Hong Wins Leave to Add Two Named Plaintiffs in RugsUSA Class Action
The Northern District of California granted Anna Hong’s motion to amend her complaint, adding two new named plaintiffs to her putative class action against RugsUSA, LLC.
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Allbirds Escapes Courtroom as Privacy Suit Sent to Arbitration
A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered a putative class action against Allbirds Inc. into arbitration, ruling that a click-through checkout agreement gave the shoemaker reasonably conspicuous notice of its mandatory arbitration clause.
Age Discrimination Claim Against Dun & Bradstreet Survives Summary Judgment
A federal judge in San Francisco allowed a former sales specialist’s age discrimination claim against Dun & Bradstreet to proceed to trial, ruling that a jury could infer the company’s reorganization was a pretext for firing him because of his age.
Northern District of California Approves NFT Service of Process in Crypto Fraud Case
A federal judge in San Jose approved an emergency motion allowing a plaintiff to serve an anonymous cryptocurrency fraud defendant by sending a non-fungible token to the defendant's digital wallet addresses.
Apple's 'Source Code' Designation Narrowed in Discovery Dispute with Oppo
A Northern District of California magistrate judge ruled that Apple’s product roadmaps do not automatically qualify for the highest level of confidentiality protection, rejecting the company’s attempt to shield strategic planning documents under a "Source...
Magistrate Judge Narrows xAI's Subpoena to OpenAI in Trade Secret Case
A federal magistrate judge on Wednesday narrowed a subpoena xAI served on OpenAI, limiting the scope of documents the AI company must produce regarding its hiring of former xAI employee Xuechen Li, who is accused of stealing trade secrets.
Judge Lee Denies Daubert Motions in BuzzBallz Trade Dress Suit, Allowing Expert Testimony to Proceed
A Northern District of California judge denied motions to exclude expert testimony on functionality and secondary meaning in BuzzBallz’s trade dress infringement suit against MPL Brands, allowing key evidence to reach the jury or decide summary judgment.
Google Ad-Tech Class Certification Granted in Securities Fraud Case
A federal judge in San Francisco certified a nationwide class of investors in a securities fraud case against Alphabet Inc. and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, allowing the case to proceed to trial on allegations that Google’s advertising auctions favored the...
Court rejects former executive's bid to include life insurance premiums in retirement calculation
A federal court rejected a former executive's claim that bank-owned life insurance premiums should be included in her retirement benefits calculation, denying her request to reconsider a summary judgment that excluded nearly $0.29 million in premiums.
Judge Lin Dismisses J&J Risperdal Lawsuit, Citing Statute of Limitations and Preemption
A Northern District of California judge dismissed a products liability lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, ruling that plaintiffs failed to plead when their mother was exposed to Risperdal or discovered her cancer, leaving...
Northern District Denies Southwest’s Motion to Decertify FMLA Class
A federal judge in San Francisco denied Southwest Airlines’ motion to decertify three classes of flight attendants alleging the carrier unlawfully denied disciplinary point reductions to employees who took family and medical leave, but granted plaintiffs...
Copyright Suit Dismissed for Failure to Plead Access to Song Before Infringing Upload
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that a pro se musician failed to plausibly allege that YouTube users had a reasonable chance of seeing his original composition before uploading allegedly infringing tracks, dismissing the case with leave to amend.
Judge Gilliam Dismisses Traditional Medicinals Class Action for Bare 'Price Premium' Allegations
A Northern District of California judge dismissed a consumer class action against the herbal tea maker, ruling that a plaintiff must allege specific facts explaining how she was injured by unlawful labeling, not just assert she paid more.
Judge Denies Scheduling Changes in Foundry-Adobe Trademark Dispute, Criticizes Both Sides for Diligence
A federal judge denied competing scheduling requests from The Foundry and Adobe in their trademark dispute, criticizing both sides for failing to act with urgency.
LMRA Preemption Dismisses Overtime Claim in Levi Strauss Wage Suit
A federal judge in California dismissed a former employee’s state-law overtime claim against Levi Strauss & Co., ruling the Labor Management Relations Act preempts the suit because the worker is covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Oakland School District Must Grant Equal Access to Religious Group Under Settlement
A federal judge approved a settlement requiring the Oakland Unified School District to grant Child Evangelism Fellowship NorCal equal access to school facilities under the First Amendment.
Lead Plaintiffs Selected in Picard Medical Pump-and-Dump Allegations Based on Largest Losses
A Northern California federal judge appointed two investors with the largest alleged losses as lead plaintiffs in a securities class action accusing Picard Medical of facilitating a social media pump-and-dump scheme.
Excessive Force Claims Survive in San Jose Police Stop, But Bane Act Claim Dismissed Against Three Officers
A federal magistrate judge in San Jose allowed core excessive force and failure-to-intervene claims to proceed against four officers and the city in a civil rights lawsuit, but dismissed a California Bane Act claim against three of those officers for...
Judge Lin Rejects PHH Mortgage's Consent Defense in Privacy Tracking Suit
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that PHH Mortgage’s privacy policies did not provide blanket consent for the secret sharing of users’ individualized financial data with third-party trackers, allowing key privacy and wiretap claims to proceed.
9th Cir. Standard Met: Clicking 'I Agree' on Dropbox Sign Unambiguously Manifests Assent to Arbitration Clause
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that clicking an "I agree" button on Dropbox Sign constitutes unambiguous assent to its Terms of Service, including an arbitration clause, satisfying the 9th Circuit's strict standard for online contract formation.