JPMorgan Trims But Can't Escape ERISA Drug Costs Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A New York federal judge pared claims Monday against JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a suit from workers who alleged they paid too much for prescription drugs, but opened discovery on allegations that the bank's contract with its pharmacy benefit manager caused transactions prohibited by federal benefits law.

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BBQ Co. Execs, Trust Co. Settle Workers' ESOP Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

A New York-based barbecue chain's executives and the caretaker of the company's employee stock ownership plan have agreed to settle a class action from workers alleging ESOP mismanagement, the parties told a New York federal court Monday.

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Google Shuts Down Claims It Fired Worker Over Cancer

By Grace Elletson

A Connecticut federal judge tossed a suit Monday from a former sales representative who said Google fired him after learning he had cancer to avoid paying out a $4 million life insurance policy, saying the ex-worker sent "mixed messages" on whether Google thought the condition was terminal.

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Vehicle Manufacturer Strikes Deal In Tobacco Surcharge Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Commercial vehicle manufacturer International Motors LLC has agreed to end a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully charges employees who use tobacco products an additional $600 per year for health insurance without providing an alternative to the fee, according to a filing in Illinois federal court.

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Trans Patients Score Block On Aetna Facial Surgery Exclusion

By Grace Elletson

Aetna must reconsider whether two transgender women can receive coverage for their gender-affirming facial reconstruction surgeries, a Connecticut federal judge ruled, finding that a policy categorically excluding coverage for the procedure was likely discriminatory.

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Edison Dodges Investors' Wildfire Mitigation Suit, For Now

By Lauren Berg

A California federal judge tossed a proposed class action alleging the parent company of Southern California Edison misled investors about the effectiveness of the public utility company's wildfire-mitigation measures in the lead-up to last January's devastating fires north of Los Angeles, but allowed investors to rework part of the suit.

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Nonprofit Accused Of Firing Director For Medical Leave

By Zach Dupont

The American Forest Foundation fired a former director for taking a leave of absence to address physical and mental health concerns brought on by a disability, the ex-director told a Colorado federal court.

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Military Attys In DOJ 'Erodes Democratic Norms,' Ex-JAGs Say

By Lauren Berg

Nearly a dozen former military lawyers raised the alarm about the Trump administration appointing judge advocate officers to U.S. attorneys' offices, urging a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to bar an Army lawyer from prosecuting a case that accuses a civilian of assaulting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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DOJ Official Faces Ethics Case Over Georgetown DEI Letters

By Alison Knezevich

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin has been hit with disciplinary charges in the nation's capital over threatening letters he sent to Georgetown University Law Center last year while he was interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

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Prosecutor Resigns, Judge Shows Slide Deck On AI Errors

By Abigail Harrison

A federal prosecutor told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that he was separating from the office after admitting in open court to using artificial intelligence to help draft a response brief, what he called "the worst decision I've ever made in my 30-year career."

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Calif. Atty Gets Over 11 Years For Solar $1B Ponzi Scheme

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has sentenced a corporate attorney to 11 years and five months behind bars after he pled guilty to nearly two dozen charges for his role in DC Solar's $912 million Ponzi scheme, which duped major investors including Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and SunTrust Equipment Finance & Leasing.

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Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Admits Tax Crimes, Will Pay $2.8M

By Aaron Keller

A former Moses & Singer LLP partner admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina courts has pled guilty to three counts of failing to file personal income tax returns and will pay $2.8 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday.

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Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office

By Katie Buehler

The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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Judge Fumes As Live Nation Antitrust Trial Remains In Limbo

By Stewart Bishop

The status of Live Nation Entertainment's antitrust trial and proposed settlement over federal and state government claims of anticompetitive conduct remained up in the air Tuesday amid pushback by several states, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case upbraided the parties for keeping him out of the loop about negotiations.

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DOJ Unveils Superseding Policy For Corporate Criminal Cases

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released its first-ever, department-wide, corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, outlining how it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct, cooperate with investigators and remediate wrongdoing.

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DLA Piper Can't Rep Itself At Bias Trial, Fired Atty Says

By Pete Brush

DLA Piper should not be permitted to represent itself at trial in a pregnancy discrimination case brought by a senior associate who was fired in 2022, lawyers for the plaintiff told a Manhattan federal judge.

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Judge Nixed Over MAGA Op-Ed Seeks Reinstatement

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state trial court judge pursuing First Amendment claims against the state Supreme Court after his right-wing opinion column resulted in his removal from a temporary judgeship has moved for immediate reinstatement to the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Wisconsin Judges Decline To Extend Interim US Atty's Term

By Courtney Bublé

A majority of judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin have declined to extend the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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J&J Opposes Beasley Allen Reinstatement Bid In NJ Talc Fight

By Emily Sawicki

Johnson & Johnson is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to not take the "extraordinary step" of intervening in an appellate panel ruling that disqualified Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women in product liability litigation against the pharmaceutical giant after the Georgia-based firm "knowingly collaborated" with a former Johnson & Johnson outside counsel.

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