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Washington

  • May 02, 2025

    O'Reilly Auto Pregnant Worker Suit Geared Up For Wash. Trial

    The Washington State Attorney General's Office may proceed to trial with claims that O'Reilly Auto denied pregnant employees' accommodation requests it was legally required to grant, an Evergreen State judge said Friday, while trimming certain retaliation claims from the suit.

  • May 02, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Budget Cuts, Student Housing, Old Malls

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including real estate takeaways from President Donald Trump's proposed federal budget cuts and two asset classes attracting attention.

  • May 02, 2025

    X Reneged On Severance Promises, Laid-Off Mass. Workers Say

    Six former Twitter employees in Massachusetts who were laid off after Elon Musk purchased and downsized the social networking giant say the company, now called X Corp., broke its promises to pay out severance in line with what was offered before Musk's takeover.

  • May 02, 2025

    Live Nation Antitrust Fight Won't Have Split Damages Phase

    A Manhattan federal judge declined Friday to break out a possible monetary damages phase in a suit by federal and state authorities accusing Live Nation of quashing competition in live entertainment, saying the move would be unlikely to streamline the complex case.

  • May 02, 2025

    Dickinson Wright Combines With Firm, Opens Seattle Office

    Dickinson Wright PLLC announced that it has combined with Seattle-based Ashbaugh Beal LLP and opened a full-service office in the city, now home to 11 attorneys and the firm's first foray into the Northwest.

  • May 01, 2025

    DOJ Grilled On 'Bottleneck' After Refugee Processing Orders

    A Washington federal judge expressed frustration with the federal government Thursday for moving "with one hand behind its back" to resume processing of certain refugees after the Ninth Circuit clarified the scope of a partial block on the Trump administration's refugee program shutdown.

  • May 01, 2025

    Wash. Justices Take Up Meta's $35M Political Ad Penalty

    The Washington State Supreme Court has agreed to review a $35 million judgment for penalties and legal fees against Facebook parent company Meta for repeatedly running afoul of the state's political advertising transparency law.

  • May 01, 2025

    9th Circ. Asked To Revisit Ruling On Guam Munitions Suit

    A Ninth Circuit decision allowing a Guam group to challenge an Air Force permit renewal application to detonate expired munitions conflicts with precedent and threatens to burden permit applicants, agencies and courts, the U.S. government said in a rehearing petition filed Wednesday.

  • May 01, 2025

    401(k) Forfeiture Suit Not Backed By ERISA, Judge Says

    An Arizona federal judge nixed a proposed class action from workers who claimed a trucking company illegally used abandoned cash in its retirement fund to pay down its own contributions rather than covering plan fees, saying the workers' "novel theory" wasn't in line with federal benefits law.

  • May 01, 2025

    States Urge 1st Circ. To Reinstate Federal Housing Grants

    A coalition of states urged the First Circuit to reinstate a ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from cutting $30 million in fair housing grants, saying the federal government failed to consider the impact this decision would have on the groups' operations.

  • April 30, 2025

    SEC Says $2.7M Ponzi-Like Scheme Targeted Elderly Koreans

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued a Washington woman and a company she controls, alleging she fraudulently raised $2.7 million from at least 33 investors, including elderly Korean-Americans, gaining their trust by using her family relationships and affiliation as a member of their community, and then gambling some of those funds away.

  • April 30, 2025

    Colo. Chicken Co. On Hook For $3M Supply Chain Settlement

    A Washington federal judge has ordered a Colorado-based poultry processor to reimburse a grocery distributor's $3 million settlement with an ex-Trader Joe's vendor that sued over a bony batch of meat, adding to more than $13.5 million the chicken producer owes following a December trial.  

  • April 30, 2025

    Amazon's Suit Over Soured Solar Deals Survives Dismissal

    Amazon can sue a California-based private equity company and firms tied to a pair of Golden State solar energy developments for allegedly trying to sabotage the projects after signing long-term power purchase deals, a Washington state judge has ruled, rejecting jurisdictional arguments from the defendants.

  • April 30, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Phone Number Privacy Suit Against X

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a Washington resident's putative class action that accused Twitter Inc., now called X, of deceptively obtaining his phone number, saying in an unpublished opinion that a state law he leaned on prohibited the fraudulent collection of telephone records, "not numbers."

  • April 30, 2025

    Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

    Enforcers opened high stakes court proceedings against Meta Platforms and Google for monopolization claims that could force the tech giants to sell pieces of the companies, while also moving ahead with several challenges and reviews of pending deals in other industries. Here, Law360 looks at the major merger review developments from April.

  • April 30, 2025

    Amazon Can't Claw Back 'Inadvertent' Discovery Docs

    A Seattle federal judge has ruled that documents Amazon.com Inc. produced as part of three proposed antitrust class actions may not be clawed back, finding that despite the online retailer's claims that they were produced "inadvertently," there was no indication the document-sharing was a mistake.

  • April 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Copyright Fight Over Sam Smith Tune

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday resurrected a copyright lawsuit over pop stars Sam Smith and Normani's 2019 hit "Dancing With a Stranger," saying a reasonable jury could find that the song's hook shares protectable lyrics, pitches and rhythm with that of a 2015 track called "Dancing With Strangers."

  • April 29, 2025

    Deal Terms An Issue In $60M Mortgage Loan Sale Con Case

    A Washington federal judge suggested on Tuesday that she might hold off on interpreting the terms of a multimillion-dollar mortgage loan sale agreement at issue in a racketeering suit, since a contractual dispute involving the same deal is slated for a bench trial before her in October.

  • April 29, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Issuing 'Advisory' Ruling In Class Cert. Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court's latest attempt to address a pressing question about class certification standards may be doomed by a procedural hiccup, with a majority of justices expressing concern Tuesday that they didn't have the authority to wade into a dispute over approval of a class that contains uninjured members.

  • April 29, 2025

    Feds Urge Dismissal Of Suit Over Halted Refugee Program

    The Trump administration on Monday urged a Washington state federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the government's suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, citing a recent Ninth Circuit decision that limited the scope of the judge's preliminary injunction.

  • April 29, 2025

    Amazon Can't Shake Return Policy Suit, Wash. Judge Rules

    A Washington federal judge refused Tuesday to dismiss claims accusing Amazon of unlawfully recharging consumers under its "advanced refund" return policy, ruling that the e-commerce giant could face tort and quasi-contract liability alongside breach of contract allegations.

  • April 29, 2025

    Gore-Tex Maker Seeks Dismissal Of PFAS Suit

    The company behind the waterproof fabric brand Gore-Tex urged a Washington federal court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of manufacturing with toxic forever chemicals while also "greenwashing" its image, arguing that the buyers, who did not actually test their garments, provide no proof that the clothing they bought contains these substances.

  • April 29, 2025

    Insurers Say 9th Circ. Extended Tribal Jurisdiction Too Far

    A group of insurers again urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision ordering them to litigate COVID-19 coverage claims in Suquamish Tribal Court, saying Tuesday that the lower court's conception of tribal sovereignty is so broad that even the tribe is unwilling to defend it.

  • April 29, 2025

    2 Dozen States Say DOGE Can't 'Dismantle' AmeriCorps

    Two dozen states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging layoffs and $400 million in funding cuts to the national volunteer agency AmeriCorps, alleging the Trump administration is trampling over Congress' authority by trying to dismantle the agency.

  • April 29, 2025

    BNSF Says Tribe's $400M Trespass Win Unjustly Taps Profits

    BNSF Railway Co. has urged the Ninth Circuit to derail the nearly $400 million a trial judge ruled it owes for years of illegally running oil cars across a Washington tribe's land, saying the disgorgement judgment goes after legitimate profits far removed from where the trespassing occurred.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Greenwashing

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    As the number of public and private lawsuits relating to greenwashing dramatically grows, risk managers of companies making environmental claims should look to several types of insurance for coverage in the event of a suit, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

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    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Series

    Playing Beach Volleyball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My commitment to beach volleyball has become integral to my performance as an attorney, with the sport continually reminding me that teamwork, perseverance, professionalism and stress management are essential to both undertakings, says Amy Drushal at Trenam.

  • How Law Firms Can Counteract The Loneliness Epidemic

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    The legal industry is facing an urgent epidemic of loneliness, affecting lawyer well-being, productivity, retention and profitability, and law firm leaders should take concrete steps to encourage the development of genuine workplace connections, says Michelle Gomez at Littler and Gwen Mellor Romans at Herald Talent.

  • What's At Stake In High Court's Class Member Standing Case

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s eventual decision in Labcorp v. Davis could significantly alter how parties prosecute and defend class actions in federal court, particularly if the court determines some proof of member standing is required before a class may be certified, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • 5 Keys To Building Stronger Attorney-Client Relationships

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    Attorneys are often focused on being seen as the expert, but bonding with clients and prospects by sharing a few key personal details provides the basis for a caring, trusted and profoundly deeper business relationship, says Deb Feder at Feder Development.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Racing Corvettes Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I use when racing Corvettes have enhanced my legal practice in several ways, because driving, like practicing law, requires precision, awareness and a good set of brakes — complete with the wisdom to know how and when to use them, says Kat Mateo at Olshan Frome.

  • The Political Branches Can't Redefine The Citizenship Clause

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wong Kim Ark opinion and subsequent decisions, and the 14th Amendment’s legislative history, establish that the citizenship clause precludes the political branches from narrowing the definition of citizen based on how a parent’s U.S. presence is categorized, says federal public defender Geremy Kamens.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 9th Circ. Draws The Line On Software As A Derivative Work

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Oracle International v. Rimini Street clarifies the meaning of derivative work under the Copyright Act, and when a work based upon a preexisting item doesn't constitute a derivative, says John Poulos at Norton Rose.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

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    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

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