Calif. Insurance Chief Hopefuls Debate Fix For Fire Market

By Eli Flesch

The two Democratic candidates running to be California's top insurance regulator clashed Thursday in a debate over whether fire insurance should be reformed within the private market or become the remit of a public system of disaster insurance.

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11th Circ. Backs Home Insurer In Debris Feud Coverage Row

By Hope Patti

A Georgia federal court had jurisdiction over a homeowners insurance coverage dispute when it determined that a Peach State couple wasn't entitled to coverage for a suit brought by their neighbors over debris left on a shared property line, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Thursday.

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Fla. Panel Trims Punitive Damages Claim By Ex-Marvel CEO

By Carolina Bolado

The former CEO of Marvel Entertainment can request punitive damages against his neighbor in a feud over the surreptitious collection of DNA evidence but not against the neighbor's attorney or a Chubb affiliate accused of helping him, a Florida appeals court has ruled.

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IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

By Elliot Weld

An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

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2 More Sentenced In $11M Amtrak Health Fraud Scheme

By George Woolston

A former Amtrak employee and a New York podiatrist have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme that prosecutors claim defrauded the rail carrier out of $11 million in health benefits, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said.

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Mich. Says Blue Cross Monopoly Ups Costs And Cuts Care

By Lauren Berg

The state of Michigan accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Co. in federal court Thursday of amassing an illegal health insurance monopoly in the state, allegedly driving up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for state businesses and patients.

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Goodyear Narrows But Can't End Nicotine Fee Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Goodyear failed to snuff out a proposed class action alleging employees who used nicotine were unlawfully charged more to obtain health benefits, with an Ohio federal judge ruling Thursday that workers had plausibly alleged plan documents omitted key information about avoiding the surcharge.

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By Danielle Ferguson

An insurer asked a California federal judge to find that it did not breach its policy with an online advertising company by refusing coverage against a trademark lawsuit, saying the infringement claims are related to a state court case filed outside the policy period.

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Humana Brass Face Derivative Suit Alleging Illegal Kickbacks

By Jarek Rutz

A Humana Inc. shareholder is suing 12 current and former company leaders in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they allowed the health insurer to pay more than $100 million in illegal broker kickbacks, to conceal worsening medical costs and Medicare Advantage plan quality, and to waste more than $1.5 billion buying back company stock at inflated prices.

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Series

Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

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8th Circ. Ruling Limits Receiver Insurance Recovery Rights

The Eighth Circuit's recent ruling in King v. Texas Insurance illustrates a practical limit on receivership powers: A receiver may marshal insurance proceeds belonging to the estate but cannot expand the insured's contractual rights or make policy proceeds collectible unless the coverage triggers are satisfied, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

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Sheppard Mullin Hit With Class Action Over Data Breach

By Jake Maher

A former Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP paralegal launched a proposed class action against the firm in California federal court on Wednesday over a cyberattack it had in August, in which she says at least 1,000 people's names and Social Security numbers were stolen.

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Analysis

New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

By Phillip Bantz

The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

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Cornell Defendant Seeks To Nix James As Special Prosecutor

By Andrea Keckley

One of the seven men accused of drugging and raping a fellow Cornell University student at a fraternity home has asked a New York state court to void Gov. Kathy Hochul's appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.

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Gov't Attys Could Face Sanctions Over AI Use Omissions

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered four government attorneys to explain why they shouldn't be sanctioned for making factual misrepresentations about the U.S. Army's use of artificial intelligence to evaluate contract proposals.

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Split Congress Could Spur Competing Probes, Cleary Finds

By Courtney Bublé

If the new year brings an era of divided Congress, then "dueling investigations" into the same topics should be expected, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP said in a report it released Thursday.

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Fla. Judge Says Oct. 7 Attack Was 'Inflection Point' For U.S.

By David Minsky

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman addressed a small group of attorneys in a Florida law office to speak on his book about the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, saying public debate over facts surrounding the event and underlying feud has reached an "inflection point" in America.

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Buzbee Faces $970K Fee Bid In Dismissed Conspiracy Cases

By Lynn LaRowe

A Mississippi lawyer is asking a Texas state court to award her more than $970,000 in fees after defeating claims that she and her law firm conspired with rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to retaliate against prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee and two of his former clients.

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Dems Says GOP Broke Senate Rules In Jack Smith Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused Republicans of violating committee rules during a hearing last week with former special counsel Jack Smith.

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