The Oakland, Calif., City Council has approved a $6.5 million settlement in a proposed class action alleging that the Oakland police for years illegally obtained search warrants based on false or misleading information. Of the $6.5 million, the city is on the hook for $2 million and its insurance company is paying the rest. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said they are still seeking injunctive relief in court and are asking for more accountability and training for officers.

The CIA may exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure materials that reveal intelligence sources and methods, even though they relate to the secret detention and interrogation program deemed illegal by the Obama administration in 2009, a New York federal judge has ruled, rejecting a claim by the ACLU and other plaintiffs. The ruling was the latest in a series in the six-year-old FOIA litigation on materials relating to the treatment of prisoners and rendition of detainees to countries that practice torture.

The day after her appointment to oversee discovery in massive litigation against Prudential Life Insurance, a special master has withdrawn amid allegations that impermissible conflicts of interest barred her involvement.

Bicyclists who pressed a challenge to required permits for large groups of riders “even though they had no real hope of success” must pay $16,000 in litigation costs, a federal judge has ruled. The judge noted the case raised constitutional issues but faulted the plaintiffs, who were represented pro bono by Debevoise & Plimpton, for pursuing the case.

A judge in Los Angeles threw out a $2.3 million verdict against Dole Food Co. on Thursday, ruling that widespread fraud orchestrated by the plaintiffs’ attorneys prevented the company from deposing witnesses