OPINIONATED INDEX
LITIGATION & ARBITRATION
WORLDWIDE
The world’s highest-stakes legal disputes
Major litigation and arbitration, explained and tracked. Explore the parties, counsel, key decisions and latest developments, with links to public sources.
DISPUTES TRACKED
60
AGGREGATE IN DISPUTE
$991B
JURISDICTIONS
30
LAST UPDATED
2026-09-13 22:31 UTC
| # | DISPUTE | TYPE | FORUM | COUNSEL | AMOUNT | STATUS | AI FORECAST?Experimental AI forecasts, generated automatically from each case’s record on this site. The probabilities are model judgments with no established validation record. How the forecasts are made → | LATEST EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYT v. OpenAI (Copyright MDL) Newspapers say ChatGPT was built on their copyrighted articles | Mass Tort | S.D.N.Y. | Susman Godfrey LLPRothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck | Billions | Active | Settlement (55%) | SEP 4, 2026 |
| 2 | Authors Guild v. OpenAI Novelists say OpenAI trained its models on pirated books | Mass Tort | S.D.N.Y. | Lieff Cabraser Heimann & BernsteinSusman Godfrey LLP | Billions | Active | Settlement (68%) | SEP 4, 2026 |
| 3 | Musk v. OpenAI Musk’s fight over OpenAI abandoning its nonprofit mission | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Toberoff & AssociatesMoloLamken LLP | ~$150B | On Appeal | Respondent win (72%) | MAY 18, 2026 |
| 4 | Apple v. OpenAI Apple says OpenAI stole trade secrets for its device | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Injunctive | Active | Settlement (55%) | AUG 27, 2026 |
| 5 | X Corp. v. Apple and OpenAI NEW Musk’s X and xAI say an Apple-OpenAI pact locks Grok out of iPhones | Litigation | N.D. Tex. | Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLPCarrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P. | Billions | Active | Respondent win (55%) | AUG 26, 2026 |
| 6 | Anthropic v. Department of War NEW Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic’s AI over refused surveillance and weapons use | Regulatory | N.D. Cal.. U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | WilmerHale | Injunctive | Active | Claimant win (57%) | AUG 27, 2026 |
| 7 | Getty Images v. Stability AI Getty’s UK claim over AI image training, now on appeal | Litigation | High Court of England & Wales | Weil, Gotshal & MangesMorrison & Foerster | Undisclosed | On Appeal | Settlement (42%) | AUG 18, 2026 |
| 8 | Disney & Universal v. Midjourney Hollywood studios sue Midjourney over AI-generated characters | Litigation | C.D. Cal. | Jenner & BlockCooley | Statutory | Active | Settlement (62%) | AUG 31, 2026 |
| 9 | Labels v. Suno Record labels sue AI music generators over their catalogs | Litigation | D. Mass. | Hueston HenniganLatham & Watkins | ~$9B | Active | Settlement (73%) | JUL 31, 2026 |
| 10 | Concord v. Anthropic Music publishers say Claude was trained on their lyrics | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Oppenheim + ZebrakWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr | ~$3B | Active | Settlement (70%) | AUG 28, 2026 |
| 11 | Elsevier et al. v. Meta (Publisher AI Training) Publishers say Meta pirated their books and papers to train Llama | Litigation | Southern District of New York | Oppenheim + ZebrakKeller Rohrback | Statutory | Active | Settlement (58%) | JUL 24, 2026 |
| 12 | Amazon v. Perplexity (Agentic AI) Can an AI shopping agent log into your Amazon account for you | Litigation | N.D. California. Ninth Circuit interlocutory appeal decided August 4, 2026 | Hueston Hennigan LLPQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP | Injunctive | Active | Settlement (42%) | SEP 11, 2026 |
| 13 | US v. Google (Search) Google illegally monopolized search, and now fights over remedies | Regulatory | D.D.C. | U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust DivisionWilliams & Connolly | Structural | On Appeal | Claimant win (55%) | JUL 28, 2026 |
| 14 | US v. Google (Ad Tech) Google monopolized ad tech, but escaped a break-up | Regulatory | E.D. Va. | U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust DivisionFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | Structural | Active | Split outcome (60%) | SEP 2, 2026 |
| 15 | FTC v. Meta FTC’s bid to unwind Instagram and WhatsApp failed | Regulatory | U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit | U.S. Federal Trade CommissionKellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick | Structural | On Appeal | Respondent win (75%) | AUG 27, 2026 |
| 16 | FTC v. Amazon FTC says Amazon illegally protects its marketplace monopoly | Regulatory | W.D. Wash. | U.S. Federal Trade CommissionWilliams & Connolly | Structural | Active | Split outcome (35%) | DEC 2025 |
| 17 | US v. Apple (Smartphones) DOJ says Apple’s ecosystem locks in a smartphone monopoly | Regulatory | D.N.J. | U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust DivisionGibson, Dunn & Crutcher | Structural | Active | Settlement (45%) | SEP 10, 2026 |
| 18 | States v. Live Nation NEW States say Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized concert ticketing nationwide | Regulatory | S.D.N.Y. | Latham & Watkins LLPCravath, Swaine & Moore LLP | Structural | Active | Claimant win (45%) | AUG 4, 2026 |
| 19 | Epic v. Apple Epic’s App Store fight forced open iOS payments | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Cravath, Swaine & MooreGibson, Dunn & Crutcher | Structural | On Appeal | Split outcome (58%) | AUG 13, 2026 |
| 20 | Epic v. Google Fortnite maker’s antitrust fight forces Google to open the Play Store | Litigation | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California / Ninth Circuit | Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPWiggin and Dana LLP | Structural remedy | Enforcement | Claimant win (90%) | AUG 10, 2026 |
| 21 | Google v. EC (Ad Tech) Google fights a €2.95B EU ad-tech fine and breakup | Regulatory | EU General Court | European Commission | €2.95B | On Appeal | Respondent win (58%) | AUG 3, 2026 |
| 22 | Apple v. EC (DMA) Apple fights the EU’s Digital Markets Act enforcement | Regulatory | EU General Court | Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerEuropean Commission | €500M | On Appeal | Respondent win (55%) | JUL 8, 2026 |
| 23 | Learning Resources v. Trump (IEEPA Tariffs) Supreme Court voided Trump’s tariffs, now importers fight over refunds | Regulatory | Supreme Court of the United States | — | Billions in tariffs | Enforcement | Claimant win (68%) | AUG 6, 2026 |
| 24 | Roundup Litigation (Bayer/Monsanto) Tens of thousands say Roundup weedkiller caused their cancer | Mass Tort | N.D. Cal. and US state courts | Bartlit BeckWilkinson Stekloff | > $18B | Active | Settlement (73%) | AUG 27, 2026 |
| 25 | J&J Talc MDL Claims J&J’s talc baby powder causes ovarian cancer | Mass Tort | D.N.J. | Beasley AllenAshcraft & Gerel | Proposed $5.5B | Active | Settlement (70%) | JUL 27, 2026 |
| 26 | Social Media Addiction MDL Families say social platforms deliberately addict and harm minors | Mass Tort | N.D. Cal. | Seeger WeissLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein | $17B+ | Active | Settlement (75%) | AUG 26, 2026 |
| 27 | Camp Lejeune Water Litigation Mass tort over toxic Camp Lejeune water | Mass Tort | E.D.N.C. | Bell Legal GroupU.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division | $20B+ | Active | Settlement (62%) | JUL 17, 2026 |
| 28 | AFFF / PFAS MDL $14B in settlements over PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foam | Mass Tort | D.S.C. | Douglas & LondonNapoli Shkolnik | $14B+ | Active | Settlement (78%) | JUN 17, 2026 |
| 29 | Uber Sexual Assault MDL Passengers say Uber failed to prevent driver assaults | Mass Tort | N.D. Cal. | Lieff Cabraser Heimann & BernsteinPeiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise | $1B+ | Active | Settlement (68%) | JUL 2026 |
| 30 | Ozempic / GLP-1 MDLs Claims Ozempic and rival GLP-1 drugs caused severe injuries | Mass Tort | E.D. Pa. | Seeger WeissWagstaff & Cartmell | Open-ended | Active | Settlement (42%) | SEP 2026 |
| 31 | Eaton Fire v. Southern California Edison NEW Homeowners and LA County say Edison’s grid sparked the deadly Eaton Fire | Mass Tort | Los Angeles County Superior Court | Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein | $10–45 bn | Active | Settlement (80%) | AUG 4, 2026 |
| 32 | Suncor v. Boulder County NEW Can local governments sue oil majors in state court over climate change harm | Mass Tort | Supreme Court of the United States. Boulder County District Court | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP | Billions | On Appeal | Respondent win (60%) | SEP 4, 2026 |
| 33 | Yukos v. Russia History’s largest arbitration award, $50B, against Russia | Investor–State | PCA | Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya DisputesWhite & Case | $65B+ | Enforcement | Claimant win (88%) | MAR 2, 2026 |
| 34 | Bank of Russia v. Euroclear NEW Russia’s central bank wants $250B from Euroclear over frozen assets | Litigation | Moscow Arbitrazh Court. Ninth Arbitrazh Court of Appeal. Brussels Enterprise Court | — | $250B | Enforcement | Split outcome (58%) | JUL 16, 2026 |
| 35 | Petersen v. Argentina (YPF) $16B YPF judgment against Argentina, reversed on appeal | Litigation | S.D.N.Y. | Sullivan & Cromwell | $16.1B vacated | On Appeal | Respondent win (85%) | JUN 17, 2026 |
| 36 | ConocoPhillips v. Venezuela $8.7B award for Venezuela’s oil-project expropriation | Investor–State | ICSID | Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerKobre & Kim | $8.7B+ | Enforcement | Claimant win (78%) | JUN 17, 2026 |
| 37 | Devas v. Antrix / India Can an award annulled at home be enforced abroad | Investor–State | U.S. federal courts | Gibson, Dunn & CrutcherCurtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle | $1.3B+ | Enforcement | Split outcome (52%) | AUG 12, 2026 |
| 38 | Naftogaz v. Russia (Crimea) $5B against Russia for seizing Naftogaz’s Crimean assets | Investor–State | PCA | Covington & Burling | $5B+ | Enforcement | Claimant win (88%) | SEP 2, 2026 |
| 39 | Mozambique v. Privinvest $2.3B over the bribery behind Mozambique’s ‘tuna bonds’ | Litigation | English High Court | Peters & Peters | ~$2.3B | Enforcement | Claimant win (75%) | AUG 2026 |
| 40 | Evergrande Liquidators v. PwC NEW Evergrande’s liquidators want PwC’s global arm to pay $8.4B for bad audits | Litigation | High Court of Hong Kong, Court of First Instance | — | $8.4B | Active | Settlement (62%) | AUG 26, 2026 |
| 41 | ExxonMobil v. Netherlands ExxonMobil sues the Netherlands over the Groningen shutdown | Investor–State | ICSID | Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerFietta LLP | €3.96B+ | Active | Claimant win (44%) | FEB 4, 2026 |
| 42 | Spain ECT Awards (NextEra/Blasket) Spain owes €1.5B+ on unpaid renewable-energy treaty awards | Investor–State | D.D.C. | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & FlomGibson, Dunn & Crutcher | €1.5B+ | Enforcement | Claimant win (72%) | JUN 29, 2026 |
| 43 | FTX Trust v. Binance & CZ FTX’s estate sues Binance to claw back $1.76B | Litigation | U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware | White & CaseBakerHostetler | $1.76B | Active | Settlement (55%) | JUL 24, 2026 |
| 44 | US v. Storm (Tornado Cash) Criminal test of publishing Tornado Cash privacy code | Criminal | S.D.N.Y. | U.S. Attorney’s Office, S.D.N.Y.Waymaker | $1B+ | Active | Split outcome (45%) | AUG 25, 2026 |
| 45 | States v. Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger States sue to stop a $110B Hollywood studio merger | Regulatory | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California | Winston & StrawnLatham & Watkins | $110B deal | Active | Settlement (48%) | SEP 11, 2026 |
| 46 | Samuels v. Lido DAO Can a DAO’s token backers face partnership liability | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Gerstein HarrowFairmark Partners | Class damages | Active | Respondent win (45%) | MAY 15, 2026 |
| 47 | FTX MDL (Promoters & Enablers) FTX customers pursue the enablers behind $11B losses | Mass Tort | S.D. Fla. | The Moskowitz Law FirmBoies Schiller Flexner | ~$11B losses | Active | Settlement (72%) | MAY 22, 2026 |
| 48 | In re Tether & Bitfinex Class action says Tether printed USDT to pump Bitcoin | Mass Tort | S.D.N.Y. | Selendy GaySchneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky | Billions | Active | Settlement (45%) | JUL 2, 2026 |
| 49 | Smartmatic v. Fox Smartmatic’s $2.7B defamation suit over Fox election coverage | Litigation | N.Y. Supreme Court, New York County — Commercial Division | Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & AronoffMintz & Gold | $2.7B | Active | Settlement (70%) | MAY 7, 2026 |
| 50 | WhatsApp v. NSO Group WhatsApp beat NSO’s Pegasus spyware, and the injunction threatens NSO | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Davis Polk & WardwellKing & Spalding | $4.4M judgment | On Appeal | Claimant win (58%) | SEP 10, 2026 |
| 51 | Trump v. NYT / Dow Jones A sitting president’s record defamation suits against newspapers | Litigation | M.D. Fla. & S.D. Fla. | Brito PLLCWilliams & Connolly | $25B | Active | Respondent win (72%) | AUG 27, 2026 |
| 52 | Trump v. BBC NEW Trump seeks $10B from the BBC over an edited January 6 speech clip | Litigation | S.D. Fla. | — | $10B | Active | Settlement (42%) | AUG 24, 2026 |
| 53 | UK Motor Finance Redress £7.5B UK redress over hidden car-loan commissions | Regulatory | UK Supreme Court | Slaughter and MayEversheds Sutherland | £7.5B | Active | Claimant win (60%) | JUL 2, 2026 |
| 54 | Credit Suisse AT1 Write-Down NEW Bondholders fight Switzerland’s zeroing of $17B in Credit Suisse bonds | Regulatory | Swiss Federal Supreme Court | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & SullivanPallas Partners LLP | $17B | On Appeal | Claimant win (50%) | JUL 16, 2026 |
| 55 | Pampena v. Musk NEW Jury found Musk’s tweets defrauded Twitter shareholders who sold amid buyout chaos | Litigation | N.D. Cal. | Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLPBottini & Bottini, Inc. | Up to $2.6B | On Appeal | Claimant win (45%) | JUL 31, 2026 |
| 56 | Uniper v. Gazprom €13B against Gazprom for gas it never delivered | Arbitration | Ad hoc arbitration | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | €13B+ award | Enforcement | Claimant win (62%) | JAN 12, 2026 |
| 57 | Naftogaz v. Gazprom (Transit) $1.37B against Gazprom for unpaid gas-transit fees | Arbitration | ICC | Wikborg Rein | $1.37B award | Enforcement | Claimant win (70%) | JUL 7, 2026 |
| 58 | LNG Offtakers v. Venture Global LNG buyers say Venture Global withheld contracted cargoes | Arbitration | ICC and LCIA commercial arbitrations | — | $6B+ | Active | Split outcome (57%) | MAR 26, 2026 |
| 59 | Aircraft Lessors v. Insurers (Russia) Jet lessors sue insurers over planes stranded in Russia | Litigation | English Commercial Court | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLPClifford Chance LLP | ~$4.5B | On Appeal | Claimant win (45%) | MAY 13, 2026 |
| 60 | Mariana Dam v. BHP England’s largest-ever claim over Brazil’s Mariana dam collapse | Mass Tort | English High Court | Pogust GoodheadQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | £36B | Active | Settlement (63%) | MAY 6, 2026 |
PREVIOUSLY IN THE INDEX 3
Cases that ran their course — decided, settled, or concluded. Unranked, most recently concluded first.
| # | DISPUTE | TYPE | FORUM | COUNSEL | AMOUNT | STATUS | LATEST EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US v. Adani Bribery case against Adani the DOJ now wants dropped | Criminal | E.D.N.Y. | U.S. Attorney’s Office, E.D.N.Y.Kirkland & Ellis | $250M+ bribes | Concluded | AUG 10, 2026 |
| — | Purdue / Sackler Settlement Purdue’s $7.4B opioid settlement and Sackler releases take effect | Mass Tort | U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D.N.Y. | Davis Polk & Wardwell | $7.4B | Settled | JUL 2026 |
| — | Fannie/Freddie Shareholders v. FHFA Shareholders win $812M over the Fannie–Freddie profit sweep | Litigation | D.D.C. | Boies Schiller FlexnerKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check | $812M | Decided | JUL 24, 2026 |
METHODOLOGY
How disputes are selected
TopDisputes is a curated index, not a ranking. AI research agents surface candidate cases and developments from public sources; the editors check them against the cited sources before they are added to a case record. The outcome forecasts are the exception: they are generated automatically from each case record, published without editorial sign-off, and labeled as experimental. Inclusion reflects an editorial judgment about significance, not a score.
- Stakes
- The amounts, the precedent, or the parties involved carry consequences well beyond the individual case.
- Public sources
- Entries are compiled from court filings, published decisions, arbitral awards, and reputable reporting. No confidential information is used.
- Current relevance
- The index favors active or recently active matters. Each case is re-checked for developments on a rolling schedule, roughly once a week.
- Editorial judgment
- Where candidate cases are comparable, preference goes to the matter with the broader legal or commercial significance.
To propose an addition or contest an inclusion, suggest a case.