Toy Co. Not Covered In Unpaid Judgment Fight, 8th Circ. Says

By Hope Patti

An insurer needn't defend a toy company accused by a competitor of using legal proceedings to evade payment of an $8.5 million default judgment for false advertising, the Eighth Circuit has ruled, holding that the policy's malicious prosecution coverage doesn't extend to abuse of process claims.

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Norfolk Southern Secures Insurer Defense Over Worker Death

By Gianna Ferrarin

Nautilus Insurance Co. must defend Norfolk Southern Railway Co. in a state tort action over the death of a salvage worker, a New York federal judge ruled, finding the railroad giant presented sufficient evidence that the worker may have caused his own injury.

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UnitedHealth Customers Denied Class Cert. In PrEP Suit

By Emily Brill

Two UnitedHealthcare customers can't turn their Affordable Care Act lawsuit against a company subsidiary into a class action, a Minnesota federal judge ruled Wednesday, denying the pair's bid to represent thousands of customers in litigation accusing the subsidiary of failing to approve full coverage for PrEP.

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Analysis

Texas Biz Court's Likely Role In Patent Fights Becoming Clear

By Dani Kass

The Texas Business Court has released its first opinion exploring when intellectual property can be used to create jurisdiction, and attorneys say the decision involving state trade secret law offers insight into when patent matters can be pursued there.

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8th Circ. Seems Skeptical About Nix Of Wells Fargo 401(k) Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Eighth Circuit appeared skeptical Wednesday of the reasoning behind a lower court's decision to toss a proposed class action alleging Wells Fargo's 401(k) forfeiture spending violated federal benefits law, but still expressed doubts about the case's viability.

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CNA Unit Seeks To Enter Wrongful Death Coverage Dispute

By Hope Patti

A CNA unit asked a Texas federal court to let it into a Liberty Mutual insurer's suit seeking to avoid coverage for a healthcare company facing eight wrongful death actions, saying its rights and obligations under an umbrella policy will be affected by the dispute's outcome.

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SelectQuote Looks To Escape Investors' Kickback Probe Suit

By Sydney Price

SelectQuote has asked a New York federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of harming investors by concealing a kickback scheme, which is currently the subject of a suit by the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing the existence of the government's suit is not enough to show the shareholders were damaged.

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Kenyan Firm's Boeing Crash Fee Dispute Largely Proceeds

By Jonathan Capriel

An Illinois law firm couldn't escape claims that it owes a Kenyan law firm upward of $1.5 million as part of a fee-sharing agreement stemming from a settlement with Boeing over the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash, with an Illinois federal judge refusing to call the oral agreement unenforceable.

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Brief

DOL Tweaks ERISA Regs After Fiduciary Rule Lawsuits End

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm on Wednesday published technical amendments to its fiduciary investment advice regulations, to better reflect current policy following the conclusion of two lawsuits challenging a 2024 rule that would have expanded the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under federal benefits law.

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Pillsbury Brings On Latham Insurance Recovery Pro In LA

By James Mills

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is growing its insurance recovery team with a Latham & Watkins LLP attorney brought on as a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office, the city announced Wednesday.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: The Human Element

Law school teaches you to quickly apply intellect and logic when handling a legal issue, but every fact pattern also involves a person, making the ability to balance expertise with empathy critical to the growth of relationships with clients, colleagues and adversaries, says Rachel Adcox at Adcox Strategies.

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Conn. Justices Won't Hear Ex-Alex Jones Atty's Ethics Case

By Andrea Keckley

The Connecticut Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the two-week suspension of Alex Jones' former lawyer, leaving intact an intermediate Appellate Court decision affirming the pared-down punishment surrounding his law firm's handling of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims' personal information.

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Calif. Bills Would Reform Litigation Funding, Client Recruiting

By Emily Sawicki

Two new bills introduced to the California Assembly this week seek to impose reforms on the state's legal industry, including adding mandatory disbarment for attorneys convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — and blocking corporate litigation funders from influencing cases.

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Senator Unveils Draft AI Bill Intended To Wipe Out State Regs

By Hailey Konnath

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday released a draft of proposed legislation that would override a "patchwork" of state artificial intelligence regulations, touting the proposal as protecting "children, creators, conservatives and communities" and slamming the state regulations as hindering "AI innovation."

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Biotech Investor Blames Pierce Atwood For Messy Asset Sale

By Julie Manganis

A Ukrainian billionaire who was recently ordered to pay other investors in a failed genetic testing company more than $1.8 million in damages is blaming the Pierce Atwood LLP lawyers who advised him on what a court later found to be a "fundamentally unfair" forced asset sale.

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Powell Says He Won't Make Fed Exit While Facing DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he will stay on as a board member of the central bank if he remains under U.S. Department of Justice investigation when his term as Fed chairman runs out this spring.

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