Elevance Wins Initial Toss Of 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

Elevance Health won dismissal of a proposed class action from a worker who challenged forfeiture spending from an employee 401(k) plan, convincing an Indiana federal judge Tuesday that the allegations failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

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Political Org. Wins $5.2M In Benefits Bequeathed By NYU Prof

By Grace Elletson

A New York federal judge awarded $5.2 million in retirement benefits from a late New York University sociology professor to the Democratic Socialists of America, rejecting arguments from the professor's nephew that the organization didn't have a right to the cash.

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Insurance Co. Beats Kosovo Citizens' Disability Benefits Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A New York Life Insurance Co. unit defeated a lawsuit alleging it breached Pennsylvania law when it denied disability benefits to 17 Kosovo citizens who supported the U.S. military in Afghanistan, with a federal judge ruling the claims are preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

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4th Circ. Says DOL Can Argue In Lockheed Pension Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fourth Circuit panel granted the U.S. Department of Labor's request to participate in oral arguments for a Lockheed Martin Corp. appeal challenging a Maryland federal judge's refusal to dismiss a proposed class action challenging a $9 billion pension risk transfer.

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Judge Mulls Pausing Medicaid Work Rule For 'Frail' Recipients

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge said Tuesday he anticipates deciding by the end of the week whether the Trump administration will have to pause part of a new rule states must follow in determining whether medically frail Medicaid recipients are exempt from new work or school requirements.

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Amtrak Says Arbitral Award Can't Dictate Future PTO Claims

By MJ Koo

Amtrak has asked a District of Columbia federal court to toss a lawsuit brought by two railroad unions over its paid time off accrual policy, arguing the dispute must go to arbitration because it involves the interpretation of existing labor agreements rather than a unilateral change to those agreements.

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Texas Workers Seek To Void IRS Wage Withholding Regs

By Kat Lucero

The Internal Revenue Service's income tax withholding regulations resulted in employers overdeducting taxes from their employees' paychecks, two workers told a Texas federal court, arguing the agency's rulemaking violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

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Trader In BigLaw Deal-Tipping Scheme To Plead Guilty

By Chris Villani

A Florida resident is set to plead guilty to his alleged role in a sweeping scheme to trade on insider information about impending acquisitions that was stolen from major law firms, according to a court filing Tuesday.

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Simpson Thacher Stock Work Hurt 2 Companies, Jury Told

By Madison Arnold

The chief financial officer for an insurance company told a Florida jury Tuesday that a stock drop for Patriot National Inc. — which is suing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for malpractice for allegedly putting together a shoddy securities offering — dramatically affected his own business as well.

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AT&T Whistleblower Told To Cut Facts From Ethics Case Filing

By Sue Reisinger

Former AT&T in-house counsel and whistleblower Theodore Marcus has been asked to delete part of his response to professional misconduct charges pending against him in Washington, D.C., because the filing allegedly contains privileged information.

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1st Circ. Asked To Save Mayer Brown $21M Fee Bid In RI Suit

By Linda Chiem

The American Trucking Associations told the First Circuit that its attorneys at Mayer Brown LLP reasonably justified their request for $21 million in fees and costs after securing "substantial" wins in long-running litigation over Rhode Island's truck tolling program, disputing a district court's determination that the trucking trade group wasn't actually a "prevailing party."

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Winston Taylor Seeks Sanction Against Ex-Client Hunter Biden

By Rae Ann Varona

Winston Taylor urged a D.C. state court on Monday to sanction its former client Hunter Biden in its legal bills collection suit, saying the former president's son destroyed Signal communications that would have proved he understood that he owes the law firm more than $50,000.

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Court Is In Session Whenever A Judge Says It Is, 6th Circ. Told

By Susan Smiley

Court is wherever and whenever a judge says it is, counsel for a Detroit judge told a Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday, arguing that subjecting a student to a mock arrest and trial because she fell asleep during a field trip was within his jurisdiction.

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Senate Confirms Jay Clayton As National Intelligence Chief

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, two weeks after Clayton, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to answer who he thought won the 2020 election during his confirmation hearing.

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Queens Defenders Head Gets 3.5 Years For Looting The Nonprofit

By Pete Brush

A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the former director of the Queens Defenders to more than 3.5 years in prison after the longtime attorney admitted to a course of embezzlement that destroyed the group dedicated to legal services for the poor.

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