California courts get a funding boost in Gov. Newsom’s new budget, lawmakers move to bar AI-generated hallucinations in legal filings, and federal officials pledge an aggressive crackdown on health care fraud statewide.

Federal judges made big moves this week: Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI heads toward a jury, a judge narrows discovery in Eaton Fire litigation against Edison, and Amazon Flex drivers win a key arbitration exemption.

A veteran LA defense attorney withdraws from a high-profile double-murder case under unexplained circumstances. A federal judge orders LA to pay $1.8M in fees for failing to provide accurate homelessness data under a landmark settlement. And an Orange County Superior Court judge faces federal mail fraud charges for allegedly operating an unlawful medical group that defrauded the state's workers' compensation system.

California insurers stall smoke and contamination claims a year after devastating wildfires. The 9th Circuit questions Meta’s bid for early immunity in youth addiction cases. And DOJ urges approval of the $14B HPE–Juniper merger.

Families file wrongful death suits over the Palisades Fire before a key deadline, Judge Breyer denies Uber’s bid to delay bellwether trials, and Uber and trial lawyers gear up for a costly 2026 ballot fight.

The Angels and Tyler Skaggs’ family settle a high-stakes wrongful death case as jurors near a verdict. Plus, a new report calls California’s Racial Justice Act rollout “disastrous.”

CA Supreme Court upholds San Jose’s $3.5B pension bond • Prop. 36 hits one year amid budget worries • Signature Resolution takes on private equity to expand nationwide

Can cities use ballot initiatives to bypass CEQA? Plus, a federal judge orders shutdown-era workers rehired, and Google faces a $5B lawsuit over alleged AI monitoring of Verizon calls

Alan Jackson takes on the Reiner murder defense, a judge blocks discovery into Edison’s wildfire settlement program, and OnlyFans class claims are pared back amid AI-related sanctions.

A unanimous California Supreme Court ruling that one criminal act equals one strike, Lady Gaga's trademark victory over a surf wear company, and a $1.5M fee award in an Orange County prosecutor's retaliation case.

A $40M verdict against Johnson & Johnson in California’s first talc bellwether, a groundbreaking lawsuit blaming ChatGPT for a murder-suicide, and a tribute to influential 9th Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta.

9th Circuit orders revisions to Apple’s penalty in its Epic Games fight • YIMBY group sues Newsom over SB 9 suspension in fire zones • J&J talc trial heads to the jury • Judge rebuked for unlawful orders

• Palisades Fire victims push for late-claim relief • No stay in Bob Lee wrongful death suit • Ex-Justice Murray publicly censured

Tung dissents * Plaintiffs warn migrant children’s conditions worsening * Lucid engineer accuses colleague of Nazi slur

California vs. Trump on who should regulate AI • ACLU-backed lawsuit alleging a landlord–tech “surveillance ecosystem” • Federal judge blocks L.A.’s bid to lift limits on LAPD’s less-lethal weapons

New lawyer Justin W. Shegerian wins a stunning $103M verdict against Liberty Mutual • Experts warn Netflix’s $82.7B Warner Bros. merger could squeeze creators • Ex–Becerra chief of staff is cooperating in $225K campaign fraud investigation

New lawyer Justin W. Shegerian wins a stunning $103M verdict against Liberty Mutual • Experts warn Netflix’s $82.7B Warner Bros. merger could squeeze creators • Ex–Becerra chief of staff agrees to testify in $225K campaign fraud scheme

State lobbyist plead guilty in a $225K campaign fund scheme; authors’ lawyers seek $300M in fees in the Anthropic copyright case; Hanson Bridgett opens a new San Diego office.

The CA Supreme Court wrestles with a “Kafkaesque” Coastal Commission case, a judge opens limited discovery in the Palisades Fire suit, a rancher sues Humboldt Co. for alleged retaliation, Alaska Airlines beats a Flight Pass class action, and a lawyer is sanctioned for AI errors.

SF targets ultra-processed foods • LA accuses Judge Carter of bias • Edison seeks dismissal in Eaton Fire suit • Judge Breyer keeps Spiro on Musk case