The Seventh Circuit reversed an Indiana federal court's decision holding that certain union retirees of aluminum giant Alcoa and their beneficiaries had a vested right to health benefits for life, finding error with the lower court's judicial estoppel analysis that formed the basis for its judgment on liability.
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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7th Circ. Reverses Alcoa Union Retirees' Lifetime Benefits Win

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit reversed an Indiana federal court's decision holding that certain union retirees of aluminum giant Alcoa and their beneficiaries had a vested right to health benefits for life, finding error with the lower court's judicial estoppel analysis that formed the basis for its judgment on liability.

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Suspended Pa. Atty Gets More Scrutiny In Investment Scheme

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania attorney whose law license was recently suspended skipped a separate disciplinary hearing Monday over claims that he used his bank accounts to pool investors' funds and looked the other way as the money was allegedly being misappropriated.

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Ch. 11 Dismissal Bid Fans Flames In Power Plant Control Fight

By Clara Geoghegan

Omnis Pleasants' parent company formally moved for dismissal of the West Virginia coal plant's Chapter 11 proceeding in Delaware, alleging the case was launched to gain an advantage in pending governance litigation with lenders tied to motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

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OIL AND GAS

Energy Biz Nostrum To Sell Kazakhstan Operations For $305M

By Tom Fish

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC said Monday that a subsidiary has agreed to sell its operations in Kazakhstan for $304.6 million to investment vehicle Alturion Holding Ltd. as the company seeks to repay its debt.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

3 Firms Steer Madison Air On $5.4B Airflow Tech Biz Deal

By Al Barbarino

Madison Air Solutions Corp. said on Monday it has agreed to acquire German airflow technology maker ebm-papst at an enterprise value of $5.4 billion, with three law firms steering Madison on the planned expansion of its presence in the European ventilation market.

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ComEd Sues Chicago Hospital Over Unpaid $6.2M Electric Bill

By Joyce Hanson

Commonwealth Edison Co. has sued a Chicago hospital in Illinois state court, claiming the medical center located on the city's northwest side is in breach of contract for failure to pay its electric bills totaling more than $6.2 million.

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MINING

Trump Monument Cuts Spur Disputed Utah Mining Claims

By Crystal Owens

Tribal nations and environmental groups are urging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to reject mining claims on two Utah national monuments, arguing that operations can't begin until 60 days after the president removed federal protections for more than 90% of the monuments' lands.

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PEOPLE

Willkie Adds Jackson Walker Energy Pro In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced Monday that it has deepened its energy and infrastructure bench in Texas with a partner who joined from Jackson Walker LLP.

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O'Melveny Hires Career Pillsbury Environmental Atty In DC

By Jack Rodgers

O'Melveny & Myers LLP has hired an environmental lawyer from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, who spent the entirety of his over 20-year legal career at his previous firm representing clients in related corporate transactions, compliance audits and more, the firm announced Monday.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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White House Aims To Shield Advisers Behind Law Firm EOs

By Emily Sawicki

The Trump administration and Justice Department "strongly object" to an Aug. 3 discovery order requiring them to name individuals involved in drafting and approving executive orders targeting law firms, amid their repeated refusal to hand over certain communications in a suit brought by the American Bar Association.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Says Trump's University Probes Were Political

By Hailey Konnath

Trump administration officials forged ahead with investigations into Harvard, Columbia and other universities despite its own lawyers raising legal concerns and, in some cases, finding "little to no factual predicate justifying opening them," according to a whistleblower disclosure from a former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer made public Tuesday.

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Troutman Sidelined Associate After Heart Attack, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

Troutman Pepper Locke LLP derailed an associate's career because he took medical leave to recover from a heart attack and spoke up about senior attorneys' fraudulent billing practices, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Jersey federal court.

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Trump Names 9 Judicial Picks Across 6 States

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced nine nominees Tuesday for judicial spots in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alaska. 

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Bot Errors Doom Expert's Credibility In Tainted-Supplement Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge Tuesday disposed of a U.S. Army nurse's lawsuit claiming supplement maker Thesis Nootropics sold products tainted with amphetamines, concluding that a key expert destroyed his credibility by submitting a report containing bot-generated false citations — much like errors for which the plaintiffs' counsel was recently sanctioned.

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Big Tech, PTAB Attys Urge Justices To Fix USPTO Power Grab

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit's refusal to curb the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's power over instituting Patent Trial and Appeal Board challenges has allowed leaders to "wreak havoc" without accountability, top tech companies have warned the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Quill & Arrow Says Ford Can't Rehash Lemon Law Fee Fights

By Linda Chiem

Quill & Arrow LLP has asked a California federal judge to dump a "retaliatory" lawsuit alleging the personal injury firm saddled Ford Motor Co. with high-priced legal bills for work purportedly handled by virtual assistants overseas or nonlawyers, saying the automaker is trying to chill product liability litigation.

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​​​​​​​Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving multibillion-dollar mergers, corporate oversight, founder control, SPAC litigation, commercial contracts and attorney fees.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Acushnet Holdings Corp.

Alcoa Corp.

Alliance for Automotive Innovation

American Bar Association

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

Amicus

Apple Inc.

Archer Aviation Inc.

BDO LLP

BDO USA LLP

Cisco Systems Inc.

Clearing House Payments Co. LLC

Cloudflare Inc.

Commonwealth Edison Co.

Computer & Communications Industry Association

Earthjustice

EchoStar Corp.

Exelon Corp.

Ford Motor Co.

Google LLC

Government Accountability Project

H.I.G. Capital LLC

Harvard University

Intel Corp.

Kentucky Downs LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

Microsoft Corp.

NHK Spring

National Parks Conservation Association

National Retail Federation Inc.

New York Post

Outliers Inc.

Presence

SAP AG

SAS Institute Inc.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

ServiceTitan Inc.

Sierra Club

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

Tesla Inc.

The Boeing Co.

The District of Columbia Bar

The Software & Information Industry Association

Trex Co. Inc.

UniCredit

United Steelworkers

Verisk Analytics Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arete Law Group

Ashurst Perkins

Cleary Gottlieb

DLA Piper

Feinstein Doyle

HSF Kramer

Haynes Boone

Hengeler Mueller

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Day

Kasowitz LLP

Kilpatrick Townsend

Kirkland & Ellis

Knight Law Group

Littler Mendelson

Lowenstein Sandler

Manning Gross

Milbank LLP

MoloLamken

Murphy Ball Stratton

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Hastings

Pillsbury Winthrop

Quill & Arrow

Sterlington PLLC

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Wigdor LLP

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Young Conaway

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Land Management

California Supreme Court

City and County of San Francisco, California

Cook County Circuit Court

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

National Labor Relations Board

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

U.S. Army

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of the Interior

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 Alaska

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

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

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

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

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma