Mich. Panel Says No PIP Coverage For Unauthorized Car Use

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan appellate court has pivoted its reasoning for finding a driver who crashed her friend's car is ineligible for personal protection insurance under the state's No-Fault Act, this time grounding its decision in the fact she took the vehicle without permission rather than because she was driving without a license.

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Boeing Wants Ex-Judge To Be Umpire In Crash Coverage Row

By Hope Patti

A D.C. federal court should appoint one of the former federal judges proposed by Boeing to serve as umpire in arbitration over coverage for the 2019 crash of a 737 Max 8 jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines, the company argued, saying the parties reached an impasse regarding the selection.

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4th Circ. Says Allied Need Not Cover 'Beer Olympics' Injury

By Jonathan Capriel

A man who claims that he was paralyzed in an auto crash caused by alcohol provided to guests at a "Beer Olympics" party cannot recover from the host homeowners' insurance provider, the Fourth Circuit ruled on Monday, saying the policy's motor vehicle exclusion bars coverage.

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7th Circ. Clears Hartford In Wire Fraud Coverage Fight

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois agency that administers financially distressed insurers' estates was correctly denied coverage of its own insurance claim stemming from fraudulent emails that caused employees to wire nearly $7 million away from the agency purportedly at the financial chief's direction, the Seventh Circuit ruled.

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Lowe's $10M Coverage Clash With Chubb Unit Heads To Trial

By Hayley Fowler

A federal jury will decide whether a Chubb unit was wrong to refuse to pay $10 million as part of a wrongful death settlement following a fatal crash involving a Lowe's employee after a North Carolina judge Monday found there are disputed issues of material fact in the case.

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Sodexo Can't Wipe Out Worker's Nicotine Fee Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A California federal judge refused to toss a Sodexo worker's proposed class action alleging the global food services company wrongly charged nicotine-using employees $1,200 more a year for health insurance, opening discovery on allegations that a wellness program implementing the surcharge didn't meet all federal requirements.

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Injured Biker's Estate Seeks Dismissal Of Coverage Suit

By Hope Patti

The representative of a child who was seriously injured after a tow truck struck her while she was riding a bicycle urged a Georgia federal court to toss an insurer's suit over the validity of a settlement demand, saying the suit is not ripe while the underlying injury suit is pending.

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Insurers' Asbestos Suit Ducks Pump Co. Bankruptcy Stay

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge Monday agreed to lift the automatic stay that has stalled an asbestos indemnification lawsuit since October 2021, granting a joint motion from the bankrupt Nash Engineering Co.'s Chapter 7 trustee and two umbrella insurers seeking declarations that they don't owe coverage.

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Attorney Reprimanded In $256M Defamation Case

By Rachel Rippetoe

A former Conrad & Scherer LLP managing partner must pay an Alabama coal company's attorney fees after being publicly reprimanded by an Alabama federal judge, who found he lied to the court and paid witnesses to change their testimony in his repeated lawsuits against the company.

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NJ Firm Accused Of 'Double-Dipping' On Pelvic Mesh Fees

By Daniel Connolly

Four women allege in a recently filed lawsuit that a New Jersey law firm overcharged them on legal fees related to a settlement in pelvic mesh litigation, and the recent lawsuit also relates to a long-running conflict between lawyers who formerly worked together.

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Justices Seek Input On NJ State Bar Diversity Challenge

By George Woolston

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the federal government to weigh in on a Garden State appellate court's decision that approved a New Jersey State Bar Association system for fostering diversity in its leadership that was accused of being discriminatory.

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Blanche, Pirro Can't Be DQ'd From Trump DC Shooting Case

By Craig Clough

A D.C. federal judge held Monday that the man accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner can't disqualify U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from prosecuting him because of their presence at the dinner.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving executive compensation, take-private transactions, books and records demands, tender offers and alleged insider misconduct.

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