Life Policy With $21M Payout Voided As Illegal Life Wager

By Hope Patti

A Delaware federal court voided a life insurance policy as an unlawful wager on a now-deceased Florida woman's life, finding that Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. is entitled to retain the policy's $10 million death benefit and $11 million in premium payments.

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Calif. Homeowners Say Allstate Deflated Rebuilding Costs

By Hope Patti

A group of California residents whose homes were destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires accused Allstate of deliberately deflating reconstruction cost estimates used to price homeowners policies, telling a state court that as a result, their properties are grossly underinsured and cannot be rebuilt without court intervention.

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Insurer Freed From Roofing Contractor's Wrongful Death Suit

By Mark Payne

An insurer for a roofing company owes no coverage for a wrongful death suit brought by the estate of a contractor who suffered a fatal fall on the job, a Kentucky federal court ruled, saying that the contractor was technically an employee and excluded under the insurance policy.

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Travelers Says Prior Claims Bar $2.3M Habitat Loss Coverage

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Travelers unit urged a Texas federal court to find it owed no coverage for a $2.3 million judgment entered against a real estate broker over claims it negligently permitted a contractor to enter a property and destroy a wildlife habitat.

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Insurer Escapes Covering Ga. Atty In $750K Fraud Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A Georgia attorney's professional liability insurer owes no coverage for an underlying suit alleging the lawyer conspired with a client to enrich themselves from a litigation funding company by claiming a fictitious suit over a canceled FEMA contract, an Atlanta federal court has ruled, finding that making misrepresentations does not constitute "professional services" under the policy.

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Georgia Judge Faces DQ Bid Over Racial Bias Concerns

By Emily Johnson

An attorney and his client in a personal injury case have asked that the chief judge for the Southern District of Georgia be recused, arguing that the federal judge made unfounded accusations that the lawyer was unethical in a separate case and has created "an appearance of personal and racial bias."

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Florida Co. Accused Of $91M Fake Obamacare Scheme

By David Minsky

The Federal Trade Commission accused a Florida company and its executives of operating a nationwide scheme selling fake Obamacare plans, alleging in a federal lawsuit unsealed Wednesday that they made at least $91 million by tricking people into purchasing fraudulent health benefits packages.

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Written Consent Ruling May Signal Change For Telemarketing

The Fifth Circuit's ruling in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control is a takedown of the Federal Communications Commission's prior express written consent regulation, and because Loper Bright empowers courts to disregard agency interpretations, Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigants now have an opportunity to challenge previously settled FCC regulations, orders and interpretations, say attorneys at Manatt.

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Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement

The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Fresenius v. Bonta suggests that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities, even if those donations are motivated by economic self-interest, potentially calling into question years of Anti-Kickback Statute proceedings against pharmaceutical manufacturers for making similar donations, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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