Trump Says Epstein Birthday Letter Is Fake In $10B WSJ Suit

By Carolina Bolado

President Donald Trump maintained Tuesday that a "bawdy" birthday letter sent to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that purportedly bears Trump's signature is phony and argued that the Wall Street Journal's decision to write about the letter despite his assertions that it was fake shows actual malice.

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Mistrial Declared In Fla. Opioid Case Against Pharmacies

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge declared a mistrial following a hung jury after two weeks of deliberations in a lawsuit brought by hospitals alleging that Walmart, Walgreens and CVS pharmacies negligently doled out painkillers and contributed to the opioid crisis. 

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Fla. AG Targets Pediatric Org. In Gender-Affirming Care Suit

By Hannah Albarazi

The office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued the American Academy for Pediatrics along with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society in Florida state court Tuesday for allegedly misleading the public about the safety of gender-affirming care for minors.

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Florida Atty Says Sanctions For Fake Citations Go Too Far

By Andrea Keckley

An attorney said a Florida federal judge went too far with her sanctions over fake citations following the possible use of artificial intelligence in his motion for a temporary restraining order, and asked her to reconsider the level of punishment.

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11th Circ. Weighs Immunity In Fla. Excessive Force Case

By David Minsky

Four Miami-area police officers urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to grant qualified immunity in a lawsuit accusing them of excessive force, arguing their level of physical control was necessary to restrain a teenager displaying extraordinary strength during a mental health breakdown. 

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Florida Bill Seeks To Shield Landowners From Pollution Suits

By Jonathan Capriel

A Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill that would add hurdles to those looking to sue over pollution damages caused by old phosphate mines, giving property owners a new defense to avoid strict liability claims.

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Brief

Feds Push For Dismissal Of H-2A Wage Rule Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration asked a Florida federal judge to dismiss a suit challenging a Biden-era rule that boosted wages for foreign H-2A farmworkers, saying the case is moot after a Louisiana federal judge permanently blocked the rule nationwide.

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Analysis

MLS General Counsel Eye NAR Settlement In Rearview

By Grace Dixon

When the National Association of Realtors unveiled nationwide buyer commission rule changes amid a $418 million antitrust settlement in 2024, multiple listing services and their counsel took on the heavy lift of implementing those changes as their members sought guidance.

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TTAB Rejection Of 'Kahwa' TM Reversed By Fed. Circ.

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Tuesday reversed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of a trademark registration for cafes called "Kahwa," saying just because it refers to a Central Asian green tea drink doesn't mean it's too generic to register as a trademark.

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Insurer Needn't Cover $5.8M Naval Base Defect Award

By Hope Patti

A general contractor can't recover $5.8 million from a subcontractor's Liberty Mutual insurer for an arbitration award over defective work on a naval base project, a Florida federal court ruled Monday, finding that the insurer had no duty to indemnify either company.

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McDonald's Narrows Fired Worker's Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

An ex-McDonald's worker failed to show she was fired for complaining that a co-worker sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge ruled, cutting claims from a proposed class action that the fast food giant often retaliated against workers who reported on-the-job sexual harassment.

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Marsh Rival Wants Out Of Employee Poaching Scheme Suit

By Elliot Weld

An insurance company accused by Marsh & McLennan Agency of poaching an employee has asked a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss Marsh's suit, saying the court had no jurisdiction because the claims had not been sufficiently tied to New York.

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Combs' Defamation Suit Unlikely To Be Tossed, Judge Says

By Pete Brush

Sean "Diddy" Combs' $50 million defamation suit accusing a grand jury witness, a lawyer and Nexstar Media Inc. of spreading falsities is likely to survive the defendants' motion to dismiss, at least in part, a Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday.

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GEO's GC To Retire Amid Forced Labor Suit At High Court

By Madison Arnold

The general counsel to the GEO Group Inc. has announced his retirement amid the company's battle at the U.S. Supreme Court, where the private prison operator stands accused of forcing immigrant detainees to clean a detention facility.

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How AI Exec Order May Tee Up Legal Fights With States

The Trump administration's draft executive order would allow it to challenge and withhold federal dollars from states with artificial intelligence laws, but until Congress passes comprehensive AI legislation, states may have to defend their regulatory frameworks in extended litigation, says Charles Mills, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.

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Navigating The New Patchwork Of Foreign-Influence Laws

On top of existing federal regulations, an expanding wave of state legislation — placing new limits on foreign-funded political spending and new registration requirements for foreign agents — creates a confusing compliance backdrop for corporations that demands careful preplanning, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

By David Minsky

A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

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Analysis

Wanted: Temporary US Attorney, No Experience Needed

By Phillip Bantz

Frustrated by a string of court rulings disqualifying several of his U.S. attorney picks, President Donald Trump lamented recently that he might "just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one." Experts say the idea raises legal and practical issues.

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Jack Smith To Launch Firm With Willkie Partner, 2 Ex-Deputies

By Jack Rodgers

Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel appointed to investigate President Donald Trump, is set to launch his own firm alongside two of his former top deputies and the co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's investigations and enforcement practice.

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McIver's Immunity Disputed In Detention Center Assault Case

By Elizabeth Daley

Federal prosecutors asked a New Jersey federal judge to maintain all charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was accused in an indictment of assaulting federal officers outside an immigration detention center during a scrum in which the mayor of Newark was arrested in May.

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Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

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Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

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AGs Say Judicial Safety Threats Reaching 'All-Time Highs'

By Matthew Santoni

Attorneys general for 43 states, three territories and the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress urging more financial support for judicial security in the face of threats against judges, including funding for a program that lets judges scrub addresses and personal information from online databases.

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Foley Reelects Chairman And CEO Amid Record Growth

By Kevin Penton

A Detroit-based business attorney who has served as Foley & Lardner LLP's chairman and CEO since May 2022 is expected to continue in the role through 2030, the firm announced Wednesday.

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Retired Calif. Judge Censured For Case Delays

By James Mills

A now-retired California state appeals court judge was publicly censured Wednesday, and he has agreed to "not serve in a judicial capacity in the future" as part of a stipulation he entered with the state's judicial ethics watchdog, following its investigation into whether the judge mismanaged cases and caused a yearlong backlog.

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