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Good morning. In a new chapter of Donald Trump litigation, the former president faces a rape trial in a New York case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Trump is not expected to attend. Plus, Republican state lawmakers are advancing dozens of bills against ESG efforts; pop star Ed Sheeran faces a copyright trial today over his hit “Thinking Out Loud”; and the justices turned down an AI copyrights case.
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It was just a couple weeks ago that former President Donald Trump appeared in New York state court in Manhattan to be indicted, but now eyes are on the federal courthouse down the street as former Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s case accusing Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room heads to trial today, Jonathan Stempel reports.
Trump, who is facing a slew of other lawsuits and investigations, has called Carroll’s claim a “hoax” and “complete scam.” He said she made up the encounter to promote her memoir, and he said that Carroll was “not my type!”
Trump is not required to attend the trial, and Carroll’s lawyers have said they do not plan to call the former president as a witness. But Carroll’s witness list includes two other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, which Trump denies.
Trump’s trial team includes Joseph Tacopina of Tacopina Seigel & DeOreo, and Carroll is represented by Roberta Kaplan of Kaplan Hecker & Fink. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will keep jurors anonymous from the public and even the lawyers, to shield them from potential harassment by Trump supporters.
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is set to speak at American University Washington College of Law’s graduation on May 20 and at Boston University School of Law’s ceremony the following day. She’s among several women asked to speak at this year’s law school graduations. (Reuters)
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Michael Cohen appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit against Donald Trump, his former attorney general William Barr and others for sending him back to prison in 2020 because he planned to publish a book about the former president. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, called Cohen’s case “meritless.” (Reuters)
- Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner said it has opened an office in Seattle with product liability and toxic torts litigation partners Jennifer Campbell and Allison Krashan from Pacific Northwest firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. (Reuters)
- Consulting firm Analysis Group settled its federal lawsuit accusing Twitter of failing to pay $2.2 million for services provided to lawyers representing the social media platform as it took Elon Musk to court last year to hold him to his $44 billion bid to buy the company. A notice in Boston federal court announcing the deal did not provide the terms. Lawyers for Analysis Group and Twitter, represented by White & Case, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
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That’s about the number of bills Republican state legislators across the country have filed so far this year to restrict the rise of environmental, social and governance corporate sustainability business practices, according to Morgan Lewis. Dozens of the ESG bills aim to free fossil fuel companies from climate-driven constraints adopted by some Wall Street firms, Ross Kerber writes. Others touch on hot-button topics like abortion rights and firearms. As of April 3, seven of the bills had been enacted into law, 20 were effectively dead, and 72 were still pending.
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Shareholder lawyers are hoping that Delaware Chancery Court is so concerned about encroachment on its turf that it will block TripAdvisor and its parent corporation from transferring their incorporation from Delaware to Nevada. In a lawsuit filed on Friday in – you guessed it – Delaware Chancery Court, plaintiffs firms Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, Block & Leviton and Friedman Oster & Tejtel are seeking to block TripAdvisor and Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings from proceeding with board-approved plans to ditch Delaware in favor of incorporation in Nevada. Their argument: The companies are trying to escape the protection that Delaware provides to shareholders who want to sue board members for breaching their duties. It’s an unusual theory, writes Alison Frankel, but the Chancery Court has an interest in protecting its domain.
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“Defendants’ sale of [Ryder Ripps Bored Ape Yacht Club] NFTs is no more artistic than the sale of a counterfeit handbag.“
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—U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles, who rejected an artist’s argument that his copies of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs qualify as speech protected by the First Amendment. The NFTs, made by Yuga Labs, are entitled to trademark protection, Walter said, rejecting artist Ryder Ripps and his business partner’s argument that his copies of the NFTs were “appropriation art” meant to be commentary on the company’s alleged racist and anti-Semitic symbolism. Ripps’ attorney Louis Tompros of Wilmer Hale said that the artists plan to appeal, while a Yuga Labs spokesperson called the decision a “win for the entire web3 industry to hold scammers and counterfeiters accountable.”
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A copyright trial in Manhattan federal court begins this morning over whether Ed Sheeran’s hit “Thinking Out Loud” infringes copyrights in Marvin Gaye’s hit “Let’s Get It On” in a lawsuit filed by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Townsend, who own 22% of the songwriter copyright in Gaye’s song. The lawsuit is one of three filed against Sheeran by owners of “Let’s Get It On” copyright interests. The trial will solely concern liability, and another trial on damages will be held if the jury finds infringement. Townsend’s heirs sued Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017, claiming “Thinking Out Loud” copied the “heart” of Gaye’s song including its melody, harmony and rhythm. Sheeran, represented by a team from Pryor Cashman, has argued that the melodies are fundamentally different.
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In San Francisco federal court, lawyers for San Francisco’s public school system will face off for the second day of trial against tobacco giant Altria, accused of helping e-cigarette company Juul create a “crisis” of vaping addiction among teens. Altria was Juul’s largest investor from 2018 until earlier this year. Thomas Cartmell of Wagstaff & Cartmell delivered the school district’s opening statements. Altria, whose lawyers include Beth Wilkinson of Wilkinson Stekloff, has denied wrongdoing, saying it exercised little control over Juul. The e-cigarette company settled with the school district last year.
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The trial in the DOJ’s bid to stop Swedish lockmaker Assa Abloy’s planned $4.3-billion deal to buy a division of Wisconsin-based Spectrum Brands Holdings that makes residential door locks enters its second day. Opening statements began Monday with DOJ attorney Matthew Huppert saying that Assa Abloy’s plans to resolve antitrust concerns by selling some assets, including its Yale smart lock U.S. business, was “insufficient” and “cobbled together to rescue an illegal merger.” Assa Abloy attorney Justin Bernick of Hogan Lovells said that Fortune Brands, which is purchasing the Emtek and Yale businesses, is a strong buyer and that consumers would not be hurt by the transaction.
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge by computer scientist Stephen Thaler to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s refusal to issue patents for inventions his artificial intelligence system created. The justices turned away Thaler’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that patents can be issued only to human inventors and that his AI system could not be considered the legal creator of two inventions that he has said it generated. (Reuters)
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A 9th Circuit panel largely upheld a California federal court order that could force Apple to change payment practices in its App Store. Apple, whose lawyers include Mark Perry of Weil, said it may appeal the decision. Thomas Goldstein and attorneys from Cravath represented the challenger, Fortnite maker Epic Games. (Reuters)
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Louisiana’s attorney general office accused the FTC of intruding on state sovereignty in trying to force a federal antitrust review of a $150 million hospital deal that the state had already approved. The state argued its approval of Louisiana Children’s Medical Center’s purchase of assets from HCA Healthcare gives the deal immunity from U.S. antitrust law. Simpson Thacher represents HCA, and lawyers from Jones Day and Hogan Lovells represent the children’s hospital. (Reuters)
- U.S. aerospace company Textron won a $279 million verdict against Chinese drone maker DJI Technology after persuading a federal jury in Waco, Texas, that DJI willfully infringed its patents. Textron sued DJI in 2021, claiming several types of DJI drones with automatic hovering capabilities work in the same way as its patented technology, claims that DJI denied. (Reuters)
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Paul Hastings hired John Budetti in New York to lead the firm’s investment funds and private capital practice. Budetti was part of a five-partner departure from Kirkland to Paul Hastings, which declined to name the other four attorneys. (Reuters)
- Frost Brown Todd hired eight venture capital partners from Ulmer & Berne. The partners, all based in Cincinnati, include the co-leaders of Ulmer & Berne’s venture law practice, Vance VanDrake and Zach Bahorik, and head of the firm’s IP and technology practice group, Eric Robbins. (Reuters)
- Willkie Farr hired antitrust partner Katrina Robson from O’Melveny. Robson was part of the O’Melveny team that defended AT&T’s $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner from the DOJ. (Reuters)
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Cadwalader brought on Smridhi Gulati as a London-based leveraged finance and private credit group partner. Gulati was previously at Dechert. (Reuters)
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Mayer Brown brought on energy lawyer Gabriel Salinas as a Houston-based partner in the corporate and securities practice. Salinas was previously at Shearman & Sterling, where he was co-head of the energy innovation group. (Reuters)
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Clyde & Co hired regulatory and investigations partner Rebecca Kelly in Dubai. Kelly was previously at Morgan Lewis, where she was head of its Middle East regulatory and disputes team. (Reuters)
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Lewis Brisbois brought on Kamran Salour as co-chair of the firm’s data privacy and cybersecurity practice from Troutman. (Reuters)
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