Anthropic Must Face Some Claims In Suit Alleging False Advertising
SAN FRANCISCO — Allegations that Anthropic PBC’s Claude AI subscribers were misled into believing that they would receive more monthly usage than they received support Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract claims, but the plaintiffs have not shown standing to pursue California unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising claims, a federal magistrate judge in California said in dismissing some of the claims from the suit and granting leave to amend.
Tribunal Denies Bifurcation Of U.S. Investors’ $204M Claim Against Panama
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Nov. 9 published a tribunal’s decision dismissing the Republic of Panama’s request for bifurcation of an arbitration claim brought against it by two U.S. investors who claim that Panama caused them more than $204 million in damages by abruptly annulling approvals of their housing investment, finding that resolving Panama’s objections first would not contribute to efficiency because it would require reviewing the merits.
High Court Stays Injunction Barring Texas-Mexico Border Wall Construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 granted a stay of an injunction entered by a Texas federal judge that halted construction of a massive border wall along the Texas-Mexico border, finding that “[t]he Government is exceedingly likely to prevail on its argument that the District Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate” a “so-called major-questions-doctrine claim” brought by two nonprofits and a river guide over the issuance of waivers of environmental and conservation laws and regulations to commence the project.
High Court Hears Debate Over Carlson, Bivens In Case Involving Injured Inmate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The assistant to the U.S. solicitor general on Nov. 9 urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Carlson v. Green, while the attorney for a staff nurse at a federal detention center urged the court to go further and overturn Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics during oral argument over a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling recognizing a cause of action for damages under Bivens for an inmate who was injured in a prison gang fight but was not sent to a hospital.
3rd Circuit OKs Interlocutory Appeal Of Class Certification In Severance Case
PHILADELPHIA — Without explanation for why it granted permission for an interlocutory appeal, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed to consider a challenge to certification of a mandatory class in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case concerning severance benefits.
Alaska High Court Allows Opioid Public Nuisance Claim Against Retail Pharmacies
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Supreme Court on Nov. 6 revived the state’s public nuisance claim against retail pharmacies over their alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic, holding that Alaska sufficiently alleged that the pharmacies’ failure to fulfill their legal duties when dispensing opioids unreasonably interfered with public rights.
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear COVID Vaccine Mandate Dispute With Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 denied a petition for certiorari by the employees in their individual capacities seeking review of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of a lower court’s dismissal of the employees’ suit alleging wrongful termination by a company related to former employees’ refusal to comply with masking and testing policies after they were exempted from the requirement to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; the Supreme Court previously denied a similar petition for certiorari in a putative class suit.
Majority Says Issues Of Fact Exist As To Whether Auto Insurer Acted In Bad Faith
ATLANTA — An auto insurer was not entitled to summary judgment on a bad faith claim for failure to negotiate a settlement on behalf of its insured because a reasonable jury could conclude that the insurer’s failure to settle the claim against its insured resulted in the entry of an excess judgment award against the insured, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority said in vacating and remanding the lower court’s judgment.
10th Circuit Vacates Injunction In Athletes’ NCAA 5th-Year Rule Case
DENVER — A 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 6 reversed a trial court’s order granting a preliminary injunction in an antitrust class action by Division I student-athletes suing over the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s refusal to apply a new fifth-year eligibility rule retroactively and vacated the injunction, opining that the trial court “clearly erred” in accepting the student-athletes’ proposed labor market definition of “all Division I athletics in the United States” as that “is not plausible.”
Colorado High Court Remands DNA Subpoena Issue To Trial Court
DENVER — In an en banc decision concerning denial of a motion to quash “a wide-ranging subpoena” focused on DNA analysis, the Colorado Supreme Court remanded for further proceedings upon concluding that the “subpoena exceeds the bounds of the governing rule of criminal procedure” and “the district court’s reliance on the Colorado Forensic Science Integrity Act (‘FSIA’) . . . fares no better.”
Meta Seeks Injunction To Stop Enforcement Of Law Curbing Minors’ Social Media Use
SAN FRANCISCO — Meta Platforms Inc. on Nov. 5 moved for a preliminary injunction in California federal court, seeking to stop the enforcement of a California law with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, that Meta says prohibits it “from considering minor users’ personal interests when organizing billions of posts across its Facebook, Instagram, and Threads services.”