Government, Chemours Reach $450M Deal To Resolve PFAS Pollution Claims In 3 States
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Department of Justice on June 24 announced a consent decree that it said is valued at a minimum of $450 million to resolve claims for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination from facilities operated by the Chemours Co. and an affiliate in West Virginia, New Jersey and North Carolina. Chemours issued a press release confirming the settlement, which calls for Chemours to pay a $22.5 million civil penalty and pay for pollution control programs to mitigate PFAS discharges.
Missouri Judge May Delay Final Approval For $7.25B Nationwide Roundup Settlement
ST. LOUIS — In light of a federal judge in Missouri’s decision to send back to state court a case in which objectors are seeking to halt a $7.25 billion nationwide Roundup settlement, the Missouri state court judge who granted preliminary approval of the settlement issued a memorandum order on June 23 saying that “the Court believes it may be in the best interest of the case to delay the final approval hearing” and inviting any party that wants to be heard at the final approval hearing to file a brief stating its position on a delay.
High Court Vacates 6th Circuit Ruling In Murder-For-Hire Wiretap Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari, vacated the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of a murder-for-hire conspiracy conviction and remanded for further consideration in light of the government’s position that the Federal Wiretap Act does not contain a clean-hands exception allowing prosecutors to use a secretly recorded FaceTime call in which the petitioner allegedly discussed paying two people to kill individuals who had criticized or threatened her.
Legal Tech Company Wants Access To Anthropic’s Top-Line AI Restored
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canadian litigation technology startup Legion LegalTech Corp. on June 23 asked a federal court in the District of Columbia to restore its access to Anthropic PBC’s newest large language model to prevent destruction of its business while it challenges the government’s directive suspending foreign access to the artificial intelligence model.
2nd Circuit Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Lessee’s Insurer In Suit Over Injury
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined that undisputed facts defeat a landlord insurer’s argument that a lessee’s insurance policy intended to name the landlord as an additional insured and named the insured’s manager only in error, affirming a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the lessee’s insurer in the landlord insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaration that the lessee insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify the landlord in an underlying trip-and-fall lawsuit.
Federal Judge Vacates 2025 Voting Citizenship Verification System, Notices
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on June 22 set aside and vacated the 2025 Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system and related notices, which were created in response to an executive order (EO) to verify the citizenship and immigration status of voters, as “contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, in excess of statutory authority, and without observance of procedure required by law.”
7th Circuit Upholds Reduced Attorney Fee Award After Church’s Limited Success
CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a lower court’s reduced attorney fee award to a church in its lawsuit against Chicago regarding a parking ordinance, agreeing with the lower court that the church’s limited success in the case was reason to reduce the attorney fee award, even though the church’s claims were related to each other.
Panel: No Homeowners Coverage Owed For Negligence, Social Host Liability Claims
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held June 22 that a lower federal court committed no reversible error when it entered summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in the insurer’s lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying general negligence and social host liability claims arising from a car accident following a “beer Olympics” drinking party that was held at the insured’s home, agreeing with the lower court that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify.
Canadian Dairy Investor Loses Bid To Annul Dismissal Of 87M Euro Claim
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on June 22 published an ad hoc committee’s decision dismissing a Canadian investor’s application for annulment of a split tribunal’s refusal to award him damages for the loss of indirect holdings in Serbia allegedly worth 87.5 million euros, finding that the tribunal properly explained its reasoning and did not exceed its powers and ordering the investor to pay Serbia’s attorney fees and the arbitration costs.
High Court To Review Whether Injured Inmate Can Sue For Damages Under Bivens
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 22 agreed to decide whether the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in recognizing a cause of action for damages under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics for an inmate who was injured in a prison gang fight but was not sent to a hospital.
With No Expert On Defective Design, Judge Tosses Complaint Against Appliance Seller
MILWAUKEE — After finding that most of the opinions of a mechanical engineer retained to offer expert testimony are irrelevant to a woman's defective design claims and that the opinion that meets admissibility standards does not relate to the woman’s allegations, a Wisconsin federal judge awarded the seller of a pressure cooker summary judgment and dismissed the case with prejudice.