Urban Audio Books, Blackstone Audio, Audible and Amazon have been “giving away” author Teri Woods’ works for free to premium subscribers of their audiobook streaming and digital download services in a way that cannibalized her other audiobook revenue streams, alleged a Tuesday breach of contract complaint (docket 1:23-cv-507) in U.S. District Court for Eastern New York in Brooklyn.

U.S. District Judge John Tharp for Northern Illinois in Chicago appeared during a telephone status hearing Thursday to have resolved a longstanding impasse between DOJ and defendant Hytera Communications over the government’s request for Hytera to disclose the identities of its expert witnesses before they can get access to sensitive discovery materials. Tharp said at the end of the hearing he thinks Hytera had the better argument.

A fashion model can’t sue Amazon, Walmart and Ulta for using her likeness in advertising because the companies are immune under Communications Decency Act Section 230, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman for Southern New York in Manhattan ruled in an opinion and order Jan. 17 (docket 1:22-cv-00325).

AT&T’s customer agreement is “unconscionable, void against public policy and unenforceable in its entirety,” said a Monday fraud complaint seeking declaratory judgment (docket 6:23-cv-120) in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Orlando. The agreement has “complete waivers and exculpatory language insulating AT&T from its own negligence in carrying out the duties required under federal and state law,” said the SIM card swap complaint.

New class actions due to T-Mobile’s disclosure that bad actors gained access to the account information of 37 million current postpaid and prepaid customers continue trickling into federal court dockets in various U.S. jurisdictions.

It's the “duty” of federal courts to exercise their case jurisdiction “in all but the most exceptional circumstances,” but the district court in businesses’ challenge of Maryland’s digital ad tax “twice refused to do so,” said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s opening brief Tuesday (docket 22-2275) at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Pasadena, Texas, used its 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court appeal “as a tool” to persuade the district court to delay enforcement of its permanent injunction barring the municipality from blocking Crown Castle’s small-cell installations for T-Mobile, said Crown Castle’s answering brief Monday (docket 22-20454). Though the district court said Crown Castle would suffer immediate and irreparable harm unless there's a permanent injunction, it granted the Pasadena’s request for a stay pending appeal.

Two more class actions were filed against T-Mobile Monday, after two weekend filings just days after the carrier disclosed its latest data breach in an 8-K report Thursday at the SEC (see 2301230046).

Google wants the U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley for Eastern California in Sacramento to dismiss the Republican National Committee’s allegations that Google is deliberately channeling the RNC’s fundraising emails to recipients’ Gmail spam folders out of “partisan animus” (see 2210260080), said its motion Monday (docket 2:22-cv-01904). The RNC alleged its emails wound up in spam especially during the crucial end-of-month periods when its fundraising activities reached their peak.

DOJ and eight states want Google to divest its digital advertising platform, including its DFP ad server and AdX ad exchange, to “cure any anticompetitive harm,” said a Tuesday antitrust complaint (docket 1:23-cv-108) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Alexandria.