'House Of Cards' Loss Not Tied To Spacey Illness, Jury Finds

By Craig Clough

A California jury has found that actor Kevin Spacey's absence from the final season of "House of Cards" was not due to a sex addiction sickness he was being treated for, a verdict that denies claims by the production companies behind the show that its insurers owed them around $100 million when he failed to return for the hit Netflix series' swan song.

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Paul Weiss, Skadden Guide $22B US Life Insurance Merger

By Al Barbarino

Corebridge Financial Inc. and Equitable Holdings Inc. said Thursday they have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction that values the combined company at about $22 billion, in a deal steered by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP.

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Insurer's Fake-Adjuster Suit Is Time-Barred, Court Says

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurer missed its chance to file negligence claims against a man it alleged illegally represented himself as an adjuster to demand nearly $48 million on behalf of a transportation agency for damage from Hurricane Maria, a Puerto Rico federal court ruled Thursday.

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McDonald Hopkins Must Produce Fraud Warning Docs

By Gianna Ferrarin

Midwestern law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC must produce email communications in connection with litigation accusing Blue Cross units of a smear campaign against a clinical lab owner, an Ohio federal judge ruled, finding the documents were not protected by work product or attorney-client privilege.

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Pa. Justices Clarify Workers' Comp Notice For Self-Employed

By Hope Patti

A provision of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act governing notice of work-related injuries does not require sole proprietors of a business to notify their insurers of their injuries within 120 days in order to be eligible for benefits, the state's highest court ruled Thursday.

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Acquiring Co-Insurer Coverage Aid In Fla. Builder Defect Suits

With the recent influx of Florida construction defect lawsuits putting builder’s insurance carriers in the crosshairs, parties must actively seek new methods tailored to the state to compel as many subcontractors, carriers and co-insurers as possible to share the expense and risk of their defense, says Nick Richardson at Segal McCambridge.

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Opinion

AVOID Act Creates 3rd-Party Litigation Risks For Transpo Cos.

New York's Avoiding Vexatious Overuse of Impleading to Delay Act, which takes effect next month, will require new risk management strategies from transportation companies as it attempts to drastically change the scope of third-party litigation while failing to address practical realities of civil disputes, says Steven Saal at Lucosky Brookman.

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Reel Justice: 'Mercy' And Private Surveillance As Evidence

The near-future depicted in the film “Mercy” reminds attorneys that private surveillance networks are becoming central to the evidentiary ecosystem, shaping what prosecutors can obtain, what defendants must explain and what jurors may interpret as objective truth, says Veronica Finkelstein at Wilmington University.

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White & Case Staffer Sues Firm Over Nude Photo Ridicule

By Dorothy Atkins

A White & Case LLP staffer sued the law firm in New York state court Wednesday, alleging the firm's purported "hostile work environment" shielded his colleagues after they allegedly shared nude photos of him, which he claims were taken by his supervisor while he was unconscious at a firm-sponsored party.

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Akin Must Explain Client's 'Self-Indulgent' 9th Circ. Appeal

By Lauren Berg

Upholding a foreign arbitration award against a wine importer, the Ninth Circuit on Thursday ordered its attorneys at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to explain why they and their client shouldn't pay their opponent's attorney fees for bringing a "frivolous" and "self-indulgent" appeal.

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Troutman, Former Associate Fight Over Scope Of Bias Trial

By Emily Sawicki

Weeks ahead of an anticipated May trial over discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate, the firm and its onetime employee are sparring over the scope of evidence that may be presented at trial.

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Maduro Judge Hints US Should Reconsider Legal Fee Refusal

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge suggested Thursday that the Trump administration should revisit its refusal to allow former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to access his country's funds to pay for his defense against narco-terrorism and trafficking charges.

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Antitrust Leaders Say Lobbyists Don't Impact Outcomes

By Matthew Perlman

The leaders of the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said Thursday that companies can lobby the agencies all they want, but enforcers will still make merger and conduct decisions based on the facts and the law.

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Bill To Give Admin More Control Over US Attys Advances

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican-led bill that would give the executive branch more authority over the installation of U.S. attorneys was advanced out of a House committee Thursday.

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