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6 entries in Litigator Tracker

6 Contributing Entries

California expands PFAS fraud case against DuPont spinoffs over asset transfers

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a Second Amended Complaint in the state's PFAS litigation, alleging that DuPont-related companies executed fraudulent asset transfers designed to shield themselves from environmental liability. The complaint targets E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Corteva, Inc., The Chemours Company, and newly created Qnity Electronics. Bonta contends that corporate restructuring and amended agreements shifted the bulk of PFAS-related liabilities onto Chemours while reducing exposure for New DuPont, Corteva, and Qnity Electronics. The filing invokes the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, and seeks relief in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Courts Tighten AI Security Rules, Raising Costs for Small Law Firms

State courts and court administration bodies are imposing enterprise-grade security requirements on legal AI tools, including encryption, access controls, audit logs, and vendor documentation such as SOC 2 reports and software bill of materials. The National Center for State Courts has incorporated these standards into its 2025 guidance for AI use in court systems. Judges have also begun issuing protective orders that restrict how AI tools may process confidential information, limiting training, data retention, and output deletion.

Fastcase Sues Alexi Over Unauthorized AI Training Using Licensed Case Law

Fastcase Inc., the legal research platform owned by Clio, sued Canadian AI company Alexi Technologies Inc. in federal court in Washington, D.C. on November 26, 2025, alleging breach of a 2021 data license agreement. Fastcase claims Alexi used licensed case law to train commercial generative AI models and display full-text decisions to users—uses explicitly prohibited under the original contract's "internal research purposes" restriction. The agreement permitted Alexi's staff attorneys to prepare client memoranda using the data, not to build a public, competing legal research platform. Fastcase seeks an injunction requiring Alexi to destroy both the datasets and the AI models trained on them, treating the model weights as infringing derivative works.

Bankruptcy Judge Rejects Reed Smith Bid to Force Arbitration in Eletson RICO Case

Reed Smith failed to compel arbitration of civil RICO and fraud claims brought by Eletson Holdings and its former shareholders in bankruptcy court. Judge John P. Mastando III ruled Monday that the firm's engagement-letter arbitration clause—labeled a "New York Arbitration Clause"—was limited to fee disputes under New York's Part 137 rules and did not extend to allegations of racketeering, fraud, or fiduciary wrongdoing. The judge also denied Reed Smith's alternative motion to dismiss in the 96-page opinion.

Anthropic Banned from U.S. Federal Use After DOJ Refuses Unrestricted AI for Military Surveillance

In early 2026, the Trump administration ordered all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic's Claude AI models and designated the company a "Supply-Chain Risk to National Security" under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act. The conflict originated when the Department of Defense demanded unrestricted access to Claude for "all lawful purposes," including potential use in autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. Anthropic refused, citing civil liberties and human rights concerns. On February 27, President Trump issued an immediate cease directive with a six-month phase-out period. By March 5, the DOD's supply-chain designation took effect, barring military contractors from any commercial activity with Anthropic and removing the company from federal procurement systems.

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