NJ Justices Reluctant To Stick Zurich With $2M UIM Bill

By George Woolston

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical that a TJX Cos. employee can recover up to the full $2 million limit in his employer's auto policy with Zurich American Insurance Co., rather than its $15,000 limit for underinsured motorists.

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Big Insurers Must Face 'Repricing' Antitrust Claims

By Chris Villani

Major insurance companies including Aetna, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth must face claims they conspired to reduce reimbursements to healthcare providers, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Monday, finding that the doctors' allegations could constitute antitrust violations.

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State Farm Drivers Denied Class Cert. In Car Value Suit

By Hope Patti

An Illinois federal court refused to certify a class of State Farm policyholders who accused the insurer of systematically undervaluing claims for totaled vehicles by applying a so-called typical negotiation adjustment, saying individualized issues predominated.

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Church Owner Not Entitled To Extra Coverage For Fire Loss

By Hope Patti

An insurer doesn't owe additional coverage to the owner of a vacant church building beyond the $875,000 it already paid for a 2021 arson fire, a Missouri federal court ruled Tuesday, finding that the owner materially breached the policy's cooperation clause by failing to properly submit its damages.

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Insurer Can't Dodge Oxy Suit Over $22M Settlement Fight

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge has declined to let Berkley National Insurance Co. off the hook in a lawsuit accusing it of mishandling competing settlement demands, finding that a group of energy companies stated a viable claim in an amended petition that the insurer exposed them to out-of-pocket liability after exhausting most of a $22 million policy on a separate claim.

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Insurer Says Yale Was 'Misleading' In $4.1M Transplant Claim

By Mark Payne

A Liberty Mutual unit accused Yale University's health system of making "serious and material misstatements" about a plan member's bone marrow transplant, the insurer said in its answer and counterclaim for a declaratory judgment that it can continue to deny the $4.1 million claim.

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Chubb Investor Can't Add Climate Proposal In Proxy Material

By Gina Kim

A D.C. federal judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction to a shareholder advocacy group suing Chubb for excluding its climate-related proposal from Chubb's yearly proxy materials, ruling Tuesday it hasn't shown the proposal falls outside U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations exempting proposals involving issues related to a company's ordinary business operations.

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6th Circ. Can Extend Insurance Valuation Clarity Beyond Auto

In rehearing Clippinger v. State Farm, the Sixth Circuit can align itself with the recent drumbeat of other circuits rejecting class certification of auto total loss claims and set standards that apply to similar claims brought under homeowners and other types of insurance policies, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

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Spotlight On Legal Battles Over EEOC Subpoena Powers

Attorneys at Wilson Elser consider the spate of litigation over the past year, spurred by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s focus on alleged religious discrimination at universities, and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and how it may affect the attempts to assert privacy rights against the agency's broad subpoena powers.

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Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

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Feature

Rats, Vapes And Vodka: Strange But True Cases For April Fool's

By Emily Field

A dead rodent in a burrito bowl delivery, a mix-up with vodka seltzer in the wrong cans and the Toys R Us brand taking on a Connecticut vape shop are among Law360's list of strange cases suitable for April Fool's Day.

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Analysis

'Best Judicial System In The World': Alsup Reflects On Career

By Bonnie Eslinger

Before taking inactive status late last year, U.S. District Judge William H. Alsup presided over historic litigation in California's Northern District for 26 years, arriving at his San Francisco chambers every weekday before dawn to prepare for the day's work.

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FTC Backs Florida's Move To Kill ABA's Accreditation Monopoly

By Hailey Konnath

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it supports the Florida Supreme Court's recent decision to end the American Bar Association's longstanding accreditation monopoly, agreeing with the finding that it is "not in Floridians' best interest for the ABA to be the sole gatekeeper" in deciding who sits for the bar exam.

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NC Attys Oppose DOJ Interference In State Ethics Complaints

By Hayley Fowler

A group of North Carolina lawyers is opposing the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed rule allowing the attorney general to review state-level ethics complaints against the department's attorneys, saying such a change would undercut the Tar Heel State's ability to regulate government lawyers.

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Blumenthal Presses DHS Chief To Scrap ICE Warrant Memo

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, is looking for assurances from the newly installed secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, that he will honor his apparent pledge to rescind a policy that allows immigration agents to enter private property without a judicial warrant.

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Habba, Ex-Firm Get Defense Redo In Suit Over Divorce Advice

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey appeals court gave former acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba another chance to pursue an anti-abusive litigation motion against an attorney suing her for malicious prosecution on Tuesday.

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7th Circ. Scolds Ex-Judge For Citing Fake Cases In Brief

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel admonished an attorney and former chief federal immigration judge for submitting a brief citing two nonexistent cases and a false quotation, saying while such errors can be "tell-tale signs" of AI hallucinations, her denial she used AI is "plausible" and the court won't consider further sanctions.

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'Construction Has To Stop!': Judge Blocks Trump's Ballroom

By Dorothy Atkins

A Washington, D.C., federal judge Tuesday granted a historical preservation nonprofit's request for a preliminary injunction halting President Donald Trump's plans to turn the White House's East Wing into an "enormous" 89,000-square-foot ballroom, saying "unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"

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Beasley Allen Seeks Stay Of DQ In Federal J&J Talc MDL

By Jake Maher

The Beasley Allen Law Firm asked a New Jersey federal court on Monday to hold off on disqualifying it from talc litigation against Johnson & Johnson while it appeals the disqualification order which it called "unprecedented and incorrect."

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Senate Dems Probe Musk's Alleged Role In CTA Retreat

By Sarah Jarvis

Three Democratic senators have asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to provide information on Elon Musk's possible involvement in the rollback of the Corporate Transparency Act, saying the department's moves allow entities tied to the billionaire to operate in obscurity.

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Analysis

Defamation Litigation Roundup: Unilever, Afroman, Musk

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights a new suit against Unilever by an ousted member of a Ben & Jerry's board, as well as Afroman's defeat of a case by Ohio police officers after a raid of the comedic rapper's home.

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FBI Fired Agents Over Trump 2020 Election Inquiry, Suit Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

Former FBI agents who say they were illegally fired for working on the investigation into President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss filed a proposed class action in D.C. federal court Tuesday accusing the government of unconstitutional "political retribution."

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Brief

Moye White, Ex-Landlord Settle $4M Denver Lease Dispute

By Zach Dupont

Days before the start of a bench trial between a Denver landlord and defunct law firm Moye White LLP in state court, the two parties reached a settlement, ending the litigation where the landlord accused the firm of owing almost $4 million.

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