D. Moss, issued an injunction halting the Trump administration's proposed rule that would automatically dismiss immigration appeals unless the Board of Immigration Appeals voted to reconsider within ten days. The court found the administration violated the...