𧩠Legal 500 accidentally publishes submitted criticism
PLUS: Schneider's $22.6 billion deal and 800 plaintiffs' late request to add defendants
Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Plain English coverage of deals, litigation and legal trends trusted by lawyers at Cravath, Latham, Skadden, Gunderson and elsewhere.
Welcome to Lookzy. In today's Lookzy:
Legal 500 accidentally prints the criticism
800 opioid plaintiffs, one late motion
xAI gets Minnesota's nudification law put on hold
Schneider agrees to its biggest acquisition
THE VERDICT
Arguing todayâs litigation news
800 late additions. The Sixth Circuit ruled that Judge Dan Polster clearly abused his discretion by letting about 800 opioid plaintiffs add OptumRx and Express Scripts as defendants through a single motion, two years after the amendment deadline. Each plaintiff must establish good cause for the late addition, even in a docket this large.
Grok gets a pause. Grok's maker xAI won a temporary block on Minnesota's law targeting AI ânudificationââsoftware that makes realistic nude images of identifiable people from photos that didn't show their private body parts. The Eighth Circuit barred enforcement while xAI appeals in its constitutional challenge. The company argues that the law violates free speech; the court has not decided that question.
Big Bend work stops. A federal judge preliminarily blocked border barriers, related infrastructure and ground-disturbing work in the Big Bend Sector until federal defendants comply with applicable laws. Judge Kathleen Cardone found the challengers likely to succeed on at least one claim, with a fuller explanation to follow. Her order also suspends, for the duration of the injunction, the DHS waivers intended to let the work bypass legal and environmental requirements.
Chain-store discounts. The FTC accused Southern Glazer's of giving big chains discounts and rebates it denied small liquor stores. The distributor has agreed to a proposed settlement, still requiring a judge's approval, that would allow qualifying pricing violations involving nearby chains to be resolved with cash payments to independent stores. A monitor would track compliance for six years.
THE DEAL
Wheelinâ and dealinâ todayâs corporate news
Schneider's biggest purchase. Schneider Electric agreed to buy industrial software maker PTC for $22.6 billion in cash, its largest acquisition. The electrical-equipment group is paying $205 a share to move further into software used to design and manage industrial products, complementing its energy and industrial operations business. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2027.
China wants copper. China's competition regulator has asked Anglo American for commitments to keep copper concentrate flowing, including volumes for Chinese traders, as it reviews the proposed $54 billion merger with Teck, Reuters reports, citing three sources. Chinese approval is the deal's last regulatory hurdle. Talks are ongoing, and the sources say the regulator isn't seeking asset sales at this stage.
Rough first trading day. Space-monitoring company NorthStar Earth & Space fell as much as 45% during its first day of trading on NYSE American Friday, following its merger with a SPAC. Its CEO said most of the SPAC's public shares had been redeemed, leaving little cash in trust. NorthStar secured a $30 million private investment alongside the merger.
BOILERPLATE
The unfiltered reviews. Legal 500 took its website offline Friday after its new rankings accidentally included unflattering barrister testimonials, including âAdequate but disorganised and indecisive.â The directory blamed a website update error for publishing testimonial information incorrectly, said it had removed the affected content and added verification checks.
Alright, back to billing. That's all, folks!
