Berkshire Units Face Claims Of Bad Faith Over $36M Verdict

By Danielle Ferguson

A pair of Berkshire Hathaway insurers acted in bad faith by refusing to settle a personal injury suit within $3 million limits before a jury trial ended in a $36 million verdict against a property owner and its grocery store tenant, the owner told a New York federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge OKs Transamerica Policy Cost Hike Deal Worth $73M

By Danielle Ferguson

An Iowa federal judge Tuesday gave final approval to a settlement worth $73 million to resolve a policyholder class action alleging Transamerica Life Insurance Co. improperly increased monthly costs for certain universal life insurance policies.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Insurer Must Cover Part Of Consulting Firm's $7.6M DOJ Deal

By Hope Patti

A CNA insurer was required to defend a consulting firm against a False Claims Act suit claiming it allowed New Yorkers' personal information to be compromised while operating a pandemic-era rental assistance portal, and must cover a portion of the firm's $7.6 million settlement, a Virginia federal court ruled.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Independence Blue Cross Will Pay $22.5M To End FCA Case

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Pennsylvania health insurer Independence Blue Cross has agreed to pay $22.5 million to resolve allegations from the federal government that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting inaccurate and untruthful diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees, the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia said Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NTSB Must Turn Over Cockpit Recording Of Fatal Conn. Crash

By Hope Patti

A Connecticut state court ordered the National Transportation Safety Board to turn over a two-hour-long cockpit voice recording from a Cessna jet that was involved in a crash that killed four people, saying the audio is necessary for the fair assessment of issues central to wrongful death and insurance suits.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Aetna Escapes Zelis Repricing Tool Antitrust Case

By Craig Clough

A Massachusetts federal judge granted Aetna's bid Wednesday to dismiss claims against it in consolidated antitrust litigation accusing insurance companies of using Zelis Healthcare's repricing tools to reduce reimbursements paid to healthcare providers, finding an amended complaint failed to plausibly allege that Aetna used the tools.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Benefits Firm Can't Knock Out Data Breach Suit

By David Aaro

A Georgia federal court on Wednesday narrowed, but refused to dismiss, a proposed class action accusing a human resources services firm of failing to safeguard customer information ahead of a 2024 data breach.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cigna, Fla. Atty Resolve $21M Claim In Ch. 7 Case

By David Minsky

A Florida federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a settlement between a lawyer and Cigna in a Chapter 7 lawsuit, resolving a $21 million claim the health insurer once disputed as nondischargeable for only a fraction of the amount. 

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UCLA Law Is Latest DOJ Target Over Race Bias In Admissions

By Dorothy Atkins

The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division accused the UCLA School of Law of discriminating against white and Asian students in its admissions process in a letter sent to the school's counsel Thursday, following multiple other similar letters that the DOJ sent to other higher-education institutions.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Outlines New Corporate Fraud Enforcement Priorities

By Phillip Bantz

Federal prosecutors "must place great weight" on a new list of factors when considering potential charges in corporate fraud cases, including whether the matters involve government programs, threats to national security or immigration offenses, according to a memo released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Announces Judicial Noms For 5th Circ., NC

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he's nominating Todd Butler, a managing partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP, to serve as a judge on the Fifth Circuit. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blackburn Holds Up White House's Tenn. Judge Pick

By Courtney Bublé

The White House is standing by its nominee for a federal judgeship in the Eastern District of Tennessee amid a holdup from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a White House official confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Richards Layton Atty Confirmed To Join Del. Chancery Bench

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Senate on Thursday confirmed a Richards Layton & Finger PA director to a 12-year term as a vice chancellor on the Chancery Court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FBT Gibbons Beats DQ Bid In Suit Over Cigna Payments

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court judge has rejected a plastic surgery practice's bid to disqualify FBT Gibbons LLP from representing Cigna and a group of employer-sponsored health plans in its suit over the insurer's alleged underpayments, finding the bid appears more as an effort to gain an advantage rather than one to protect the interests of any client.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of September

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at MSG Sports, Nestle and the Associated Press. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from September.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Reinstates Rogoff As Seattle US Atty After Trump Firing

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge issued an order from the bench on Thursday reinstating Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, finding that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he fired him in July.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Says Copyright Chief Can't Stay In Office Amid Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

The Trump administration is urging the D.C. Circuit to let it remove U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision protecting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook for now does not entitle Perlmutter to remain in office while her firing challenge proceeds.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

State enforcers settled their case challenging Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, while the U.S. Department of Justice probes Fox's planned $22 billion deal for Roku and regulators review massive deals in the energy and railroad sectors.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »