9th Circ. Tough On HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit Revival Bid

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit appeared reluctant Wednesday to revive a suit alleging that HP Inc. violated federal benefits law by using forfeited 401(k) funds to defray employer-side contribution obligations, with judges questioning whether plan participants backed up allegations that the tech company hadn't been sufficiently loyal or prudent.

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NY Hospital Strikes Deal In Suit Over Retirement Plan Lineup

By Patrick Hoff

A Long Island hospital agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging it cost workers millions of dollars in savings by loading its employee retirement plan with costly and underperforming investment options, according to a filing in New York federal court Wednesday.

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Life Insurance Co. Escapes Suit Over 401(k) Fund

By Patrick Hoff

A life insurance company defeated a proposed class action alleging it failed to remove an underperforming fund from its $2 billion 401(k) plan, with a New Jersey federal judge concluding the suit didn't provide valid comparisons to better-performing funds.

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OpenAI Says ChatGPT Misuse Is Users' Responsibility

By Emily Sawicki

OpenAI has asked a federal judge in Chicago to end an insurance company's suit alleging it practices law without a license, arguing the complaint should be directed toward individuals who misuse the company's ChatGPT bot to file faulty motions, and not the generative AI platform itself.

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FTC 'Close' To Final PBM Insulin Price Deal With OptumRx

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission staffers have signaled that they're near a settlement with UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s OptumRx that would close out the agency's in-house case accusing pharmacy benefit managers of inflating insulin prices through rebate schemes.

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Former Judge, NJ Judiciary Settle Pension Denial Fight

By George Woolston

A former New Jersey judge and the state judiciary have reached a settlement in her suit over the denial of her disability pension, according to a letter filed in state court.

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Anthem Affiliates Can't Duck Suit Over Colo. Claims

By Zach Dupont

A mental health and substance use disorder treatment provider told a Colorado judge that affiliates of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield can't get an early escape from its lawsuit accusing the affiliates of underpaying claims from some of its patients, according to a brief filed in federal court.

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Brief

Pa. AG Aims To Revive Ban On Medicaid-Paid Abortions

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday plans to fight an appellate panel's ruling that Medicaid-funded abortions are a fundamental right to reproductive autonomy in the state.

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Refusing Sandoz Parent Dismissal 'Clear Error,' Court Told

By Bryan Koenig

Sandoz's Swiss parent company wants a Pennsylvania federal judge to rethink her decision forcing it to face generic drug price-fixing claims from major employers like General Motors, arguing the court "conflates" Novartis AG with Sandoz AG, which was spun off in 2023.

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NC Co. Filed Veterans' Disability Claims Without Accreditation

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina business violated federal law by preparing veterans' disability claims for a fee without proper accreditation, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, handing a limited victory to a class of veterans by rejecting the company's claim that it acted merely as a consultant.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

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2nd Circ. Pick Questioned At Hearing On Role As Trump Lawyer

By Courtney Bublé

Matthew Schwartz, a nominee for the Second Circuit, was questioned by Democratic senators Wednesday about whether his current job as the president's personal attorney while his nomination process is underway poses a conflict of interest.

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Bad AI Citation Sanction Slashed Amid 7th Circ. Guidance

By Hailey Konnath

An Indiana federal judge Wednesday rejected a magistrate judge's recommendation that an attorney be sanctioned $7,500 for including faulty, artificial intelligence-generated legal citations in a discovery brief, pointing to recent Seventh Circuit guidance and sanctioning him $2,000 instead.

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2 Fla. County Courts Requiring AI Disclosure In Court Filings

By Sarah Martinson

Two Florida circuit courts in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are requiring attorneys and self-represented litigants to disclose when they use generative text tools to prepare their court filings and to certify they checked the generated content for accuracy.

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Hagens Berman Says Apple Smear Job Can't Stop Withdrawal

By Bonnie Eslinger

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP urged a California federal judge to allow one of its named plaintiffs to withdraw from an Apple iCloud antitrust case, saying Apple Inc.'s filed opposition is rife with "misdirection and ad hominem" attacks and not about the merits of the dispute but "smearing opposing counsel."

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Atty Withdrawals Not Limited To Fee Conflicts, ABA Says

By Emily Sawicki

Lawyers whose clients fail to hold up their end of valid engagement agreements are clear to cease their representation, so long as certain criteria are met, according to the American Bar Association's ethics committee's latest guidance, published Wednesday.

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Comey Wants Arraignment Pushed For Dismissal Bid

By Phillip Bantz

Former FBI Director James Comey asked a North Carolina federal court Wednesday to postpone his arraignment on charges alleging he threatened President Donald Trump, telling a judge that he is preparing to seek to have the case thrown out on constitutional grounds.

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Mich. Supreme Court Mulls Remote Court Access Rules

By Susan Smiley

The Michigan Supreme Court held administrative hearings on Wednesday concerning several proposed amendments to Michigan court rules, including adding more specific guidelines for remote hearings, making language services free for civil cases, and allowing law students and recent law graduates to appear on behalf of indigent people in all Michigan courts.

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