Goodyear failed to snuff out a proposed class action alleging employees who used nicotine were unlawfully charged more to obtain health benefits, with an Ohio federal judge ruling Thursday that workers had plausibly alleged plan documents omitted key information about avoiding the surcharge.
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TOP NEWS

Goodyear Narrows But Can't End Nicotine Fee Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Goodyear failed to snuff out a proposed class action alleging employees who used nicotine were unlawfully charged more to obtain health benefits, with an Ohio federal judge ruling Thursday that workers had plausibly alleged plan documents omitted key information about avoiding the surcharge.

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Coal Co. Settles Fight With Miners Over Lifetime Benefits

By Grace Elletson

Consol Energy Inc. has reached a settlement with retired miners who claimed the company reneged on promises to provide them health benefits for life, months after the Fourth Circuit declined to scrap a bench trial judgment that awarded lifetime benefits to a pair of ex-miners but denied class claims.

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Brief

Airlines, Colo. Propose Trial Dates In Sick Leave Law Case

By MJ Koo

An airline industry trade group and a Colorado labor official told a federal judge they see virtually no chance of settling the group's lawsuit over whether a state paid sick leave law applies to airline workers, proposing trial dates for early 2027 and offering competing lengths for the proceeding.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

2 More Sentenced In $11M Amtrak Health Fraud Scheme

By George Woolston

A former Amtrak employee and a New York podiatrist have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme that prosecutors claim defrauded the rail carrier out of $11 million in health benefits, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said.

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LITIGATION

Pa. Justices To Hear Philly's Suit Over Opioid-Spurred Crime

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether the city of Philadelphia can sue CVS Pharmacy Inc. and other stores under state public nuisance laws for allegedly exacerbating the opioid epidemic with their prescription drug sales.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Sheppard Mullin Hit With Class Action Over Data Breach

By Jake Maher

A former Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP paralegal launched a proposed class action against the firm in California federal court on Wednesday over a cyberattack it had in August, in which she says at least 1,000 people's names and Social Security numbers were stolen.

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IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

By Elliot Weld

An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

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Analysis

New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

By Phillip Bantz

The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

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Cornell Defendant Seeks To Nix James As Special Prosecutor

By Andrea Keckley

One of the seven men accused of drugging and raping a fellow Cornell University student at a fraternity home has asked a New York state court to void Gov. Kathy Hochul's appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.

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Gov't Attys Could Face Sanctions Over AI Use Omissions

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered four government attorneys to explain why they shouldn't be sanctioned for making factual misrepresentations about the U.S. Army's use of artificial intelligence to evaluate contract proposals.

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Split Congress Could Spur Competing Probes, Cleary Finds

By Courtney Bublé

If the new year brings an era of divided Congress, then "dueling investigations" into the same topics should be expected, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP said in a report it released Thursday.

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Fla. Judge Says Oct. 7 Attack Was 'Inflection Point' For U.S.

By David Minsky

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman addressed a small group of attorneys in a Florida law office to speak on his book about the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, saying public debate over facts surrounding the event and underlying feud has reached an "inflection point" in America.

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Buzbee Faces $970K Fee Bid In Dismissed Conspiracy Cases

By Lynn LaRowe

A Mississippi lawyer is asking a Texas state court to award her more than $970,000 in fees after defeating claims that she and her law firm conspired with rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to retaliate against prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee and two of his former clients.

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Dems Says GOP Broke Senate Rules In Jack Smith Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused Republicans of violating committee rules during a hearing last week with former special counsel Jack Smith.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arnold & Porter

Baker & Hostetler

Baron & Budd

Bracewell LLP

Bradley Arant

Buzbee Law Firm

Chestnut Cambronne

Cleary Gottlieb

Davis Graham

Dilworth Paxson

Feldman Shepherd

Fox Rothschild

Gibson Dunn

Greenberg Traurig

LGR Law

MJ Legal PA

Manatt Phelps

McDermott Will & Schulte

Miller & Chevalier

Morgan Lewis

Nesenoff & Miltenberg

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Hastings

Petsonk PLLC

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Sheppard Mullin

Siri & Glimstad

Skadden Arps

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Stradley Ronon

Strauss Borrelli

Taft Stettinius

Tripp Scott

Walcheske & Luzi

WilmerHale

Zuckerman Spaeder

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Acme Markets Inc.

Air Transport Association of America

Amazon.com Inc.

Anthropic PBC

Arch Resources Inc.

Atlanta Hawks

CVS Health Corp.

Core Natural Resources Inc.

Cornell University

LinkedIn Corp.

ROC Nation LLC

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

Toyota Motor Corp.

United Nations Children's Fund

Yale University

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Colorado Attorney General's Office

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Executive Office of the President

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

National Railroad Passenger Corp.

New York Attorney General's Office

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Texas Supreme Court

Texas Tenth Court of Appeals

U.S. Army

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio