Drone maker's big-name legal team goes to court

04:01 |

The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Diana Novak Jones, Mike Scarcella and Sara Merken

Good morning. Here's a look at some of the big stories we are tracking. Paul Weiss is representing drone maker DJI in a major new suit over its designation as a Chinese military company. Plus, Google and Epic Games will clash in the 9th Circuit; Meta must face Massachusetts' social media addiction lawsuit; and the FDA has spent millions responding to a public records lawsuit. Scroll for our glimpse at the week ahead!

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Drone maker sues Pentagon over Chinese military listing

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A prominent team from law firm Paul Weiss is representing China-based commercial drone maker DJI in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Defense Department's designation of the company on a list of businesses allegedly working with Beijing's military. Former Obama-era U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch is representing DJI with Kannon Shanmugam, who leads the firm's appellate team.

DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, asked a U.S. district judge to order its removal from the Pentagon list, saying it "is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military," our colleague David Shepardson reports. DJI asserted the designation has caused the company significant financial harm.

U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly raised concerns that DJI drones pose data transmission, surveillance and national security risks, something the company rejects. DJI said it filed the lawsuit after the Defense Department did not engage with the company over the designation for more than 16 months. Reuters in March reported exclusively on the work Paul Weiss was doing behind the scenes to try to get DJI removed from the Chinese military list.

More top news

The buzz

Skadden joined a growing number of major U.S. law firms that have reduced their presence in China over the past two years, amid growing pressures on foreign businesses, economic uncertainties, muted deal activities and geopolitical tensions,
A Virginia state prosecutor who attended Georgetown University is suing the school in a D.C. federal court class action that accuses it of failing to protect students' personal information. Georgetown blamed an "inadvertent setting change" for the exposed data, and said it was not the victim of an external hack.
A lawyer who represented Rodney King after he was beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991 is poised to plead guilty to federal criminal charges stemming from his failure to pay more $2.4 million in taxes.

1,200,874

That's how many COVID-19 records the FDA processed as part of a closely watched lawsuit in federal court in Texas, where a group of professors and scientists sued for information about licensing of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. The FDA has asked U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman to end the litigation, which the agency said has cost more than $3.5 million. The group that sued said their fight isn't over.

"To keep it simple for the state of Florida: it's the First Amendment, stupid."

—Chief U.S. District Mark Walker in Tallahassee, blocking Florida officials from threatening television stations with prosecution for running advertisements supporting a pro-abortion rights measure in next month's election. Walker ruled that the threats clearly violated the right to free speech under the First Amendment. Voters in Florida will decide in November whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution.

Coming up this week

Today, Ovidio Guzman, a son of detained Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is expected to appear in federal court in Chicago for a status conference on U.S. drugs charges.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware in Las Vegas will weigh whether to approve a new $375 million UFC fighter settlement resolving an antitrust lawsuit claiming suppressed wages. The judge barred an earlier deal for less money that would have resolved two cases.
On Wednesday, Mason Rothschild will ask the 2nd Circuit to reverse a New York federal court's decision to block sales of his "MetaBirkin" NFT "art project" following a trademark complaint from Birkin bag maker Hermes. Rothschild argues his conduct was protected by the First Amendment.
Also on Wednesday, Harvard will urge a federal judge in Boston to dismiss a lawsuit by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education accusing the school of ignoring antisemitism on campus. A similar lawsuit was allowed to advance.
On Thursday, AI company Xockets will ask a Texas federal court for a preliminary injunction to block Nvidia and Microsoft from continuing to use the small company's technology amid its lawsuit accusing the tech giants of patent and antitrust violations.
On Friday, professional baseball star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara will be sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana, California, after pleading guilty to stealing more than $16 million from the baseball star to cover gambling debts.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

In the courts

Data storage giant Western Digital must pay $315.7 million in damages for violating a patent owner's rights in data security technology. A jury in California federal court determined that several Western Digital self-encrypting hard drive products infringe a SPEX Technologies patent.
A group of U.S. lawmakers asked the DOJ and the Department of Defense to investigate McKinsey's failure to disclose its work with China's government, saying that the consulting giant might face conflicts of interest that require reviewing. A McKinsey spokesman declined to comment.
Intrum, Europe's biggest debt collector, said it will file for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. as it seeks to restructure its own finances.

Industry moves

Thompson Coburn added Emory Moore as a Chicago-based labor and employment partner from Honigman. (Thompson Coburn)
Barnes & Thornburg brought on David Andersen as a Los Angeles-based partner in the firm's corporate department. Andersen was previously at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. (Barnes & Thornburg)
Clark Hill hired real estate partner Brian Adkins in San Diego from Buchalter. (Clark Hill)

>> More moves to share? Please drop us a note at LegalCareerTracker@thomsonreuters.com.

Lawyer speak: USPTO issues new rules on motions to amend in IPRs

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rule in September that governs motions to amend in "inter partes review" proceedings, where a third party can challenge the validity of issued claims of a patent. The rule provides some clarity to practitioners, write David McCombs, Jonathan Bowser and Eugene Goryunov of Haynes Boone. Read today's Attorney Analysis.

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