The US Fourth Circuit held on Thursday that France is immune from US trademark infringement claims brought by the former owner of “France.com.” Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, joined by Judges Henry Floyd and Allison Jones Rushing, said the French government did not engage in commercial activity that would negate its sovereign immunity when it [...]

Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced a resolution to undo a Trump-era rule that curbed shareholder voting rights. The resolution seeks to change a rule issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last November that raised the ownership threshold for when a shareholder can force a vote on specific issues. The SEC claimed the change [...]

Dominion Voting Systems filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware Superior Court against Fox News on Friday seeking damages for Fox’s claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election against President Donald Trump. The voting machine manufacturer is asking for more than $1 billion in damages, claiming that Fox’s on-air claims have greatly damaged their business [...]

Jacob Blake, who was shot and paralyzed by a police officer in August, filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday against officer Rusten Sheskey on allegations of excessive use of force. Sheskey, a white police officer, shot Blake, a Black man, on August 23 when responding to a complaint of “family trouble.” The shooting occurred [...]

Products liability suits against Ford Motors in Montana and Minnesota can go forward in their respective state courts, said the US Supreme Court on Thursday. The court rejected Ford’s argument that personal specific jurisdiction was limited to lawsuits in states where Ford manufactured or originally sold vehicles. For courts to have specific jurisdiction over a [...]

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the attorney general’s office does not have authority under the consumer protection law to sue natural gas exploration firms over their leasing practices. The Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL) declares unlawful “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the [...]

The New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund, and RISE, Inc. filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and several State Election Board officials challenging provisions of SB 202, a controversial voting bill passed earlier in the day. The organizations argue that the bill will, “ it harder for lawful [...]

Fourteen US states filed suit Wednesday over the Biden administration’s pause of the federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program. President Joe Biden ordered a “temporary moratorium” on the program on January 21 so that the Department of the Interior could conduct a “comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the oil and gas program.” The Department hosted a virtual [...]

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill abolishing the death penalty Wednesday. Under Senate Bill 1165 and House Bill 2263, any person with a death sentence for an offense committed before July 1, 2021, will be sentenced to life imprisonment instead, and “no person may be sentenced to death or put to death” under the [...]

The New Zealand Parliament passed the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill (No 2) on Wednesday, providing three days bereavement leave for mothers and partners after a miscarriage or stillbirth. The bill was presented by Labour MP Ginny Anderson who highlighted the importance of providing time to recover physically and mentally recover from grief [...]