SF Public Defender faces contempt over felony case refusals, CoStar moves to disqualify Quinn Emanuel in CREXi dispute, and jury selection begins in Thomas Fire damages trial against Edison

California’s Wildfire Fund could see major changes, L.A. faces scrutiny over homelessness data, law schools get report card

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