Attorneys for both Abbott Labs and GSK filed new briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week on whether gays and lesbians can be excluded from juries via peremptory challenge.

Ever since Visa and MasterCard reached a $7.2 billion agreement to resolve merchant claims over credit card "swipe fees," critics have been coming out of the woodwork. Now they've formally opposed the class action settlement in court, with the objector's lawyers at Constantine Cannon warning of "serious risks" if the deal is approved.

Assured Guaranty's case against Flagstar Bancorp wasn't the biggest case brought by a bond insurer against a mortgage-backed securities issuer in the wake of the housing crisis. But that doesn't make Buchdahl's $90 million victory this week any less of a problem for the banks.