DOJ Argues Against Restored Access In White House Ban Of CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Arguing in favor of a ban on White House access due to an alleged “threat” to national security because CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO failed to “maintain basic minimum” professional standards, including their purported publication of classified information, the U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 22 filed a brief opposing the news outlets’ request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) seeking to stop the defendants from taking further action to implement the ban and to immediately restore their press credentials.
5th Circuit Majority Revives Ex-University Police Detective’s Retaliation Suit
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals majority held that factual disputes over the suspension and investigation of a former West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) police detective need to be decided by a jury in reversing and remanding a Texas federal judge’s summary judgment ruling that the officer failed to establish a prima facie case for retaliation pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
False Claims Suit Over Adulterated Infant Formula Dismissed After $385M Settlement
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan on Sept. 22 issued a final order closing a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that Abbott Laboratories “made and sold substandard, adulterated, and non-compliant infant formula and nutritional therapy products for distribution to Federal Payer Programs and Private Payers, and submitted false claims for payment to the federal government” after the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal indicating that Abbott has agreed to pay $384,999,040.12 to resolve the qui tam lawsuit, as well as intervenor complaints filed by the United States and various states.
Ownership Percentage Exclusion Unambiguously Bars D&O Coverage For Shareholder Suit
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking directors and officers liability coverage for an underlying shareholder derivative action, agreeing with the lower court that the policy’s Ownership Percentage Exclusion (OPE) unambiguously bars coverage.
2nd Circuit: NSA Doesn’t Imply Private Right Of Action To Enforce IDR Awards
NEW YORK — Saying that it was joining a sister circuit in holding that the No Surprises Act (NSA) “does not imply a private right of action to enforce” independent dispute resolution (IDR) awards, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a suit that an out-of-network health care provider filed against companies that administer “private employer-sponsored group health plans.”
Colorado High Court: Insurer Insolvency Doesn’t Make Covered Events Not Covered
DENVER — In a unanimous ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court on Sept. 21 answered “no” to a question certified to the court from a federal court asking whether umbrella/excess policies are triggered because payment cannot be collected from the insolvent primary carrier despite an occurrence being otherwise covered, finding that the terms of the umbrella policies do not require that insurer to “step into the shoes of an insolvent, scheduled underlying insurer.”
Asbestos Claimants Take Fight Against Texas 2-Step To Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Supreme Court should “protect the integrity of the bankruptcy system” and “safeguard claimants’ constitutional rights to seek redress in the nation’s civil justice system” by putting a stop to the growing practice by wealthy corporations of shedding their asbestos liabilities through a restructuring known as the “Texas Two-Step,” asbestos claimants in the Chapter 11 case of CertainTeed LLC spinoff DBMP LLC say in a petition for a writ of certiorari.
Reporters, CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO, Seek TRO After Ban Announcement On Truth Social
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After President Donald J. Trump announced on the Truth Social platform a White House ban of CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO, these news outlets and three of their reporters on Sept. 21 filed a complaint in District of Columbia federal court, asserting constitutional claims against Trump and several administration officials; the plaintiffs also moved for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that day, seeking to stop the defendants from taking further action to implement the ban and requiring the defendants to immediately restore their press credentials and access.
$5M Class Action Settlement Given Final OK In Case Arising From Data Breach
CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal judge on Sept. 18 granted final approval to a class action settlement under which one of the largest vision benefits companies in the U.S. agreed to establish a $5 million nonreversionary common fund after a company email account was breached in 2020 and hackers were able to obtain current and former clients’ protected health information (PHI) and personally identifying information (PII).
Copyright Register’s Suit Stayed Until December Pending Agencies’ Clarification Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Sept. 18 stayed until December a lawsuit by the register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office challenging her purported removal by President Donald J. Trump; the stay is in light of a bill awaiting Senate approval that “would make clear that the Register of Copyrights is an officer ‘appointed by the President’ with the advice and consent of the Senate.”
Federal Circuit Affirms $3.24M In Fees In Diamond Growing Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a New York federal judge’s decision to enter a $3.24 million award for attorney fees and expenses, along with postjudgment interest, in a dispute related to patents describing processes for growing diamonds in a lab, agreeing that the plaintiff-appellant’s infringement position became objectively baseless after discovery, yet the entity still pursued its infringement claims.