NJ Justices Probe Insurer's Role In $12M Settlement Fight

By Carla Baranauckas

The New Jersey Supreme Court zeroed in Thursday on how far insurers can go in reserving their rights without taking a definitive position on coverage, as Mist Pharmaceuticals LLC accused Berkley Insurance Co. of stonewalling a $12 million settlement by hiding behind ambiguity in its "capacity exclusion" clause.

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Mich. Justices Mull Tort Damages Bar For Nonresident Drivers

By Carolyn Muyskens

Members of Michigan's Supreme Court on Thursday expressed reservations about an intermediate appellate court's decision that nonresidents who fail to carry Michigan insurance for a vehicle they regularly drive in the state can recover tort damages after a car accident.

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Judge Rejects Sanctions Bid In Ace Fire Loss Suit

By Ganesh Setty

A Georgia federal court has rejected a Chubb unit's sanctions bid in a fire loss coverage dispute, finding that although its insureds failed to adequately join two individual defendants in a broader attempt to defeat the court's diversity jurisdiction, such conduct wasn't frivolous nor amounted to bad faith.

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Insurer Pushes For Default Win In Trench Injury Coverage Suit

By Hope Patti

An insurer is seeking a default win in its dispute over coverage for a man's trench injury lawsuit, telling an Illinois federal court Thursday that the man has failed to appear or respond to the coverage action.

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AIG Says Dock Builder Can't Avoid $1.8M Yacht Fire Lawsuit

By Ganesh Setty

An AIG unit urged a Florida federal court Thursday to reject a contractor's claims it can't be held liable for more than $1.8 million in coverage payments over a yacht fire caused by dock wiring that lacked ground fault protection, arguing the state building code required such protection.

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Fla. High Court Hears Ex-Marvel CEO's Punitive Damages Bid

By David Minsky

The former CEO of Marvel Entertainment on Thursday urged the Florida Supreme Court to revive his punitive damages claim over the secret collection of his wife's DNA in connection to a hate letter campaign, arguing his client was wrongfully held to a higher burden in order to establish the claim. 

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What 2 Recent Rulings Mean For Trafficking Liability Coverage

Two recent federal district court decisions add to a growing number of courts concluding that Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act claims may trigger coverage under commercial general liability policies, rejecting insurer arguments regarding public policy and exclusion defenses, says Joe Cole at Shumaker.

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Civil Maritime Nuclear Sector Poised For Growth, Challenges

The maritime industry now stands on the verge of a nuclear-powered renaissance, with the need for clean energy, resilient power generation and decarbonized logistics driving demand for commercial maritime nuclear technology — but these developments will raise significant new legal, regulatory and technical questions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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Series

Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Impersonators Hit With NY Fraud Claims

By Emily Sawicki

New York Attorney General Letitia James is attempting to take down a slew of businesses whose names are variants of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, accusing them of attempting a scheme to fraudulently redirect checks meant for the global corporate law firm.

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Analysis

False-Statement Case Puts Comey In Rare Company

By Phillip Bantz

Former FBI director James Comey is the latest addition to the relatively short list of government officials who have been criminally charged over the past several decades with making false statements to Congress.

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NY Atty General Indicted Following Pressure From Trump

By Lauren Berg

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in Virginia federal court Thursday on charges related to mortgage fraud, three weeks after President Donald Trump wrote a social media post encouraging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action because James and two other political opponents were "guilty as hell."

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Tort Report: Nuked 'Nuclear Verdict' Stays, Texas Justices Say

By Y. Peter Kang

The fate of a "nuclear verdict" that was used to jump-start tort reform campaigns across the country and a settlement of a suit over a Kiss guitar technician's death lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Jenn Mascott Of WH Counsel's Office Confirmed To 3rd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-47 on Thursday to confirm Jenn Mascott, currently serving in the White House Counsel's Office, to the Delaware seat on the Third Circuit.

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7th Circ. Nominee Taibleson Advances To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced on party lines the nomination of Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, to serve on the Seventh Circuit, as well as four district judicial nominees and five U.S. attorney nominees.

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Baldoni Atty Faces LA Malpractice Suit Over Client 'Betrayal'

By Emily Sawicki

Entertainment attorney Bryan Freedman has been accused in Los Angeles County Superior Court of turning his back on a former client, allegedly convincing him to sign an unfavorable settlement on trademark claims against "It Ends With Us" star Justin Baldoni, only to later begin representing the actor and director.

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Calif. Supreme Court Justice Martin Jenkins To Retire

By James Mills

California Supreme Court Justice Martin J. Jenkins, the first openly gay man and the third African American man to sit on the bench, will retire at the end of October, the court announced Thursday.

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Weinstein Says Jurors Traded Threats, Tainting Verdict

By Cara Salvatore

Harvey Weinstein's legal team said his June sexual assault convictions were tainted by juror misconduct, including physical threats and an unfounded bribery claim, arguing in a motion for a new trial that a judge refused to properly investigate.

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