3rd Circ. Upends Sandoz's $61.6M Award Against UTC

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday erased Sandoz Inc.'s $61.6 million award in a breach of contract case against United Therapeutics Corp., in a decision that sidesteps the major pharmaceutical company's request to reinstate a $137.2 million damages calculation that had been halved by the trial judge.

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Texas Justices Push Exxon On Explosion Suit Coverage Bid

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Supreme Court pressed Exxon Mobil Corp. to explain why an AIG unit should have to pay $25 million of a $35 million settlement arising from a deadly 2013 explosion at the oil giant's refinery in Beaumont, asking Wednesday if the company had control over the workers who were injured.

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Immunomedics Founder Says Deal Triggered $365M Pay Claim

By Jarek Rutz

The founder of Immunomedics urged Delaware's highest court Wednesday to reinstate his roughly $365 million compensation claim against the biotechnology company, alleging Gilead Sciences Inc. became an "affiliate" when it bought Immunomedics for $21 billion and that his employment agreement therefore reaches Gilead's revenues.

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Scheduling 'Cascade' Hangs Over Amazon's FTC, Calif. Trials

By Bryan Koenig

Amazon.com sparred with the Federal Trade Commission in a Washington federal court filing over whether to stick to a late March trial kickoff, or whether the multiple trials against the company in 2027 must be pushed back because a California state judge has called a January start unrealistic.

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Josh Cellars Co. Says Ex-Prez Has 'Deep' Litigation Funding

By Aaron Keller

Companies behind the Josh Cellars wine brand say they should be allowed to introduce an ex-president's alleged litigation funding deals during an upcoming Connecticut jury trial, arguing they're necessary to defend against his assertions regarding a corporate operating agreement and to refute a possibly misleading portrayal of the parties' resources.

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NC Hospital Accuses Blue Cross Of Refusing Covered Claims

By Hayley Fowler

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is refusing to pay or underpaying for covered services on behalf of its members, a hospital in the Tar Heel State has alleged in a new complaint accusing the insurer of violating the parties' network participation agreement.

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Excess Insurers Tell 4th Circ. Under Armour Owes Interest

By Danielle Ferguson

Five excess insurers told the Fourth Circuit that Under Armour Inc. must pay prejudgment interest on its return of $90 million in advanced coverage for defense costs, arguing a Maryland federal judge erred in determining they weren't owed interest under state law.

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Family Tells 5th Circ. Penske Can't Evade Crash Liability

By Linda Chiem

The family of a man killed in a Texas collision said a Fifth Circuit panel faithfully followed federal law when it revived its lawsuit alleging freight broker and trucking giant Penske is vicariously liable for the 2018 accident, and en banc review before the full court is unwarranted.

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BMW Beats X5 Transmission Defect Suit, For Now

By Gina Kim

BMW has defeated for now a proposed class action alleging it knew about a transmission component defect causing some of its cars to jerk and shudder but refused to cover repair costs, with a New Jersey federal judge saying Wednesday the allegations are insufficient to infer BMW knew about any defect.

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KPSI Held In Contempt For Selling Enjoined Products

By Elliot Weld

A Washington federal judge held KPSI Innovations Inc. and three executives in contempt after a rival litigant complained that they'd continued to sell fire-resistant construction assembly products after being enjoined from doing so.

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Brief

Copyright Office Probes AI's Role In Streaming Fraud

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Copyright Office is examining whether music-streaming fraud and artificial intelligence-generated music are affecting royalty payments and licensing systems as part of a broader inquiry requested by Congress.

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Televangelist, Network Owner Face Off In Race Bias Trial

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal jury was told on Wednesday that deciding a Black televangelist's race discrimination claim against the white owner of a religious network will require deciding if the owner's sharing of a meme was racist or simply a joke between old friends that was misunderstood.

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Holtec CEO Says Atty Is Confusing Jury Over Confidential Doc

By George Woolston

Holtec International CEO Krishna Singh accused counsel for the company's former chief financial officer of attempting to confuse jurors in New Jersey state court when he asked whether Singh was aware the ex-CFO had said information in a draft document meant for a prospective investor was false.

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FIFA Seeks Dismissal Over Unpaid AI Citation Sanctions

By Andrea Keckley

FIFA has told a Puerto Rico federal judge that a law firm has "not paid a single dollar" of a sanction levied over a year ago for error-riddled, allegedly artificial intelligence-generated court filings in an antitrust suit filed by a shuttered soccer league.

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Brief

9th Circ. OKs 90-Day Stay For Maker Of Eye Drops

By Nadia Dreid

The Ninth Circuit isn't going to rehear its decision preserving a win in a case accusing the maker of Clear Eyes drops of illegal price discrimination in favor of Costco, but it will hold off on issuing the mandate while the eye drop maker appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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LIV Agrees To Review Player Contracts As Garcia, Rahm Exit

By Vince Sullivan

Bankrupt professional golf league LIV Golf said it would allow tour member Sergio Garcia to terminate his player participation contract with the debtor Wednesday rather than have it subject to rejection, telling a New Jersey court that it would review the deals of other golfers seeking the same relief.

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Colo. Panel Mulls Telecom Co.'s Challenge To $24M Judgment

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado wireless internet company urged a Colorado appellate court Wednesday to overturn a $24 million judgment against it that the company says came without due process, fielding the panel's questions on the appropriate standard to use in evaluating the company's appraisal dispute with its shareholders.

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Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

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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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