John O'Brien News
Class action lawyer facing possible $180K penalty for filing second suit after first failed
OCALA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Big Lots wants a $180,000 penalty levied against a notorious class action lawyer recently slapped down by a Florida federal judge for bringing a case that had no chance of winning.
Baltimore judge throws out climate change case, says it's beyond the power of a state court
BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) - For the first time, a state court judge has thrown out one of the climate change lawsuits brought against the energy industry by an alliance of government officials and private lawyers.
Michigan pipeline battle: Judge rejects Whitmer's call to dismiss Enbridge lawsuit
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has lost a key ruling in Enbridge's lawsuit against her over her efforts to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.
Wrongful death claims tossed in cops' fatal shooting of Indiana man
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (Legal Newsline) - Individual officers are still facing litigation over the fatal shooting of an Indiana man, though they have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
Conservative justices in Wisconsin: Lib majority ignoring law for political reasons
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Wisconsin's liberal-led Supreme Court has bookended this term with politically motivated decisions, according to conservatives on the court who just had a ruling they made two years ago overturned.
Showdown in Philadelphia over FTC's ban on noncompete clauses
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - The company challenging new rules from the federal government banning noncompete clauses is headed to court today to argue for an injunction stopping them.
Class action lawyer ordered to pay other side's costs for bringing frivolous case
OCALA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - A 23-page body slam of a court order will have a controversial class action lawyer paying the fees of one of the hundreds of companies he has sued.
BASF's settlement to resolve PFAS liabilities approved
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - BASF Corporation's proposed $316.5 million settlement with public water systems over chemicals known as PFAS has gained preliminary approval.
Fla. judge won't let Zantac plaintiffs blame others, file in more receptive court
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiffs trying to escape a court hostile to their Zantac-related claims and flee to Delaware state court have lost their effort.
Idaho teachers' challenge to abortion-talk law tossed, as no punishments coming from AG
BOISE, Idaho (Legal Newsline) - Idaho teachers who sued over a state law prohibiting them from speaking favorably about abortion have lost their court case, though don't seem to be facing any punishment.
Pro-life law affirmed in Iowa; Chief justice: 'I cannot stand by this decision'
DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) - An Iowa law banning abortions after a fetus' heartbeat is detected is constitutional, the state's supreme court has ruled.
Fifth Circuit again says challenge to CFPB's late fees cap should be in Texas
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Though he has twice sent the case out of his court, a Texas federal judge looks now to be in charge of a legal challenge to new federal rules that limit late fees on credit card payments.
Starbucks accused of stealing partner's French press design
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - Starbucks stole the design of a French press coffeemaker and then broke a contract with a business partner by selling them, a recent federal lawsuit alleges.
Cop in fatal Baltimore shooting tried to avoid kid with 'headshot' at mom, wins lawsuit
BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) - A Baltimore County cop has successfully defended himself from a lawsuit over the fatal 2016 shooting of a 23-year-old woman that also injured her son.
Judge undoes changes Biden SEC made to Trump-era rule
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - President Biden's Securities Exchange Commission was wrong to undo rules passed during Donald Trump's time in office, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Juror's criminal past, dishonesty won't stop $120 million verdict against Chevron
FRESNO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Chevron must pay a $120 million verdict in California, an appeals court has ruled, despite arguments one of the jurors who handed it down was ineligible to serve on a jury.
Catch COVID at work? Don't ask Workers' Comp for money, Delaware says
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - A Perdue employee who contracted COVID-19 at work can't earn Workers' Compensation benefits, Delaware's highest court has said in deciding COVID is not a compensable occupational disease.
Massive bankruptcy plan to end OxyContin lawsuits rejected by U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A split U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated the bankruptcy plan of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma, which hoped to resolve crushing opioid litigation with a multibillion-dollar plan funded partly by former owners the Sackler family.
Lawsuit blaming cops for murder of San Diego woman fails
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - San Diego has defeated a wrongful death lawsuit that sought to hold it and its police officers liable for the murder of a woman allegedly carried out by a stalker.
Federal judge: Biden Admin doing 'violence to the Constitution'
LUBBOCK, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge has criticized the Biden Administration for its practice of using the rulemaking process to change the way businesses operate, saying it has stolen the policy-making power of Congress.