Know What's Happening in Legal
Know What's Happening in Legal
Delaware Supreme Court revives insurers' contract claims against Blackbaud over ransomware breach
The court reversed lower‑court dismissals, allowing insurers to pursue breach‑of‑contract claims against Blackbaud for its 2020 ransomware incident. Blackbaud previously paid a $3M SEC fine and $49M settlements to state attorneys general for misleading breach disclosures.
Also developing:
California lawmakers swiftly moved to rename the March 31 state holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, passing Assembly Bill 2156 with a unanimous 68‑0 vote. The change follows newly surfaced sexual abuse allegations against Chavez, prompting legislators to emphasize the broader farmworker movement over a single figure. The bill now heads to the Senate’s Governmental Organization Committee, with Governor Gavin Newsom publicly backing the effort. If approved before the spring recess, the holiday will be officially rebranded for the first time in state history.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California challenging the Department of Energy’s order to restart the Las Flores onshore oil pipelines. The state argues the DOE lacks authority under the Defense Production Act,...
Paris Jackson and her lawyers are challenging the Michael Jackson estate’s handling of the upcoming biopic *Michael*, alleging costly reshoots tied to a 1994 settlement that bars depiction of Jordan Chandler’s relationship with her father. The estate, led by co‑executors...
The Supreme Court of Canada began a four‑day hearing on Quebec's use of the notwithstanding clause to protect its secularism law, Bill 21, from Charter challenges. Justices questioned whether the province was employing the clause as a political tool rather than...
A federal district court in California dismissed a lawsuit by six women inmates challenging Senate Bill 132, which requires prison officials to consider gender identity when addressing and housing transgender, nonbinary, or intersex inmates. The judge ruled the court lacks...
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case brought by the Republican National Committee challenging state laws that permit mail‑in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted after Election Day. Currently, 14 states and the District of Columbia...
A California jury found Bill Cosby liable for drugging and sexually assaulting Donna Motsinger in 1972, awarding her $19.25 million in damages. The verdict includes $17.5 million for past harms and $1.75 million for future emotional distress. Jurors also determined...
A U.S. magistrate judge dismissed the retaliation lawsuit filed by former WhatsApp cybersecurity head Attaullah Baig against Meta, Mark Zuckerberg and other executives. The court found Baig failed to plausibly allege a protected activity under the Sarbanes‑Oxley Act and lacked...
U.S. District Judge John Cronan denied a habeas petition and refused to release Rafael Rubio, a Venezuelan data analyst for the New York City Council, keeping him in ICE detention after revoking his Temporary Protected Status. The judge ruled Rubio offered no...
Swipe through this to see how many times I failed 👉 I found a pattern in failing. It all revolved around 1. People 2. Technology 3. Finance Join us with our Vice president of Finance & Risk (Ahmed Awad) as we go over...
The episode examines the Supreme Court case Watson v. the RNC, where the Court appears poised to strike down Mississippi's law allowing postmarked mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day, potentially invalidating similar rules in 14 states covering about...
PhotobookShop, an Australian online photobook retailer, has been hit with two ACCC infringement notices and a AUD 39,600 (≈US$26,000) penalty for misleading influencer reviews on Instagram. The regulator found the company instructed influencers on 107 occasions between August 2024 and September 2025 not...
The authors argue that the EU’s heavy‑handed AI regulations will slow innovation, jeopardizing Europe’s economic growth and security. They cite a White House Council of Economic Advisers report warning of a new "Great Divergence" between AI‑rich and AI‑poor economies. U.S....
The Biden-era USDA funding rules introduced by the Trump administration have triggered a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia. The complaint argues that the 2026 conditions—requiring compliance with broad anti‑discrimination mandates, prohibiting support...
Quoted in The New York Times on a piece examining the intersection of wealth, power, tax and estate planning in the orbit of Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein. When tax and estate structures get this aggressive, the legal questions are only...
EU lawmakers have days to act. On 3 April, the rules allowing platforms to detect and remove child sexual abuse material expire — and permanent legislation won't be finalised until July 2026 at the earliest. We have been here before. 🧵...
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/508b5287d33ef6eb27aaf684081a300e.jpg)
Former senior TRC prosecutor Anton Ackermann publicly apologized to ex‑NPA head Menzi Simelane, admitting his earlier testimony may have mischaracterised Simelane’s involvement in Ackermann’s removal from TRC cases. The Khampepe Commission revealed a 2003 internal memo was later falsified to...
NEW >> The Defense Department said it will move press to external ‘annex’ just days after a federal judge struck down its press policy as unconstitutional. https://t.co/wM5OKyEP6c
Illinois regulators launch investigation into consumer protection against data center costs #energysky -- via pv magazine usa: https://t.co/aw3WBbqTms
Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced two Senate bills to broaden whistleblower protections for federal employees. S.4100 would extend the same safeguards to civil servants whose primary duties involve investigating wrongdoing, countering recent Merit Systems Protection Board rulings that raised the retaliation...
A California federal judge is hearing a challenge from Democratic state attorneys general to the Justice Department's clearance of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. The states argue the settlement was ineffective and corrupt, marking the first major courtroom test...
Grand Slam Track reached a consensual settlement with its creditors, agreeing to amend its bankruptcy plan. The deal returns Olympic champion Michael Johnson's disputed $500,000 payment and adjusts payouts to athletes and vendors, with athletes receiving about 70% of the...
Former U.S. bobsledders have filed new lawsuits claiming USA Bobsled/Skeleton knowingly hid the sport’s risk of permanent brain injury, a condition they label “sled head.” The complaints detail chronic symptoms such as memory loss, migraines and neurodegenerative disease, and add...
High Point University’s Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law received provisional approval from the American Bar Association, allowing its 2024‑onward graduates to sit for the bar exam. The approval is a stepping stone toward full accreditation, which must be secured...
U.S. House Republican agriculture leaders are drafting legislation to broaden the H‑2A guest‑worker program, allowing contracts that extend beyond the current 12‑month limit. The Department of Labor’s recent adjustment to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate aligns H‑2A wages more closely...
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) announced a survey to assess how health‑care providers are delivering good‑faith cost estimates to uninsured and self‑pay patients under the No Surprises Act. The questionnaire, which will remain anonymous, seeks insight into implementation...
Core Club, a members‑only New York social club, sued developer Michael Shvo alleging fraud over a promised $100 million expansion to New York, San Francisco and Milan. A New York judge dismissed the fraud claim along with breach of contract, fiduciary duty and usury...
The U.S. Department of Labor has forwarded a proposed joint‑employer rule to the White House, aiming to replace the 2021 regulation that rescinded the Trump‑era standard. The new rule is expected to be more employer‑friendly, narrowing the definition of joint...
A federal district court in Massachusetts ruled that two Bimbo Bakeries delivery drivers cannot be forced into arbitration over a state‑law misclassification claim because they qualify as transportation workers exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act. The drivers, one an individual...
An LA County civil jury found Bill Cosby liable for drugging and sexually assaulting former waitress Donna Motsinger in 1972, awarding her $19.25 million in damages. The verdict follows Cosby’s earlier criminal conviction, which was overturned in 2021 after he served...
Money laundering and terrorist financing are often discussed together, but they are distinct financial crimes. Both fall under anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorism financing (CTF) regulations, exploiting similar system vulnerabilities. The key difference lies in the source and purpose of funds:...
Commonwealth Financial Network settled its long‑running SEC revenue‑sharing case for $5 million, far below the $93 million originally ordered. The SEC had accused the firm of undisclosed conflicts of interest from 2014‑2018, alleging it steered clients into higher‑cost share classes. A 2025...
The GAO released a report evaluating NIST’s draft guidance on exercising Bayh‑Dole march‑in rights, which would let federal agencies compel non‑exclusive licensing of patents stemming from federally funded research. The draft proposes using product price as a factor, but the...
Manitoba has introduced legislation that prohibits retailers from using personal data to charge different prices for identical goods, making it the first Canadian province to tackle algorithmic price discrimination. The move follows similar efforts in a handful of U.S. states...
On Feb. 26, 2026 Senate Finance leaders Mike Crapo and Ron Wyden introduced the bipartisan Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act (TAS), a 162‑page, ten‑title bill aimed at overhauling IRS operations. The legislation requires the agency to fully digitize return processing, launch a...
On March 11, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize coordination across their regulatory domains. The agreement creates a Joint Harmonization Initiative targeting product definitions, clearing and margin frameworks,...
Otero County, New Mexico, convened an emergency commission meeting on March 13 to approve a five‑year ICE contract that would fund a $5.26 million debt‑service payment and prevent default on $18.48 million of bonds tied to a 2007 jail project. The state attorney...
Grand Slam Track has an agreement with its previously unhappy unsecured creditors committee, paving the way for its Chapter 11 plan to move forward. New company will not be totally owned and controlled by Michael Johnson
The FAIR Business Practices Act took effect on February 17, 2026, revamping New York’s General Business Law § 349 to cover not only deceptive but also unfair and abusive practices. The law expands the Attorney General’s enforcement reach to out‑of‑state entities...
FINRA announced on March 2 a series of updates to its enforcement program as part of the FINRA Forward initiative. The changes introduce introductory and final meetings, mandatory 90‑day status updates, a specialization program for complex cases, and a self‑reporting pilot...
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit unanimously ruled that the FTC cannot enforce its cease‑and‑desist order against Intuit’s TurboTax ads through an administrative law judge, citing the Supreme Court’s *Jarkesy* decision. The court sent the case back...
A jury recently cleared rapper Afroman of defamation, confirming that his viral songs mocking a police raid were protected speech. The case underscores Section 230's role in shielding platforms like YouTube and TikTok from liability for user‑generated content. Without that...
The British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed a wrongful‑dismissal claim and ordered former store manager John Vassilakaki to repay $814,681 CAD (approximately $603,000 USD). The court found he breached his fiduciary duty by funneling excessive wages and personal expenses to his wife, son...
Missouri’s Standing Committee on Commerce voted 6-2 to advance House Bill 2080, rewriting it to create a Cryptocurrency Strategic Reserve Fund that includes XRP alongside Bitcoin. The amendment authorizes the state to purchase XRP with taxpayer dollars, marking the first...
The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) and Vancouver‑based AI startup Caseway AI have reached a confidential settlement that ends CanLII’s November 2024 lawsuit alleging unauthorized bulk downloads of its legal database. Both parties announced they will resume independent operations, with...
Hans Zimmer, the composer behind Disney’s 1994 Lion King, has filed a $27 million lawsuit against comedian Learnmore Jonasi. The suit alleges that Jonasi used the opening lines of the iconic "Circle of Life" during a two‑hour podcast appearance without permission, constituting copyright...
A Santa Monica jury awarded Donna Motsinger $59.25 million after finding Bill Cosby liable for drugging and raping her in 1972. The verdict includes $17.5 million for past mental suffering, $1.75 million for future suffering, and $40 million in punitive damages for malice. The...
Eight architecture and cultural organizations have filed a federal lawsuit against President Trump and the Kennedy Center board to halt a two‑year renovation slated to start after July 4. The plaintiffs allege the plan violates historic preservation and environmental statutes and...
U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell has withdrawn his lawsuit accusing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte of weaponizing mortgage‑fraud investigations to silence Trump critics. The suit, filed in November, alleged that Pulte illegally accessed Swalwell’s private mortgage records in violation...
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rejected OpenAI’s claim that the CHATGPT mark is inherently distinctive, labeling both “Chat” and “GPT” as descriptive under the Lanham Act. The Board affirmed the examiner’s earlier acceptance of OpenAI’s Section 2(f) argument that the...
