Symetra Inks $44.4M Deal With AME Church Employees

By Kellie Mejdrich

Symetra Life Insurance Co. will pay $44.4 million to end multidistrict litigation from a class of African Methodist Episcopal Church workers who alleged that mismanagement of their annuity retirement plan allowed a rogue employee to embezzle $90 million, according to filings in Tennessee federal court.

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Ill. Judge Wants More Proof To Recalculate Kickback Damages

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge tasked with recalculating damages from a home health company's referral kickback scheme said Monday that she needs more complete and reliable evidence to help determine the appropriate amount, but allowed the government to continue offsetting Medicare payments as part of its judgment collection bid.

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Oracle Wins TRO Against Ex-Worker Threatening Secrets Sale

By Lauren Berg

A North Carolina federal judge Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring a recently laid-off Oracle sales employee from disclosing trade secrets that the software firm alleges he has threatened to sell to the "highest bidder" unless he receives an "unreasonable" fee.

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Lin Wood's Days-Late Bond Appeal Denied In Ex-Partners' Suit

By Madison Arnold

Former attorney L. Lin Wood cannot challenge a lower court ruling ordering him to post a supersedeas bond and pledge property to secure a judgment issued to his former partners, because he filed his notice of appeal a few days late, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

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Vicente Breached Duty In Pot Shop Deal, Mass. Panel Told

By Julie Manganis

The owner of a central Massachusetts cannabis dispensary asked the state's intermediate appellate court on Monday to revive claims against Vicente Sederberg LLP based on an alleged breach of a fiduciary duty that the law firm, now known as Vicente LLP, says never existed.

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Exxon Says Terminal Operator Owes $1.1M In Delay Fees

By Mike Curley

An Exxon unit is suing a Houston Ship Channel terminal operator in Texas federal court, saying that for the last several years, the operator has failed to pay demurrage fees totaling $1.09 million.

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Bio Energy Sues Cos. Over Failed Ohio Renewable Gas Plants

By Gina Kim

Bio Energy has sued SCS Energy and a subcontractor in Ohio federal court in connection with projects replacing two landfill gas processing plants with pipeline-quality renewable natural gas in Youngstown and Lorain that it alleged remain defective due to the "consistent downplay of their botched design and inability to remedy their deficiencies." 

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University Stiffed Energy Firm On Audit Work, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

An energy firm says the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs refused to pay for years of completed audit work, raising objections only after the final report was delivered and invoices came due, according to a suit filed in Colorado state court.

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Water Damage Fight Belongs In Kansas, Travelers Says

By Hope Patti

A coverage dispute over water damage that a Kansas-based senior living community sustained when a sprinkler burst is in the wrong state, a Travelers unit told a Colorado federal court, seeking to toss the Colorado statutory and common-law bad faith claims and transfer the dispute to Kansas.

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Jack In The Box Wants 38 Washington Stores Kept Open

By Ben Adlin

Jack in the Box Inc. urged a Washington state judge to temporarily bar two franchisees from closing dozens of locations across the state, claiming that they owe nearly $1.4 million in unpaid marketing fees and that unilaterally shuttering the stores would violate their franchise agreements.

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Fed. Circ. Looks Askance At Sanctions In E-Banking IP Case

By Theresa Schliep

A Federal Circuit panel on Monday appeared bothered by a lower court's nearly $85,000 sanctions order against a company and its counsel in its infringement lawsuit over an online banking patent, with one judge saying the record does not seem to support such action.

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United Rentals Wants Ex-Worker Sanctioned Over Erased Files

By Aaron Keller

United Rentals Inc. wants a former North Carolina sales representative punished for allegedly deleting computer files the same day he received a lawsuit accusing him of taking trade secrets to a new employer, arguing a judge or jury should assume the worst about the alleged file transfer and purported cover-up.

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Green Roofing Co. Says Ex-Employee Stole Clients, Trade Secrets

By Elliot Weld

A green wall and roofing company has accused a former employee of siphoning trade secrets and clients through misrepresentations and using them to start a competing company before making efforts to cover her tracks.

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AI Cardiac Imaging Co. Hits Ex-Consultant With IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Artificial intelligence-powered cardiac imaging company Heartflow Inc. filed patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation claims on Monday against a competitor founded by a former consultant who, the company says, lifted technological trade secrets while he was under contract.

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NRA Fights To Keep Suit Against Foundation Alive

By Adam Lidgett

The National Rifle Association has urged a Washington, D.C., federal judge to preserve its trademark and breach of contract suit against its charitable arm, saying the NRA has the right to bar the charitable organization from using its intellectual property.

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Ex-Twitter Executive Ends $20M Suit Against X Corp., Musk

By Kellie Mejdrich

Twitter's former chief marketing officer has agreed to drop her $20 million severance suit, which defendants X Corp. and Elon Musk had appealed to the Ninth Circuit seeking to force arbitration, after parties reported a settlement of their dispute late last month.

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Brief

Ex-Med Spa Workers Settle Conn. Poaching Claims

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut medical spa has settled a state court lawsuit accusing two former employees of luring clients and a colleague to a similar facility less than six miles away, court records show.

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Roundup

NC High Court Snapshot: State Retirees Fight To Retain Class

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Supreme Court in April will tackle a long-simmering fight over the state's obligations to provide health insurance to retired public employees, who are battling to keep their class status.

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Texas Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal In $250M Fraud Case

By Spencer Brewer

A split Texas appeals court panel found that a company cannot bring claims against Morgan Stanley after an executive at the bank ran an alleged kickback scheme involving $250 million in mineral interests, saying the executive was working by himself when the alleged fraud occurred.

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Robbins Geller To Lead Investor Suit Despite Filing Glitch

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge has appointed Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP as lead counsel in a proposed class action against BellRing Brands, the owner of Premier Protein and other supplement brands, after finding a lead counsel bid that was filed six minutes past the deadline due to a technical glitch was excusable.

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Tech Co. Can't Duck Ponzi Scheme Claims Over Data Boxes

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to dismiss civil Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization claims against a tech company and others filed by a business alleging it was duped into buying billboard-adjacent data collection boxes on the false premise that the information would be sold to Intel.

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Crypto Suit Fails Without Proof Of Partnership, 2nd Circ. Says

By Emilie Ruscoe

An Oregon man has not shown that he is entitled to a share of profits from a purported joint venture in cryptocurrency investment involving a once close friend, the Second Circuit said Monday, affirming a Manhattan federal judge's dismissal of the claims.

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Fla. Court Delays Cosmetic Co. Ch. 11 Plan Over Claim Protest

By David Minsky

A Florida bankruptcy judge delayed confirming a cosmetic company's reorganization plan Monday after a creditor protested that its claim was inequitably subordinated in favor of a lender, which agreed to convert its loans to equity in a deal worth roughly $80 million.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

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Coors Says Botched Sulfuric Acid Delivery Led To $2M Damage

By Lauren Berg

Molson Coors says its Colorado chemical contractor accepted and delivered a shipment of sulfuric acid that was nearly double what the beverage giant had ordered, causing a tank overflow that forced a full plant evacuation and caused $2 million in damages, according to a new lawsuit filed in Colorado state court.

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Lawyer Says Feds Cost Him At Least $9M In Calif. Tribal Fees

By Crystal Owens

An attorney who previously represented a faction of the California Valley Miwok Tribe says the federal government caused him to lose more than $9 million by approving the tribe's constitution, which contains a provision retroactively nullifying any previous agreements for the funds.

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Dish Dodged Rent On 62 Tower Sites For Months, Lessor Says

By MJ Koo

Dish Wireless walked away from its rent obligations on dozens of wireless tower sites as its parent company winds down part of its network business, according to a suit filed in Colorado federal court.

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Security Firm Sues Cannabis Businesses For $231K

By Jonathan Capriel

A Los Angeles-based private security firm is suing several cannabis companies and two of their managers for $230,000, claiming they failed to pay for services provided at a number of locations.

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Opinion

State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

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Defense Contractor Tips For Commercial Solutions Openings

Defense contractors interested in participating in the Army’s recently announced commercial solutions opening should familiarize themselves with the process, which promotes flexibility but requires prudence in preparing proposals, negotiating award terms, and crafting supporting documents such as teaming agreements and subcontracts, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

By Pete Brush

A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

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Q&A

Former Pardon Atty Says Trump's Clemency Grants Hurt DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer spoke recently with Law360 about how the pardon process has changed, the impact the shift might have on the DOJ and how the system could be reformed.

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DOJ Urges DC Circ. To Revive Trump EOs Targeting Firms

By Alison Knezevich

The D.C. Circuit should individually review each section of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting four law firms, allowing certain portions to stand if others are blocked, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a new filing urging the court to revive the measures.

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Analysis

The Justices Had Their Say On Immunity. Is A DC Jury Next?

By Chris Villani

The limits of presidential immunity are once again set to be tested after a D.C. federal judge ruled President Donald Trump must face civil claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, clearing the way for trial and potentially another high-stakes appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meta Pulls Some Attys' Social Media Addiction Ads

By Rachel Rippetoe

After losing a bellwether trial last month in one of a slew of cases from plaintiffs who claim to have been harmed by social media, Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients with similar claims.

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Brief

EEOC To Produce Law Firm DEI Letter Records By May 15

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Monday that it would give two law professors documents related to 20 letters the agency sent to law firms over their purported diversity, equity and inclusion practices by May 15.

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Morgan & Morgan Sued Over Firing Amid Nevada Expansion

By Emily Sawicki

Personal injury titan Morgan & Morgan is facing allegations from a former firm attorney in California state court alleging the Golden State lawyer was pressured to file suits in neighboring Nevada despite having an inactive law license and no experience practicing there, and was then harassed and wrongfully fired over the filings.

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Atty Says Ogletree Can't Litigate Against Her In 2 Similar Cases

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney said Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC should be disqualified from serving as defense counsel in a discrimination suit she's working on while simultaneously litigating against her on behalf of her ex-employer in a similar matter.

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NJ Man Who Sought To DQ US Atty Leadership To Plead Guilty

By Gina Kim

A criminal defendant who joined a pending bid to disqualify assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and escalated a constitutional challenge to its leadership structure told a federal judge Saturday he plans to plead guilty in his drug case. 

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