Q&A

PBGC Keen On Dishing Out Opinion Letters, Director Says

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has revamped its website to encourage attorneys to seek opinion letters about how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act applies to specific scenarios. PBGC Director Janet Dhillon spoke to Law360 about that effort, the PBGC's latest financial report to Congress and her goals for the agency.

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6th Circ. Revives FedEx, Kellogg Mortality Table Suits

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Sixth Circuit on Monday revived suits against Kellogg and FedEx from retirees who alleged their former employers' outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged their joint-and-survivor pension benefits, holding federal benefits law required employers to use reasonably up-to-date mortality tables when converting from a single-life annuity form.

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4th Circ.'s Genworth Ruling Upends 401(k) Class Cert. In Va.

By Patrick Hoff

A Virginia federal judge reversed class certification in a lawsuit claiming an electric utility trade group let its 401(k) plan be charged inflated administrative fees, pointing to the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in a separate case that unwound class status based on the varied performance of individual accounts.

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HHS' Childhood Vaccine Policy Changes Put On Ice

By Chris Villani

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration's modified childhood vaccine schedule and put all decisions made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s federal vaccine policy committee on hold, finding they veered sharply from normal procedure and likely violated the law.

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1st Circ. Affirms Block Of Trump's 'Unprecedented' Aid Freeze

By Hailey Konnath

The First Circuit on Monday mostly upheld a lower court's order blocking the Trump administration from enacting a "sweeping and unprecedented categorical 'freeze' of federal financial assistance," ruling that the states involved in the suit will likely successfully show that the federal government acted arbitrarily and capriciously.

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Trump Taps Vance For Fraud Task Force, Bashing Blue States

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order creating a task force chaired by Vice President JD Vance that aims to curb "fraud, waste and abuse" in federal housing, food and other benefit programs, with the president alleging "staggering fraud and waste" in Minnesota and other Democratic-led states.

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Mich. Jury Awards $10M To Med Resident Fired During Leave

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan state jury has awarded more than $10 million to a former medical student who said she was fired from a hospital's OB-GYN residency program after being forced to take a required licensing exam while on maternity leave.

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Boeing Investors Secure Class Cert. In 737 Max Fraud Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

An Illinois federal judge on Monday granted class certification to investors who allege Boeing harmed them by misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, finding that the investors established a common method for measuring damages that could apply class-wide.

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Brokerage Lacks NY Ties In Pensions' Tax Claims, Judge Says

By Molly Moses

A New York federal court threw out claims by three pension plans against a London brokerage firm that, according to the plans, executed fraudulent refund claims for them to the Danish tax authority, finding the brokerage had insufficient ties to New York.

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Colorado Pushes For Early Win In Fight Over Sick Leave Law

By Irene Spezzamonte

An airline trade group advanced only speculative arguments in its efforts to beat Colorado's bid for a pretrial win in the group's suit challenging Colorado's sick leave law, the state told a federal judge.

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Alight, Former Execs Accused Of Misleading Growth Claims

By Sydney Price

Employee benefits solutions company Alight Inc. and its former executives were hit with a proposed class action Monday accusing them of making misleading claims about the company's ability to meet its financial forecast and issue a dividend.

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Teamsters Push For Arbitration In Kraft Heinz Benefits Suit

By Katherine Smith

A Teamsters local contended that a dispute with Kraft Heinz Co. over a healthcare benefits grievance must be arbitrated because it falls within the scope of the parties' collective bargaining agreement, the union told a Delaware federal judge.

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Lannett Investors Seek Final OK Of $5.8M Price-Fix Probe Suit

By Sydney Price

Former executives of pharmaceutical company Lannett Inc. and a class of investors have asked a Pennsylvania federal court to grant final approval to their $5.8 million deal to end claims the company and its leadership misled about Lannett's links to allegations of industrywide price-fixing in the market for generic drugs.

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Stellantis Escapes Vehicle Inventory 'Channel Stuffing' Suit

By Katryna Perera

Automaker Stellantis and former executives beat a proposed securities class action accusing them of so-called channel-stuffing, after a New York federal judge found none of the suit's alleged misstatements were material, and the investors failed to plead the executives had a motive to defraud or knowingly committed the alleged wrongdoings.

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The Benefits Of Choosing A Niche Practice In The AI Age

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly accessible, lawyers with a niche practice may stand out as clients seek specialized judgment that automation cannot replicate, but it is important to choose a niche that is durable, engaging and a good personal fit, says Daniel Borneman at Lowenstein Sandler.

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Chief Justice Says Personal Attacks On Judges 'Got To Stop'

By Katie Buehler

Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday condemned the personal attacks on federal judges that have become increasingly common during President Donald Trump's second term in office — and that are often launched by the president himself — and defended the daily work of the judiciary. 

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Deals In Jackson Walker-Judge Affair A 'Dilemma,' Judge Says

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge ordered three of Jackson Walker LLP's former bankruptcy clients Tuesday to explain by next month what would happen to money from potential vacaturs or sanctions against the law firm if the estates close after their contested deals get approved.

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NJ Judge Boots Prosecutor, Orders US Atty Trio's Testimony

By Jack Karp

A New Jersey federal judge on Monday questioned whether Alina Habba is still running the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office during a heated hearing where the jurist tossed a supervisory prosecutor from his courtroom and ordered testimony from the trio of attorneys who assumed Habba's responsibilities.

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Reed Smith Launches In Boston With 12 Attys From 7 Firms

By Tracey Read

Reed Smith LLP has launched its first office in Boston with 12 lawyers from White & Case, Goodwin Procter, McDermott Will & Schulte, Morrison Foerster, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal & Manges and K&L Gates, the firm announced Tuesday.

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'No Disrespect' But Law Prof Mom Not SBF's Atty, Judge Says

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge in Manhattan cautioned retired Stanford Law School professor Barbara Fried, the mother of convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, that she cannot make filings on behalf of her son in his bid for a new trial, saying she has not filed an appearance with the court.

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Indiana Firm Drops Quintairos Prieto 'Mass Exodus' Suit

By Adrian Cruz

Less than a month after suing Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer PA for allegedly causing a "mass exodus" of attorneys, Indiana-based Kopka Pinkus Dolin PC has chosen to dismiss the matter, according to a recent court filing.

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Comer Subpoenas AG Bondi Over Epstein Investigation

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, issued a subpoena on Tuesday for Attorney General Pam Bondi over the committee's investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Senate OKs Conservative Think Tank GC As Louisiana Judge

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 51-45 on Tuesday to confirm Anna St. John, president and general counsel of the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

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IP Atty Appeals Order Requiring OK To File EDTX Patent Suits

By Lauren Berg

Intellectual property attorney William Ramey is asking the Federal Circuit to overturn a Texas district judge's sanctions order requiring him to seek the court's permission before filing patent suits in the future, saying the judge relied on the wrong evidence in finding the attorney failed to conduct presuit investigations.

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Lawmakers Want More Oversight For Antitrust Settlements

By Matthew Perlman

Democratic lawmakers proposed legislation Tuesday that would give courts more power to review settlements reached in government antitrust cases, after the U.S. Department of Justice recently cut a pair of controversial deals, including with Live Nation last week.

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NJ Justices Create Attorney Readmission Board

By Jake Maher

New Jersey's highest court announced Tuesday it formally established a new body charged with overseeing readmissions of disbarred lawyers through changes to the state's standards for attorney conduct.

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Pot Co. Escapes Potency Suit, Judge Warns Plaintiff Firm

By Jonathan Capriel

MariMed and other cannabis companies beat claims they intentionally mislabeled their products to sidestep Illinois THC potency limits, with a federal judge highlighting the string of consumer-led suit losses and warning counsel to "heed the strong and universal concerns about the plausibility of their legal theories."

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Analysis

Prediction Markets Have Opened Compliance 'Pandora's Box'

By Phillip Bantz

The burgeoning prediction market has exploded the definition of what qualifies as confidential corporate information that employees could misuse for personal gain, leaving companies scrambling to update internal policies and guidelines, compliance experts say.

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