Welcome to the Trend Detection Weekly Scan from Law.com Radar. This weekly article highlights shifts and patterns in case filings that are surfaced by Law.com Radar’s award-winning Trend Detection system.
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Here are some noteworthy cases surfaced by the platform this week:
► Class actions are mounting against law firms over their collection practices.
► Grant recipients sued to stop Citibank from following Trump’s order to freeze funds.
► Patent litigation more than tripled in Delaware.
► Passengers sued Delta after their plane flipped upside down.
► A semiconductor company launched an IP infringement campaign against competitors.
Litigation Surge – Illinois | Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin
Consumer protection firm Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin launched a flurry of consumer class actions against law firms and property managers in Illinois Northern District Court on March 17. At least three suits were filed on behalf of homeowners who accuse community associations of charging unlawful fees for transferring files to Chicago-based law firms for debt collection efforts and eviction proceedings. According to the complaints, the fees are not expressly stated in the associations’ declarations or bylaws and are therefore prohibited by the Illinois Condominium Property Act and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Law firms under fire include Keough & Moody, Costello Sury & Rooney and Wiczer Jacobs.
Litigation Surge – Government | District of Columbia
Government entities were swarmed with lawsuits in District of Columbia District Court on March 19, including a suit targeting Citibank and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The suit is part of a string of cases accusing Citibank of unlawfully freezing environmental grants amid the Trump administration’s attempt to claw back federal funds—but unlike previous suits which were filed by nonprofits, the new suit was launched by a coalition of attorneys general from the states of California, Illinois, Maine and Minnesota.
The administration was hit with a temporary restraining order on March 18 halting the EPA’s termination of grants and prohibiting Citibank from returning grant funds. The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who denied a request in February for a TRO preventing Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency or ‘DOGE’ from accessing federal data systems.
Litigation Surge – Delaware | Patent
Patent litigation skyrocketed in Delaware during the week of March 10. At least 26 patent lawsuits were filed, more than triple the usual weekly average. The claims vary: TG-2006 Holdings launched five cases alleging that project management and data backup software offered by Arcserve, Spreadsheet.com and other businesses infringes the plaintiff’s patents, while serial litigant Patent Armory brought four lawsuits over automated call-routing platforms used by Coca-Cola, Battlbrands Holdings and other companies. Plus, a trio of lawsuits was filed on behalf of cannabis company Metronome LLC; the suits are part of a string of cases alleging that competitors’ topical CBD products infringe the plaintiff’s patent. More than half the lawsuits were brought by Rabicoff Law and the Garibian Law Offices.
Litigation Surge – Personal Injury | Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines was hit with a cluster of personal injury lawsuits between March 11 and March 14. At least eight federal cases were filed, seven of which center on a Feb. 17 plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The suits were brought by Chestnut Cambronne and Husain Law Associates on behalf of passengers who were allegedly injured after a plane carrying 80 people flipped upside down during landing, causing passengers to be violently thrown about the cabin. Another suit was brought by the Herrmann Law Group on behalf of Delta passengers who were allegedly injured when their plane was struck on the runway at Seattle Tacoma International Airport by a Japanese Airlines flight which was taxiing to its assigned gate after landing.
Litigation Surge – Patent | Fish & Richardson
Intellectual property firm Fish & Richardson filed a cluster of patent infringement lawsuits on March 13 on behalf of Credo Semiconductor and parent company Credo Technology Group. At least four suits were filed accusing businesses of manufacturing and selling infringing active electrical cables, which allow for more efficient and cost-effective data transmissions. Defendants include Amphenol, Molex, TE Connectivity and Volex. Of note, three suits were filed in Texas Eastern District Court while the fourth was filed in Delaware District Court.
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