10th Circ. Debates Presuit Conduct In $60M Bad Faith Fight

By Zach Dupont

A Utah health provider's bad faith claim against its insurer over coverage of a lawsuit stemming from a woman's fatal liposuction surgery which resulted in a $60 million judgment at trial is back before the Tenth Circuit, with a three-judge panel hearing argument Wednesday regarding if the bad faith claim against the insurer can be heard by a jury.

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Law Firm Not Insured By Cyber Policy After $158K Email Scam

By Mark Payne

Two cyber insurers don't owe coverage to a Mississippi law firm after a fraudster used a false identity to hoodwink the firm out of more than $158,000 by procuring legal services to secure an owed debt that turned out to be fake, a federal court has ruled. 

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Berkshire Must Defend Trulieve In Worker Death Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

An insurance company that is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway had an obligation to defend Trulieve Inc. against a Massachusetts wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a cannabis worker, a Florida federal judge has ruled, rejecting arguments that the worker wasn't an employee.

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Timber Co., State Street Win Initial Toss Of $1.5B Pension Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A timber company and its independent fiduciary won dismissal of a proposed class action from pensioners who said the companies' choice of annuity provider for a $1.5 billion pension transfer put their retirements at unnecessary risk, after a Washington federal judge ruled that allegations failed to state a claim.

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Fla. Panel Revives Hurricane Damage Suit Against Insurer

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Florida state appellate panel on Wednesday revived a condominium association's suit challenging an insurer's coverage denial for Hurricane Irma damage, finding that the trial court wrongly disregarded allegations that the insurer intentionally delayed its coverage determination to skirt the statute of limitations.

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Travelers Unit Hit With Bad Faith Suit Over $241M Jury Verdict

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Travelers unit recklessly disregarded its insured's interests in litigation that resulted in a $241 million verdict in favor of the family of a man who died while transporting dry ice for a Prairie Farms subsidiary, according to a complaint filed in Illinois federal court.

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Mangione's NY Trial Moved Hours After SDNY Schedule Tweak

By Pete Brush

A New York state court judge said Wednesday that Luigi Mangione's trial for the alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson would begin Sept. 8, moving the date hours after a Manhattan federal judge said the federal trial against him would commence in late October.

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Tyson Can't Get $1.62M Award Hiked In Factory Fire Dispute

By Mark Payne

An Irish reinsurer has to pay only a $1.62 million arbitral award issued to Tyson Foods for a fire at a Tyson plant in Alabama, a New York federal court said, ruling against Tyson's request for a $22.5 million payout. 

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Brief

Wash. Smoke Shops, Insurer Settle Kratom Death Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

An insurance company has reached a deal with two Washington smoke shops to end a dispute in which the insurer argued its policies did not cover defending retailers in a suit by a father who claims they sold kratom products that killed his son.

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GWG Trust Sues Ankura Consulting Over 'Bogus' Accounting

By Alex Wittenberg

The litigation trustee for defunct financial services firm GWG Holdings has sued Ankura Consulting Group in Texas bankruptcy court, accusing it of "knowing (or reckless) facilitation" of a billion-dollar accounting fraud that helped push the insolvent company into Chapter 11.

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Energy Co-Op, Convicted Ex-CEO End Fight Over Legal Fees

By Brian Steele

A former Connecticut utility CEO and his onetime employer have agreed to the dismissal of his lawsuit alleging that he is owed defense costs tied to a pending criminal corruption case, which follows his conviction for misusing public funds on trips to the Kentucky Derby.

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Oakland Diocese Yanks Insurance Deals From Newest Plan

By Rick Archer

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California, told a bankruptcy judge Wednesday it removed $42 million in settlements with insurance carriers from its proposed Chapter 11 plan to eliminate one source of conflict with the committee representing abuse claimants in the case.

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Madison Capital Action Displays SEC's Emphasis On Process

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Madison Capital reflects the SEC's view that when market conditions materially change, valuation methodologies must be reassessed in real time, highlighting the importance of internal processes, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Bondi Out As Attorney General After Contentious Time At DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday Attorney General Pam Bondi will be leaving her post. 

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Goldstein Allowed To Move Out After Marriage Falls Apart

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge on Thursday allowed SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein to relocate for the duration of his home confinement, after Goldstein's attorneys said his marriage had fallen apart and it no longer "makes sense" for Goldstein and his wife to share a residence.

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Raskin Blasts DOJ Bid To Shield Attys From State Bar Probes

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice's endeavor to preempt state bar investigations of department attorneys is a "get out of jail free" card.

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DLA Piper, Vax Refuser Reach Deal To End Religious Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

DLA Piper has struck a deal to wrap up a Christian former employee's lawsuit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of his religious beliefs, an Illinois federal judge said Thursday.

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Feds Say Habeas Ruling Could Spur More 'Illegal Orders'

By Jared Foretek

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to reverse a district ruling that upheld a standing order from Maryland federal judges barring immediate removal or transfer of immigrant detainees, arguing the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for district court standing orders.

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Schneider Wallace Fights Uphill For Bigger Cut Of $75M Fees

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal magistrate judge appeared skeptical Thursday about Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's bid to increase its cut of a $75.4 million fee award for representing plaintiffs in a $228.5 million Sutter Health antitrust deal, saying lead counsel Constantine Cannon LLP's allocation of $1.4 million to Schneider Wallace seems fair.

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Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Stymies Paul Weiss, ACLU Fee Bids

By Carolyn Muyskens

American Civil Liberties Union and Paul Weiss attorneys who successfully eased restrictions on voting by mail in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot collect fees for their work because they were discharged in Puerto Rico's bankruptcy proceeding, the First Circuit has ruled.

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Process Server ABC Legal Inks $2.5M Deal Over Cyber Breach

By Ben Adlin

Seattle-based ABC Legal Services LLC, which bills itself as the nation's largest network of legal process servers, would pay $2.5 million under a tentative deal to settle workers' putative class action claiming a 2024 cyberattack exposed their personal information, the plaintiffs told a Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen data giant Sportrader face action from software company Altenar over alleged market abuse, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Pliego sue a man who allegedly defrauded him out of $415 million, and Warner Bros. bring a copyright claim against a YouTuber who leaked set footage of the upcoming Harry Potter series. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

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