Know What's Happening in Legal
Know What's Happening in Legal
Delaware Supreme Court lets insurers pursue contract claims against Blackbaud over ransomware breach
The Delaware Supreme Court reversed lower‑court dismissals, permitting insurers to bring breach‑of‑contract actions against Blackbaud for its 2020 ransomware incident. Blackbaud had previously paid a $3 million SEC fine and $49 million to state attorneys general for misleading breach disclosures.
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By the numbers: Oil majors acquire $164M of Alaska oil leases
The D.D.C. court allowed two of Michael Newman's defamation claims against Howard University to proceed while granting summary judgment on the rest. Newman, a former law student expelled after academic and disciplinary issues, alleges Dean Holley made false, malicious statements during a 2022 hearing. The judge found that some statements could be actionable because the qualified privilege may not apply if actual malice is shown. Other claims, including alleged ranking manipulation and harassment, were dismissed as either true or non‑actionable.
The Kansas House of Representatives approved a bill that would tighten regulations on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to help lower prescription‑drug prices. The measure now heads to the Senate, where it could reshape how insurers negotiate drug rebates and pricing.
Anthropic has filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction to block the Department of Defense's ban on its Claude AI system, arguing the Pentagon's "supply‑chain risk" label violates the First Amendment and due‑process rights. The case pits the AI startup...
JPMorgan Chase has filed a temporary restraining order in federal court against former Chase Private Client advisor Thomas Staley, who left in February to join independent RIA Maia Wealth. The bank alleges Staley violated a one‑year non‑solicitation agreement by contacting...
They tried to silence me. They failed. Today, the court dismissed Richard Grenell’s lawsuit against me—with prejudice. This case was never about justice. It was about intimidation. Thank you to my attorneys, @markzaid and Tom Craig, and to everyone who stood by me...
Unsurprisingly, this new Voice of America lawsuit also was assigned to Judge Royce Lamberth. https://t.co/mhLFiZ9bJc
Russia’s Federal Anti‑Monopoly Service (FAS) has delayed the enforcement of its advertising ban on Telegram and YouTube until December 2026, after pushback from lawmakers and the online‑business sector. The postponement grants a three‑year grace period while the ban on Instagram,...
Ontario is poised to overhaul its civil justice rules by introducing a three‑track framework that categorises applications, summary matters and trials. The reforms tighten timelines, enforce proportionality, and revamp discovery, jury trials, limitation periods and affidavit evidence. Counsel will need...
Here is the long-term significance of today's Los Angeles social media trial victory: it is a move away from a conversation about speech and innovation, and toward bringing public health concerns decisively to the legal forefront. Read...
Law firm Mayer Brown announced the addition of a Los Angeles-based partner specializing in private fund matters. The new attorney will advise clients on fund formation, secondary market transactions, and institutional investor mandates. This hire bolsters Mayer Brown’s West Coast...
The European Commission introduced the Digital Networks Act (DNA) in January 2026 to replace the 2018 Electronic Communications Code and modernize EU telecom rules. The legislation targets accelerated deployment of 5G/6G, fiber, and secure, resilient infrastructure to meet soaring AI‑driven...
A federal judge rejected Nexstar Media Group's bid for summary judgment, allowing former WOOD‑TV news director Stanton Tang and assistant Amy Fox to proceed to a jury trial on defamation and wrongful‑termination claims. The lawsuit stems from a memo that...
The Supreme Court will hear *Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties*, a case that tests whether federal courts can confirm arbitration awards after compelling arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The dispute stems from Badgerow v. Walters, where the Court...
A Texas Public Policy Foundation lawsuit alleges Austin’s transportation user fee is an unconstitutional tax, demanding the city halt the charge. The fee, enacted in 1991, generated $139.2 million in fiscal 2025 and is projected to rise 11% to $156.7 million for fiscal 2026....
On March 5, 2026 USPTO Director John Squires granted a sua sponte rehearing to review the PTAB’s decision overturning obviousness‑type double patenting (OTDP) rejections in the Ex Parte Baurin case. The PTAB found the reference patent was not a proper OTDP reference because its...
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced stricter market‑making rules after the October 10 crash that erased roughly $19 billion in leveraged bets. The new policy bans revenue‑sharing arrangements between token projects and market makers, prohibits price‑manipulation tactics, and requires projects...
Startups often ignore regulatory compliance until missed filings trigger penalties or even forced dissolution. State filing requirements differ widely, creating a patchwork that founders rarely anticipate. Building simple, proactive compliance systems early—such as calendars, monitoring tools, and professional agents—can safeguard...
The amicus brief challenges California’s anti‑dissemination statute that criminalizes publishing sealed arrest records, arguing it violates the First Amendment. The court granted a special motion to strike, finding the plaintiff’s claims were protected by anti‑SLAPP law and lacked merit. An...
Meta announced a major pullback from its metaverse ambitions, slashing the Horizon Worlds budget and postponing the launch of next‑generation VR headsets. The decision follows stagnant user growth, rising development costs, and a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence and its...
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Enforcement Director, David Miller, will announce the agency’s 2026 enforcement priorities and discuss insider trading risks in prediction markets at a Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement (PCCE) event on March 31, 2026. The fireside...
Zohran Mamdani’s administration filed an appeal to the state’s highest court challenging the City Council’s authority to expand the CityFHEPS housing voucher program. The appeal contradicts Mamdani’s 2023 campaign promise to broaden vouchers, which currently serve 68,000 households and cost...
The FTC sent a warning letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook alleging that Apple News may favor left‑leaning outlets and suppress conservative sources, raising possible Section 5 violations under the FTC Act. The move comes as critics push to repeal the...
The federal court in Denver has taken a firm stance against careless use of generative AI in litigation. In the defamation suit Coomer v. Lindell, Judge Nina Wang issued an Order on Post‑Trial Motions compelling the defense to show cause...
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reported that limited resources and duplicated review steps have crippled the IRS’s partnership audit initiatives. A soft‑letter campaign to 483 large partnerships generated few usable responses, and the Large Partnership Compliance program...
Routine K‑12 decisions—parent notifications, staff speech, student support—are increasingly being framed as federal constitutional claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Title IX. Since 2022 courts have lowered the escalation threshold, allowing ordinary disputes to become multi‑dimensional federal cases with...
South African composer Lebo M, famed for the opening chant in Disney’s The Lion King, has sued Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Jonasi for allegedly misrepresenting the song’s meaning on a podcast and in a stand‑up routine. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, claims the...
Australia is consulting on new rules that would allow a temporary, roughly 30‑day delay in publicly disclosing serious cyber‑attacks on critical‑infrastructure operators, including ASX‑listed firms. The proposal aims to give entities time to mitigate threats without compromising national security or...
The Supreme Court heard arguments on a challenge to allowing states to count mail‑in ballots for up to five days after an election, with the majority expressing skepticism about the necessity of the extension. The Court also unanimously ruled that...
Family law covers divorce, separation, child custody, support, and adoption, each with distinct legal pathways. Engaging attorneys who understand local court rules can trim expenses and ease procedural stress. Distinguishing divorce from separation enables clients to select the appropriate legal...
Tempo Music, which owns the rights to Bruno Mars' co‑writer Philip Lawrence, has filed a motion urging a federal judge to reject Miley Cyrus' request to dismiss the copyright lawsuit over her 2023 hit “Flowers.” The plaintiff claims the song...
The IPKat weekly roundup highlights a series of cross‑border intellectual property developments. The CJEU clarified copyright subsistence for critical editions, while the EU General Court refined the genuine‑use test for local trademark users. In Australia, federal courts appear more willing...
The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to pay Michael Flynn $1.25 million to resolve his claim of wrongful prosecution. The settlement was filed in a Florida federal court, with both government and Flynn’s attorneys notifying the judge of the agreement....
Supplier contract disputes can be complicated. And when it’s a govt. contract, in a sensitive spend area like defense, and for a high-profile service/application like AI or other emergent tech, then things can get really tricky. Via @CristinaCriddle @FT https://t.co/OJzNWfcs68
A Salem‑based civil attorney, Bill Ghiorso, was hit with a record $10,000 fine after the Oregon Court of Appeals found his AI‑generated brief contained 15 fabricated citations and nine invented quotes. The judge noted the lawyer’s reliance on a paralegal’s...
KBR’s protest of NASA’s $1.8 billion COSMOS contract was rejected by the Government Accountability Office, leaving the award to the Ascend joint venture of Amentum and Aerodyne. The five‑year contract, with two optional extensions, supports command‑and‑control systems for Orion, the Space...
A federal judge in Fort Wayne dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Wells Fargo branch manager Timothy Poppens, who alleged reverse race and age discrimination and defamation. The court found Wells Fargo’s termination reasons—policy violations and failure to meet recruitment targets—substantiated and...
The Eastern District of Virginia ruled in SkyBell Technologies v. Alarm.com that the plaintiff’s trade‑secret claims were not time‑barred despite Alarm.com’s statute‑of‑limitations argument. SkyBell, which licensed its video‑doorbell technology to Alarm.com under a 2015 Development and Integration Agreement, terminated the...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 decision invalidating IEEPA tariffs has triggered consumer class actions against retailers such as Fabletics and Costco for allegedly passing tariff costs to shoppers. The lawsuits claim violations of state consumer‑protection statutes and seek...
The Federal Circuit reversed a district‑court ruling in Gramm v. Deere, holding that a structure can qualify as corresponding structure under 35 U.S.C. §112(f) even if the patent specification describes additional, unclaimed functions. The court clarified that indefiniteness analysis must focus...
California is advancing a bill that requires grocery stores to prominently display foods that are not ultraprocessed, using a new “California Certified” seal. The seal, modeled after the USDA Organic label, will be available to applicants starting June 2028 and...
Chinese companies' demand for Amazon Web Services compliance has increased by 250% as they expand overseas | Going Global · Technology _ https://t.co/YUHaLiFdIV https://t.co/w6d3n4u8bd
Massachusetts courts have clarified that the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) law imposes liability only on employer entities, not on individual officers or directors. A Superior Court ruling dismissed claims against individuals, while the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed that...
Wealthsimple, the Toronto‑based fintech valued at roughly $10 billion, secured initial approval from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) to launch prediction‑market contracts linked to economic indicators, financial markets and climate trends. The clearance permits binary “yes‑or‑no” forecast contracts, though the...
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to obtain records on the WISeR program, a multi‑state Medicare pilot that uses artificial intelligence to evaluate prior‑authorization requests. WISeR,...
Romania’s water agency, coal‑power producer and oil‑pipeline operator have suffered ransomware attacks linked to Russian‑aligned groups such as Qilin and Gentlemen, which the country’s top cyber official says are timed with its support for Ukraine. The EU possesses a cyber‑sanctions...
Two leading legal‑tech founders outline how AI will reshape eDiscovery by 2026, forecasting that automated document review will handle the majority of workload and that predictive coding will become self‑training. They predict cloud‑native platforms will become the default for midsize...
Housing Secretary Steve Reed announced a moratorium on cryptocurrency political donations and a £100,000 (≈ $127,000) annual cap for Britons living abroad. The move follows the Rycroft review, which warned of foreign‑linked dark money and called for stricter donor checks. Britain...
The article argues that acquihires—transactions focused on acquiring a startup’s workforce rather than its products—are attracting heightened antitrust scrutiny, especially in the AI sector, but they are not inherently anti‑competitive. It cites recent high‑profile deals such as Microsoft’s hiring of...
The UK government’s starter guide outlines who must comply with sanctions, the types of measures—financial, trade, transport, immigration and director disqualification—and the reporting obligations for firms. It explains how designated persons and specified ships are identified, how asset freezes operate,...
The New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned a trial award of $115,240 in damages to former VIC Progressive Diamond Drilling president Laura Araneda, finding her dismissal was justified. The court highlighted her secret launch of a competing firm, diversion of...
