Insurer Looks To Bifurcate $50M COVID Coverage Trial In NC

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurer urged a North Carolina federal court to bifurcate an upcoming trial on claims that it improperly denied $50 million in coverage for an auto parts manufacturer's COVID-19 pandemic-related losses, arguing a jury may resolve the case entirely by looking at coverage issues first.

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Bank Says Late Notice Fumbled Data Breach Insurance Claim

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurance services company caused a Milford, Connecticut, bank to lose insurance coverage for a data breach that affected nearly 12,000 of its customers by failing to timely report it, the bank says in a Wednesday complaint in Connecticut federal court.

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La. Town Says 5th Circ. Insurance Decision Should Stand

By Caroline Simson

A Louisiana town is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to pass on reviewing a Fifth Circuit decision nixing an arbitration order in a dispute with its insurers over coverage for hurricane damage, calling the case "mundane" and not worthy of the high court's attention.

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Grocers' Microcaptive Valid For Tax Benefits, 7th Circ. Told

By Zak Kostro

Chicagoland grocery chain owners' in-house insurance arrangement is a valid insurance transaction "and should be respected as such," they told the Seventh Circuit, saying their business should be allowed to claim microcaptive tax benefits to reduce its taxable income.

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Ex-USI Manager Denies Enticing Clients To Rival Brokerage

By Brian Steele

A former employee of the insurance brokerage giant USI told a Connecticut federal judge that the restrictive covenants he entered are unenforceable and he cannot be held liable for allegedly violating them when clients followed him to a rival firm.

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Tech Insurance Co.'s 401(k) Paid Excessive Fees, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

An electronics insurance company's employee retirement plan was charged more than double the market rate for administrative services and loaded with underperforming funds offered by the recordkeeper, according to a proposed class action filed in Tennessee federal court.

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Mich. Hospitals Defend CVS 340B Drug Savings Suit

By Susan Smiley

University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers urged a Michigan federal judge Wednesday to preserve its suit claiming that CVS Health Corp. diverted millions of dollars earmarked for indigent healthcare to itself, saying the conduct clearly amounts to a racketeering scheme.

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Series

Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

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Exclusive

Inside The $150M Immigration Contract That Wasn't

By Daniel Connolly

The leader of a small Houston-based law firm says she was "blindsided" by an announcement from the federal government that her 24-attorney shop had won a $150 million no-bid contract to represent thousands of immigrant children in deportation proceedings.

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ABA Faces Uphill Battle To Remain As Law School Accreditor

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council responsible for accrediting law schools is fighting on multiple fronts to retain its status as a nationwide accreditor, fending off challenges at both the federal and state levels.

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Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

By Courtney Bublé

With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

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Google Users' Atty Fee To Be In 'Realm' Of $147M, Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't give the full $147 million in fees sought by lawyers who won a $425 million class action verdict against Google for unlawfully collecting user information, but he said their "really excellent lawyering" deserves an amount "within that realm."

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Womble Bond Asks To Drop Dutch Software Client Over Rift

By Hayley Fowler

Womble Bond Dickinson is looking to pull its representation of a Dutch software company after five years of a bitter trademark battle, citing a "fundamental disagreement" that has allegedly made it impossible for the firm to move forward as counsel of record.

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