Co. Turned Away Simpson Thacher's Deal Meeting, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising round alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. testified in a Florida state malpractice trial Wednesday that the insurance services company waved off his attempt to present details to the board.

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Insurer Sanctioned For Destroying Opioid Coverage Evidence

By Hope Patti

An Illinois federal court Wednesday sanctioned an insurer in a drug wholesaler's suit seeking coverage for underlying opioid litigation, finding that the carrier intentionally destroyed key emails and underwriting records in order to deprive the wholesaler of that information.

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Two Chubb, Lowe's Experts Barred In $90M Settlement Fight

By Gianna Ferrarin

A North Carolina federal judge barred respective appellate experts for a Chubb unit and Lowe's from testifying at an upcoming trial over coverage for an underlying $90 million wrongful death settlement, finding their opinions are irrelevant to the issues that will be before the jury.

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10th Circ. Says Insurer Owed No Duty To Explain Policy

By Craig Clough

The Tenth Circuit has affirmed an insurance company cannot be sued for bad faith over a woman's fatal liposuction surgery that resulted in a $60 million judgment, holding that under Utah law, an insurer is not obligated to explain a policy absent an ambiguity or evidence of fraud.

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DOL Proposes E-Delivery Rule For Employer Health Plans

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would provide more opportunities for electronic delivery of employer-provided health plans' mandatory disclosures.

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DOL Takes Swipe At Derisking Cases In Bristol-Myers Brief

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Second Circuit to shut down a suit claiming drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb violated federal benefits law by offloading $2.6 billion in pension liabilities to a risky annuity provider, saying benefit plans stand to suffer if courts greenlight flimsy claims of injury.

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Software Co. Freed From Insurer's $2.5M Indemnity Dispute

By Hope Patti

A maker of vehicle valuation software needn't cover the $2.5 million that an insurer paid in connection with a class action alleging that its former affiliate underpaid claims for totaled vehicles, a New York federal court ruled, finding that the insurer has no enforceable subrogation rights.

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Cessna Maker Wants Cockpit Recording For Fatal Crash Case

By Aaron Keller

Textron Aviation Inc. wants a Connecticut state judge to order the National Transportation Safety Board to release a two-hour-long cockpit voice recording from a Cessna airplane that crashed into an industrial campus shortly after takeoff, saying the full recording is necessary for fair trials in wrongful death and insurance disputes.

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Allstate Says No Coverage For Fatal Drunken Driving Accident

By Gianna Ferrarin

Allstate told a Pennsylvania federal court it has no duty to defend an individual facing underlying suits over a fatal drunken driving accident, saying coverage is excluded under his parents' homeowners policy because of his alleged furnishing of alcohol to minors involved in the incident.

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Pause Coverage Fight In Boy's Death, Mich. Judge Told

By Susan Smiley

Counsel for a 5-year-old Michigan boy killed in a January 2025 hyperbaric chamber fire asked a Michigan federal judge on Wednesday to pause a lawsuit from Nationwide Insurance, which is seeking a declaration that it is not responsible for covering the fatal incident.

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Target Beats ERISA Suit Over Tobacco Health Surcharge

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Minnesota federal judge on Wednesday tossed a proposed class action alleging that a tobacco fee on Target workers' health plan violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law, agreeing with the retail giant that the suit failed to state a claim.

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Late Emails Undercut BCBS Pricing Suit, Walgreens Says

By Lauraann Wood

Walgreen Co. is urging an Illinois federal judge to again sanction a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer and its subsidiary for allegedly failing to produce key email evidence the pharmacy retailer says "upends" the insurers' 6-year-old claim that it intentionally overcharged them for prescription drugs.

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Arbitration Scholars Say 5th Circ. Botched Insurance Decision

By Caroline Simson

A group of international arbitration scholars are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal law determines whether a nonsignatory to an international arbitration agreement can force arbitration of a dispute, saying a Fifth Circuit decision erroneously applied state law and contributes to unpredictability.

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Cambia Health Hit With FCA Suit Over Medicare Fraud Claims

By Ben Adlin

Cambia Health Solutions Inc. stole millions of dollars from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over more than a decade by submitting fraudulent diagnostic information to the government, according to a whistleblower's False Claims Act lawsuit unsealed by a Seattle federal judge this week.

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The Growing Antitrust Risks Of AI Pricing For Health Insurers

Attorneys at Patterson Belknap provide an overview of the increased risk of antitrust enforcement for health insurance companies using algorithmic price models, including in the form of multidistrict private litigation, new state and federal bills, and potential federal enforcement.

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Mass. UHC Fraud Suit Signals States' Medicaid FCA Push

Massachusetts' recently filed False Claims Act suit alleging UnitedHealthcare misrepresented the health status of enrollees in a Medicaid senior care organization plan it managed pushes forward a new phase of state-level scrutiny of managed care data and Medicaid payment mechanisms, say Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz, Ellen London at London & Naor and Gwendolyn Stamper at Vogel Slade.

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FDA Draft Guidance Maps Payor Strategy For Psychedelics

Recently revised guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will operationalize a framework permitting drug developers to share product information with insurance companies, giving psychedelic therapeutics developers a road map for building a successful payor infrastructure before approval, says Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell.

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Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

By Madison Arnold

A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

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Brief

Pillsbury Data Breach Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

By Matt Perez

A proposed class action against Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP over a data breach last year has been voluntarily dismissed by the named plaintiffs, following a granted motion to stay in April to discuss mediation.

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DLA Piper Says Deception, Not Bias, Cost Palestinian Atty Job

By Grace Elletson

DLA Piper urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a Palestinian attorney's suit claiming the firm revoked a job offer out of discrimination, arguing it rescinded the offer because she concealed allegations that she assaulted someone at a protest.

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DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

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Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

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DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

By Irene Spezzamonte

U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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Gov't Attys May Face Broader Duty To Report Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

Attorneys representing the government could face "more demanding" obligations to disclose misconduct by people within their client organizations than attorneys representing private entities, according to an ethics opinion issued Wednesday by the American Bar Association.

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Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

By Courtney Bublé

A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

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US Marshals Can't Make Immigration Arrests In DC Court

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge Wednesday refused to toss a lawsuit from a certified class of immigrants challenging immigration arrests by U.S. marshals in D.C. Superior Court, declaring that the marshals lack authority and necessary training for the arrests.

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Securities Class Action Deals On Target To Hit 6-Year High

By Katryna Perera

The value of class action settlements is on track to reach a six-year high of $4.4 billion, fueled in part by a handful of "mega settlements" and other high-dollar deals, a Cornerstone Research report released Wednesday said. 

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