Feds Push 3rd Circ. To Restore ACA Birth Control Exemptions

By Matthew Santoni

Lawyers for the Trump administration and a Catholic religious order Tuesday asked the Third Circuit to restore broad exemptions to the Affordable Care Act's birth control coverage mandate, arguing federal agencies had discretion to pass rules that effectively enabled employers to "opt in" to the mandate rather than opt out.

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DC Circ. Nixes Part Of IAM Fund's $13M Liability Win

By Kellie Mejdrich

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday partially unraveled an early win for a multiemployer pension fund in a dispute over $13 million in withdrawal liability against several Illinois truck dealership companies, holding the lower court needed to recalculate some of the interest and damages assessed.

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NJ Union Loses Appeal In Insurance Opt-Out Arbitration Row

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey appellate panel Tuesday affirmed a state labor agency's decision blocking arbitration over Essex County's refusal to pay health insurance opt-out reimbursements to correction officers who receive state health benefits through their spouses, finding state law preempted the union's grievance.

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Ex-Sadot Group Exec Says Company Withholding Severance

By George Woolston

The former chief marketing officer for agricultural commodities trader Sadot Group Inc. has alleged in New Jersey federal court that the company is refusing to pay her almost $150,000 allegedly owed in severance and other compensation.

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DOJ Backs Private Claims Against NewYork-Presbyterian

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice has thrown its support behind claims from union benefit funds in New York federal court that mirror the government's own case accusing NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital of blocking cheaper insurance plans.

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NY Hospital Reaches Deal To End Tobacco Surcharge Suit

By Patrick Hoff

An upstate New York hospital has agreed to settle an employee's proposed class action alleging it unlawfully charged workers who used tobacco hundreds of dollars more per year for health benefits, according to a federal court filing.

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NJ Panel Backs Atty's Trimmed Government Pension Credits

By Grace Elletson

A New Jersey state appeals court said the state's public employee pension system was right to shave eight years of service off a government prosecutor's retirement credits, finding he couldn't skirt a change in law that blocked contractors of professional services from collecting benefits.

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Ohio Fuels Litigation Funding Debate As Foreign Ban Is Enacted

By Ryan Boysen

Ohio has enacted a sweeping law that bans all foreign litigation funders from doing business in the Buckeye State, drawing praise from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and outrage from the litigation finance industry.

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ABA Seeks Trump Docs In Suit Alleging Law Firm Intimidation

By Emily Sawicki

The Trump administration cannot rely on the presidential communications privilege to block disclosure of communications related to allegations that the president sought to intimidate BigLaw firms into conforming with his policy initiatives, the American Bar Association told a D.C. federal judge.

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Trump's SDNY Pick Steps In As Clayton Focuses On DC

By Pete Brush

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's pick to succeed him, James McDonald, will assume a leadership role as Clayton works on his own nomination for director of national intelligence in Washington.

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Judge Says Warning 'Sufficient Deterrent,' Nixing AI Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Kentucky federal judge has declined to sanction two attorneys who filed a brief that included errors generated by artificial intelligence amid a fraud case against a notary public, finding the lawyers had no history of misconduct and had shown sufficient remorse.

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Wis. Judge Avoids Prison Time In ICE Obstruction Sentence

By Nate Beck

A former Wisconsin state judge on Wednesday was fined $5,000 but will not serve prison time for obstructing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of a defendant in her courtroom by directing him down a private hallway away from agents before he was later captured.

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Del. Judge Recuses Herself From Apollo $570M Payout Suit

By Katryna Perera

The Delaware vice chancellor presiding over litigation regarding a $570 million payout to Apollo Global Management Inc. insiders has disqualified herself from the case after a possible conflict of interest arose due to her former role as an attorney with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which was involved in a merger with ties to the payout.

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Ga. Judge Rejects UPS Plaintiff's Bid To Force Recusal

By Madison Arnold

A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event has opted not to recuse herself in the case of a former UPS employee in his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit.

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McCarter Trial Judge Has 'Serious Doubts' About NY Expert

By Brian Steele

The Hartford judge presiding over a $22.5 million lawsuit against McCarter & English LLP and a former partner said Wednesday he had "serious doubts" about allowing testimony from a defense expert, but let him proceed as long as he did not claim to interpret New York law.

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Morgan & Morgan Malpractice Fight Won't Get Another Review

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals has rejected Morgan & Morgan PA's bid to challenge a trial court ruling denying the firm's summary judgment motion in a legal malpractice case brought against it by clients seeking representation in a personal injury action.

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Day Pitney Can't Be Cut Off From New Counsel, Client Says

By Aaron Keller

A former Connecticut chief justice's ethics gaffe cannot preclude fellow lawyers at Day Pitney LLP from communicating with new counsel for John B. Clinton, a private equity management firm owner locked in a 13-year-old, $1.3 million corporate windup lawsuit, Clinton has urged a Connecticut state court judge to conclude.

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