A split Ninth Circuit panel has decertified a nationwide false advertising class action against Honda's U.S. subsidiary, ruling that California's consumer protection law is too different from those in other states to permit class litigation. Mayer Brown partner Donald Falk represented Honda, which was accused of including a feature on its Acura luxury cars that didn't work as promised.

Irell & Manella has handled some interesting litigation lately for the uber-billionaire William Koch, including a suit claiming that Koch was duped into buying wine that once supposedly belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Now Irell partner John Hueston is playing defense for Koch, hoping to fend off claims that the Oxbow Group founder detained an Oxbow executive in an Old-West ghost town on his Colorado ranch.