Senators Seek Oversight Of DOL Benefits Agency Probes

By Patrick Hoff

A pair of Republican senators introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm to give Congress more information about its enforcement efforts, an action lawmakers say is necessary to ensure investigations are conducted in a timely manner.

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Meijer Escapes Most Claims In Tobacco Fee ERISA Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge significantly narrowed a proposed class action that accused Meijer Inc. of charging employees an illegal health plan fee for using tobacco, ruling Thursday that the shopping center company complied with federal benefits law by giving workers a six-month window to dodge the full charge.

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Convenience Store Co. Sets $5.1M Deal On Tobacco Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

Casey's General Stores Inc. agreed to pay $5.1 million to end a suit alleging it illegally charged workers an extra fee in their health plan for using tobacco without giving them an opportunity to escape the added cost, according to a filing in Iowa federal court.

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BJ's Ordered To Put Climate Study Pitch Before Shareholders

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered BJ's Wholesale Club to include at its June annual meeting a request to poll shareholders on whether it should conduct a climate study, in what appears to be the first such ruling since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced last fall it would no longer review most rejected proxy ballot questions.

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FTC Cuts Deal To End Anesthesia Group Rollup Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement Thursday to settle its case accusing U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. of monopolizing the Texas anesthesia services market by purchasing most of the competing anesthesia practices in the state.

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6th Circ. Hints Support For Superintendent's Suit Over Leave

By Anne Cullen

A Sixth Circuit panel signaled during a hearing Thursday that a trial court prematurely dismissed a school superintendent's lawsuit challenging her continued placement on leave, but the judges wondered if the school official had enough evidence to win at a later phase of litigation.

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No Class Cert. Redo In United Healthcare Breast Surgery Fight

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey federal judge said a policy change by United Healthcare was not enough to make her rethink her denial of certification to a proposed class of patients who were allegedly systematically shut out of coverage for postmastectomy breast reconstruction.

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'Cheap' Judge OKs $19.5M Snap Deal Fees But 'No Bentleys'

By Craig Clough

After warning counsel who negotiated a $65 million securities settlement with Snap that he is "notoriously cheap," and in a tentative order gave a "haircut" to their $19.5 million fee request, a California federal judge talked himself out of the trim at a hearing Thursday but quipped, "No Bentleys."

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Pa. County Joins Insulin-Pricing Suit Blitz Against CVS, PBMs

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Chester County, Pennsylvania, filed its own suit in a sprawling multidistrict litigation against CVS and multiple pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies, claiming the entities worked together to inflate the price of insulin.

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Car Parts Co.'s Acquisition Integration Failed, Investors Say

By Sydney Price

Auto parts distributor LKQ Corp. has been hit with a proposed class action in Tennessee federal court accusing it of concealing that a 2023 acquisition harmed LKQ's ability to meet its financial growth goals.

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Series

Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

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DLA Piper Clears Vote To End Verein, Unify Leadership

By Tracey Read

DLA Piper announced Friday that firm partners on both sides of the Atlantic have "overwhelmingly approved" a plan to dissolve its Swiss verein structure effective May 1.

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Exclusive

Judge Albright Reflects On 8 Years Shaping Patent Law

By Dani Kass

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright will be walking away from the Western District of Texas at the end of the summer, ready to head back into patent litigation work. He talked with Law360 on Friday about the rockier elements of his judgeship and lessons he'll take into private practice.

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Wigdor Sanctioned For Lying In Leon Black Rape Case

By Ryan Boysen

Prominent victims rights law firm Wigdor LLP has been sanctioned for lying to a New York federal judge while pursuing a lawsuit that claims ex-Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black raped a teenager provided to him by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, Butler Prather LLP, Bowen Painter LLC and Cannella Snyder LLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Fluor Corp. can be held liable for a veteran's state-based injury claims stemming from a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

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Oregon Lawyer Ordered To Pay Attorney Fees For Use Of AI

By Matt Perez

An Oregon attorney was sanctioned by a state appellate court for filing a brief containing a fabricated list of authorities because she used generative artificial intelligence, marking the first case in the jurisdiction to present the option of awarding attorney fees as a sanction as opposed to fines payable to the court.

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Akin Can't 'Recast' Appeal As Good-Faith Effort, 9th Circ. Told

By Lauren Berg

A European winemaker slammed attempts by a U.S. importer and its Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP attorneys to "recast a frivolous appeal as a good-faith effort," saying they should have to pay monetary sanctions for pursuing what the Ninth Circuit called a "self-indulgent" appeal of a valid arbitration award.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

In what may be a first, a federal judge has ordered BJ's Wholesale Club to put an investor's climate-related proxy proposal up for a vote of the shareholders at the company's annual meeting. And a new study shows that more in-house counsel are staying in place despite pay increases slowing amid less competition for talent.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen a Hong Kong company sue the government and a COVID-19 PPE company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone, an oligarch bring a fresh claim against a rival in a long-running feud, a rugby league club sue over a canceled mass dance event, and Visa and Mastercard hit with legal action from H&M, Eurostar, and Bang & Olufsen. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Analysis

One Certainty As Tariff Refunds Start: 'There Will Be Litigation'

By Chris Villani

The launch of the refund process for tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court marks the start of lengthy and multifaceted court battles as companies fight with consumers — and amongst themselves — about who gets a slice of the $166 billion pie, experts told Law360.

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Up Last At High Court: TPS, Geofence, Skinny Labels

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will close out its oral argument portion of the 2025 October term by hearing a panoply of disputes over the constitutionality of geofence warrants, the existence of aiding and abetting torture claims, and the rescission of temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

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