New & Noteworthy - January 17, 2023

9th Circ. Affirms Home Depot's Win in Age Bias Suit (Law360) "A California federal court correctly kept certain testimony and data from a jury in a former worker's age discrimination suit against Home Depot, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, turning down the ex-worker's bid to update the record. A three-judge panel unanimously said in an unpublished opinion that the district court didn't abuse its discretion when it excluded certain witnesses, testimony and other workers' experiences. Therefore, the panel rejected Carl Haynes' bid to revive his age discrimination, wage and wrongful termination claims against Home Depot USA Inc. and supplement the record.

9th Circ. Open to Partially Reviving Fiat Chrysler Defect Suit (Law360) "A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Friday to reviving part of a putative class action alleging transmission system defects on some Fiat Chrysler Automotive vehicles, suggesting there is hope for a fluid levels claim but less so for a claim about overheating that was stricken because of an error-filled expert report. The judges first quizzed counsel on the expert report. Tyler C. Anderson of Capstone Law APC, who represents the putative class, told the panel during oral argument that the district court should have allowed his client's liability expert to supplement his report once the error on how to fix the overheating was discovered, and also should not have tossed his damages expert's entire report due to its reliance on the liability expert's opinion."  

Google Wants Another Brief for 9th Circ. Class Appeal Bid (Law360) "Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to let it file another brief supporting its bid for a quick appeal of a ruling that certified a class of 21 million consumers in a case accusing the tech giant of monopolizing app distribution on Android devices. The consumers are opposing Google's efforts to respond to their opposition of its so-called Rule 23(f) petition, which seeks an immediate appeal of the certification ruling. But the company said in a reply brief Thursday the class has not pointed to a single case where the Ninth Circuit refused to allow such a response."  

BMW Drivers Urge 9th Circ. to Recharge Electric Battery Suit (Law360) "An attorney for a group of BMW drivers urged a Ninth Circuit panel Friday to revive a consolidated class action alleging the automaker overstated the battery life of its compact electric sedans, saying the drivers' own testimony and internal BWM documents should be enough to argue the cars were defective."  

Justices Take Up $92M Racketeering Suit (Law360) "The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday afternoon to consider whether a foreign party that has won an international arbitral award can use U.S. racketeering statutes to try to enforce it, in a case involving a $92 million arbitral award issued in a Russian real estate dispute. The justices granted certiorari in a pair of now-consolidated cases challenging a Ninth Circuit decision that revived a racketeering lawsuit initiated by Vitaly Ivanovich Smagin, a Russian businessman who accuses a Monaco bank of helping to hide the fortune of his former business partner, Ashot Yegiazaryan."  

Justices to Weigh Obstruction of Justice Qualification (Law360) "The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a pair of consolidated cases that will examine whether crimes involving obstruction of justice warrant deportation. In one case, the justices will review a split Ninth Circuit decision that dissuading a victim or witness from reporting a crime isn't a felony offense relating to obstruction of justice warranting deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act."  

Musk Jury Pool Not 'Radioactive' Enough to Move Tesla Trial (Law360) "While noting that a few 'radioactive' jury candidates held extreme negative views of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a California federal judge declined his request to move consolidated securities litigation over his take-private tweet to Texas, saying that all prospective jurors had indicated they could be fair. U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen [N.D. - CA] made the statement Friday during a pretrial hearing on the first day of jury selection after he rejected Tesla's bid to move or delay the Jan. 17 trial due to the negative coverage of Musk in the San Francisco area.

Laid-Off Twitter Workers Must Drop Class Action Severance Lawsuit, Judge Says (The Verge) "A judge has ordered a group of laid-off Twitter employees to drop their class action lawsuit against the company, which accuses Twitter of not following through on its promised severance pay package, as reported earlier by Bloomberg and Reuters. In a ruling on Friday, US District Judge James Donato [N.D. - CA] states that the workers must make their case in private arbitration instead, citing the employment contract they signed with Twitter."  

Drivers Can't Seek OT Under Ariz. Law, Judge Rules (Law360) "An Arizona federal judge trimmed claims that a chauffeur company violated Arizona state wage law by denying its workforce time-and-a-half overtime pay, finding that those claims were preempted by the Fair Labor Standards Act. U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich ruled in a Thursday order that the Arizona Wage Act does not provide workers with rights to overtime premiums beyond what is guaranteed under the FLSA. The judge ruled that claims raised by Driver Provider Phoenix LLC workers under state law were barred and that any claims to unpaid overtime would have to be pursued as an FLSA collective rather than as a class."  

Calif. Fruit Packers Win Initial OK for $7.9M Wage Settlement (Law360) "A class of fruit packers' nearly $7.9 million settlement with Fowler Packing Co. got the green light from a California federal judge, wrapping up claims the company did not pay its agricultural workers minimum wage or overtime or reimburse them for the cost of tools. U.S. District Judge Ana de Alba [E.D. - CA] on Thursday granted the class of 20,500 workers' motion for preliminary approval of the $7.88 million settlement in their suit against Fowler Packing, Fowler Marketing International and its farm labor contractor Ag Force. Judge de Alba said the settlement is fair and is the result of multiple rounds of mediation."   

Judge Refuses to Block California from Sharing Gun Owner Data with Researchers (Courthouse News Service) "Assembly Bill 173 amended California firearms laws to authorize the state attorney general to disclose gun owners’ personal information to the California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis, Stanford University, and any other 'bona fide research institution' meeting certain requirements who study firearm-related crime, suicide and accidents. Five California registered gun owners sued the state, claiming the law irreparably harmed gun owners' First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns [S.D. - CA] rejected the argument, finding the gun owners failed to state a claim."  

Hagens Berman to Represent Students in RealPage Suit (Law360) "A Washington federal judge on Friday appointed law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim class counsel for a proposed class of student housing residents accusing property management software company RealPage Inc. and real estate companies of conspiring in a rent-fixing scheme for student housing. In his order, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik [W.D. - CA] said Hagens Berman was the right law firm for the job due to its probe of the class claims and prior experience with class actions."  

2 US Judges View ‘History’ Element of Gun Laws Differently (Daily Journal) "The battles over how to interpret a U.S. Supreme Court decision that instructs judges to consider the history and tradition of gun statutes is playing out differently in two district courts in California.... In Sacramento, Chief U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller asked Attorney General Rob Bonta and lawyers for two men who say a statute barring them from carrying guns in public why she shouldn’t appoint her own expert witness to collect and survey evidence of the historical tradition of gun laws.... In San Diego, meanwhile, Senior U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez — an appointee of President George W. Bush who struck down a number of state firearms regulations, including limits on large capacity gun magazines — has expressed little interest in hearing from historians. Duncan et al. v. Bonta et al., 17-CV-01017 (S.D. Cal., filed May 17, 2017)."    

10 Tips for Preparing to File 2022 Federal Income Tax Returns (My Federal Retirement) "This column presents 10 recommendations for federal employees and retirees for getting ready to either prepare their tax returns themselves or getting their documents and information together in order for a paid preparer to prepare their returns in the most efficient and least costly way."