All the parties in two 3G telematics class actions against Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA), the U.S. distributor of Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Volkswagen vehicles, want court permission to consolidate their cases for pretrial efficiency, they told U.S. District Judge Esther Salas for New Jersey in Newark in a joint letter Thursday (docket 2:22-cv-05896).

Amid a “full spectrum of views” on antitrust enforcement, “we all seem to agree that competition is the goal,” Doha Mekki, principal deputy assistant attorney general in DOJ's Antitrust Division, told a New York University Law School conference Friday on antitrust and big tech in the 21st century.

The Supreme Court appeared to side with Google and Twitter in two days of oral argument last week, but the justices will likely set new precedent for Communications Decency Act Section 230 and social media liability when rulings come down, legal experts said in interviews. The high court heard oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google (docket 21-1333) (see 2302210062) and Twitter v. Taamneh (docket 21-1496) (see 2302220065). Rulings are expected in June.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s statements in an April 14 shareholder letter about the company’s “aggressive expansion efforts” to build out its fulfillment network to meet increasing demand for faster delivery were “materially false and misleading,” alleged shareholder and Pennsylvania resident Jay Smith in a complaint Wednesday (docket 1:23-cv-00196). The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Delaware in Wilmington, named the company and 19 of its executives and/or board members who made statements on earnings calls and congressional testimony or signed SEC financial documents.

The Tax Injunction Act (TIA) precludes federal courts from reviewing Maryland’s digital ad tax, the state said Thursday in a brief (docket 22-2275) at the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The 4th Circuit should dismiss entirely a U.S. Chamber of Commerce appeal from the U.S. District Court for Maryland, the state said. "Plaintiffs’ suit is the sort of action Congress sought to prevent when it enacted the TIA.”

Verizon “specifically denies” violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and further denies plaintiff Israel Mertz “sustained any damages whatsoever as a result of its alleged conduct,” said Verizon’s answer Thursday (docket 7:22-cv-10938) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in White Plains to Mertz’s Dec. 28 complaint (see 2212300022).

The U.S. District Court for Northern California in Oakland “properly dismissed” plaintiff Richard Wolf’s claims against the City of Millbrae for failing to provide a “reasonable accommodation” in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, said a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision Tuesday (docket 21-16649).

Lawyers for defendant Michael Smith in the seven-state robocalling litigation in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in Houston are in limbo as they await approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern Florida to be appointed special counsel to represent him, they said in a status report dated Feb. 16 and posted Wednesday (docket 4:20-cv-02021). The attorneys are helpless to defend Smith as the litigation against him proceeds toward trial until the bankruptcy court gives them its OK, they said.

The Supreme Court further explored whether a social media platform can be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorists if it turns a blind eye to known terrorists’ accounts, during oral argument Wednesday in Twitter v. Taamneh (docket 21-1496) (see 2301120061). A day earlier it heard oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google (docket 21-1333) (see 2302210062).

GoodRx’s representations that it restricts third parties’ use of customers’ personal identifiable information and it complies with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) privacy rules are false, alleged a Friday class action (docket 3:23-cv-00744) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.