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U.S. FEDLitigation

Elvis Presley rightsholders sue Anthropic over training Claude on 274 songs

Companies that control Elvis Presley's music, led by a unit of Authentic Brands Group, sued Anthropic on October 23, 2026, alleging it trained its Claude models on 274 of Presley's copyrighted songs without permission and that Claude produces unlicensed derivative works. The suit, ABE EPE LLC v. Anthropic, seeks up to $150,000 per song, or roughly $41 million. Anthropic did not immediately comment.

Filing (Billboard) → · Rolling Stone
5TH CIR.Court order

En banc Fifth Circuit rules detained unadmitted immigrants have no right to bond hearings

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled 10-7 on October 23, 2026 that immigrants who entered the country without being admitted have no constitutional right to a bond hearing while detained during deportation proceedings, even if they are long-term residents. The decision in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara reverses habeas rulings that freed three Texas men and backs the administration's no-bond detention policy in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Order (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit) → · The Texas Tribune
9TH CIR.Court order

Ninth Circuit rules Trump lacked authority to federalize California National Guard in Los Angeles

A split Ninth Circuit panel on October 23, 2026, affirmed a preliminary injunction against President Trump's June 2025 federalization of the California National Guard in Los Angeles. Judge Jennifer Sung, joined by Judge Eric Miller, held that the deployment exceeded the president's statutory authority and rejected claims of a rebellion, relying on the Supreme Court's Trump v. Illinois ruling. Judge Mark Bennett dissented.

Order (Courthouse News Service) → · Bloomberg Law, Law360
U.S. FEDRegulation

Proclamation reshapes Canadian products subject to 50 percent section 338 duties, effective October 30, 2026

A presidential proclamation signed October 23, 2026 further modified the scope of Canadian products subject to the 50 percent additional duties imposed under Proclamation 11048 pursuant to section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Annex I removed listed products, including plywood sheets and certain paper and machinery lines, and added others, including specified valves and carpets. The changes apply to goods entered on or after October 30, 2026.

Text (The White House) →
TEX.Litigation

Texas attorney general sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over ChatGPT safety

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in Collin County district court on October 23, 2026, alleging the company misled consumers about ChatGPT's safety and reliability and failed to protect minors. The 67-page petition invokes the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act and its SCOPE Act and seeks an injunction blocking minors' access and requiring a court-appointed evaluator to approve new models.

Filing (The Texas Tribune) → · Courthouse News Service
N.D. CAL.Court order

Judge dismisses wiretap claims over Google's AI customer service agent, sends others to arbitration

U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California has dismissed, with leave to amend, claims that Google's Cloud Contact Center AI illegally listened to Home Depot customer service calls in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act. She ruled that none of the three callers alleged Google intended to record without consent, and she sent three other plaintiffs' claims to arbitration.

Order (Courthouse News Service) → · Bloomberg Law
DEL.Court order

Delaware Chancery approves $250 million Microsoft–Activision settlement, awards $60 million in fees

Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on October 23, 2026, gave final approval to a $250 million settlement of stockholder class claims over Microsoft's $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. She overruled merger arbitrage funds that sought to carve their parallel federal securities claims out of the release, and awarded plaintiffs' counsel $60 million in attorney fees.

Order (Bloomberg Law) → · Law360
CANADA · S.C.C.Court order

Split Supreme Court of Canada upholds $12 million award against anesthesiologist, clarifies remoteness test

A divided Supreme Court of Canada in Hemmings v. Padmore dismissed both appeals, leaving anesthesiologist Dr. Neil Jamensky solely liable for $12 million after Sophia Hemmings suffered permanent brain damage during an emergency C-section. The majority clarified that causation in law is a remoteness inquiry, separate from factual causation, asking whether injury was a reasonably foreseeable consequence, not a mere possibility.

Order (Canadian Lawyer) → · Law360 Canada

Rulings this week

All court orders

DEL.Court order

Delaware Supreme Court affirms that Verisk must pursue its $2.35 billion AccuLynx deal

The Delaware Supreme Court on October 23, 2026 affirmed a Court of Chancery judgment requiring Verisk Analytics to keep pursuing its $2.35 billion acquisition of AccuLynx. Vice Chancellor Bonnie David had held on August 7 that Verisk's termination of the merger agreement was invalid because its own willful conduct was the primary cause of the FTC second request that blocked closing, and ordered specific performance. Verisk said it respects the order and that the deal still needs FTC clearance.

Order (GlobeNewswire via Yahoo Finance) → · Law360, Delaware Court of Chancery
D. MINN.Litigation

Justice Department moves to disqualify two Minnesota federal judges from immigration cases

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward has moved to disqualify Judges Patrick Schiltz and John Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota from two immigration cases, questioning their impartiality over comments in a New York Times article last month. Both judges had raised concerns about the Trump administration's handling of cases tied to this year's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Filing (ABA Journal) → · MPR News
UKBreaches and incidents

White-collar boutique Rahman Ravelli enters administration and is closing down

Financial crime and commercial litigation boutique Rahman Ravelli has entered administration, with BTG Advisory's Andrew Hosking and Jamie Taylor appointed joint administrators on October 20, 2026. Clients are being asked to choose new firms, and a solicitor manager will transfer client money, which the firm says is unaffected. The firm, founded in 2001, has offices in London and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Report (Law Gazette) → · ICLG
N.Y.Breaches and incidents

Manhattan law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin reports breach affecting 196,645 patients of healthcare clients

New York law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin has reported a breach of protected health information belonging to 196,645 patients of its healthcare clients. The firm found suspicious activity on September 10, 2025, and an investigation showed unauthorized access to some of its servers between July 9 and September 9, 2025. Exposed data varies by person and may include Social Security, driver's license and passport numbers and medical details.

Report (The HIPAA Journal) → · California Attorney General (Tarter Krinsky & Drogin notice of data event), Law360 Pulse
NETHERLANDSProduct launches

Saga unveils Saga External for legal teams to build their own client-facing AI services

Amsterdam-based legal AI company Saga has announced Saga External, which lets law firms and in-house legal departments turn their playbooks and positions into automated services that clients or business colleagues can use directly. Firms build, own and brand the services while Saga powers them. The product is being developed with customers, and Saga has not said when it will be generally available.

Announcement (Artificial Lawyer) → · LegalTechTalk
UKResearch

UK lawtech raised £226.9 million in first half of 2026, but fewer companies got funded

The LawtechUK H1 2026 Investment Snapshot reports £226.9 million raised by UK lawtech companies in the first six months of 2026, already 20% above the £188.8 million raised in all of 2025. Only 17 companies were funded, down from 27 a year earlier, as average deal size tripled to £13.35 million. Orbital, Wordsmith AI and Lawhive took about 69% of the total.

Paper (Legal Cheek) → · Legal Futures
UK · CATBreaches and incidents

Litigation Capital Management disputes termination of its funding deal for a CAT collective action

Litigation Capital Management, the AIM-listed dispute funder, said on October 23, 2026 that a funded party has served notice terminating a litigation funding agreement for a collective action before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleging LCM breached the agreement. LCM disputes the termination, has hired lawyers and is weighing options with its capital providers. The funder has A$2.7 million of its own capital in the case, and its shares fell more than 40%.

Report (RNS via ADVFN) → · Proactive Investors
VA.Regulation

Virginia Executive Directive 6 requires statewide AI cyber-threat plan and Cyber Consortium

Virginia issued Executive Directive 6 on October 23, 2026, directing the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the AI Task Force to prepare a coordinated cyber-threat response and infrastructure-hardening plan. The directive requires a Cyber Consortium under the Unified Readiness Framework, quarterly readiness briefings, and an independent privacy and security review of interoperable data systems. It takes effect on signing.

Text (Office of the Governor of Virginia) → · StateScoop
5TH CIR.Court order

Fifth Circuit vacates Mississippi anti-DEI injunction and reassigns case after AI-tainted rulings

A Fifth Circuit panel on October 22, 2026, vacated U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate's preliminary injunction against Mississippi's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools and universities, and ordered the case reassigned on remand. Writing for the panel, Judge Jerry Smith cited AI hallucinations in Wingate's temporary restraining order and said the court misapplied the Supreme Court's facial-challenge standard.

Order (Law.com) → · Bloomberg Law, Courthouse News Service
N.Y. APP. DIV. 3D DEP'TCourt order

New York appeals court orders grievance committee to release Sarcone admonition

A New York Appellate Division panel on October 22, 2026, ordered the Attorney Grievance Committee to release the admonition it issued in April to John A. Sarcone III, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, whom the Justice Department now lists as first assistant U.S. attorney. The court granted in part a petition by the watchdog Campaign for Accountability but refused to open the committee's investigative files.

Order (Bloomberg Law) → · Law.com, Above the Law