East Lansing To Pay $7.8M After High Court Energy Fee Ruling

By Carolyn Muyskens

East Lansing, Michigan, has agreed to pay $7.8 million to its residents for an electric bill charge that the Michigan Supreme Court deemed to be a hidden tax.

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$500K Election Audit Deal Shields Mich. Atty, Court Told

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan attorney has told a federal judge that a $500,000 settlement reached between a Pennsylvania businessman and a cybersecurity firm suing over unpaid voting machine investigation bills also covers her, encouraging the court to dismiss the case entirely or order the plaintiffs to return the money paid to them.

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Michigan Must Face Christian Refugee Aid Provider's Bias Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

A federal judge said a Christian refugee resettlement agency may move ahead with claims that Michigan sought to force the agency to agree to hire non-Christians to be eligible for contracts.

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States Back PBS, NPR In Fight Against Trump Broadcast Cuts

By Ryan Harroff

A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia backed a pair of motions from the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio Inc. seeking pretrial wins in their challenges to President Donald Trump's executive order that purports to revoke their funding, arguing that only Congress can pull that money.

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Gibson Dunn, Cleary Guide $1.77B C&S-SpartanNash Deal

By Al Barbarino

C&S Wholesale Grocers will acquire grocery distributor and retailer SpartanNash in a $1.77 billion all-cash deal, the companies said in a joint statement Monday, with Gibson Dunn and Cleary serving as legal counsel to the buyer and seller, respectively.

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9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard

District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

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Perkins Coie Lays Off 5% Of Staff Amid Strategic Review

By Xiumei Dong

Perkins Coie LLP, which successfully fended off President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm, has reportedly laid off roughly 5% of its professional staff this month, and attributed the reductions to the firm's strategic realignments following a yearlong review of its business operations.

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Dems Demand Info On Emil Bove's Alleged Misconduct

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of Emil Bove's hearing on Wednesday for his judicial nomination, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing for information on complaints alleging his misconduct while at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and Main Justice earlier this year.

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Litigation Funders Fight 'Kill Shot' In 'Big Beautiful Bill'

By Ryan Boysen

Litigation funders are in panic mode over a provision in the massive federal spending bill that would impose a 41% punitive tax on the $16 billion industry, with one executive calling it a "kill shot" and an academic warning it amounts to "unprecedented" weaponization of the U.S. tax code.

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Dems Laud Axing Of Budget Bill's Injunction Bond Provision

By Courtney Bublé

A provision meant to up the ante for plaintiffs filing lawsuits against the federal government by increasing the use of injunction bonds has been ruled ineligible for inclusion in the budget reconciliation package.

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Amazon Sanctioned For Hidden Discovery

By Bryan Koenig

A Washington federal judge sanctioned Amazon.com Monday by limiting its use of company documents produced during discovery while giving the Federal Trade Commission more time for discovery, siding with the FTC's allegations that the online retail giant improperly claimed privilege over tens of thousands of documents in the Prime "dark patterns" lawsuit.

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Justices Drop 'Third Country' Removal Due Process, For Now

By Katie Buehler

A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration can send noncitizens facing deportation to countries where they have no prior ties without providing due process protections, including written notice or a chance to raise concerns about their future safety.

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Justices To Review Liability For Forcing Prisoner's Haircut

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a former Louisiana prisoner's case for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, removing the dreadlocks he maintained as part of his Rastafarian religion.

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