Insurance Mogul’s Appeal Of Receivership Order Related To $524M Judgment Dismissed
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Nov. 4 dismissed an appeal of an order appointing a general receiver of the assets of insurance mogul Greg Lindberg in a life insurer’s efforts to collect a federal judgment of $524 million plus interest, finding that the court lacks jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal.
Panel Affirms Denial Of Arbitration In Unfair Pricing Class Suit Against Uber
SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate panel on Nov. 4 affirmed a trial court’s ruling denying Uber Technologies Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration with two consumers who accuse Uber of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by deceptively listing prices on its app, writing that because the consumers seek public injunctive relief their claims are not arbitrable.
Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Fraud Suit Against Affiliate Of Insurer In Liquidation
ATLANTA — A Georgia appellate court reversed a lower court’s judgment dismissing the Georgia insurance commissioner’s conversion and fraud suit against an affiliated company of a Georgia health maintenance organization (HMO) in liquidation regarding the company’s alleged improper receipt of $21 million in advance funds, finding that the lower court had jurisdiction under the Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act and that the commissioner had standing to sue.
$47.75M Deal Gets Final OK In Execs’ Suit Over Terminated Top-Hat Plans
ATLANTA — Following final approval of a $47.75 million class deal under which class members will have an average gross recovery of more than $252,000, a Nov. 4 judgment entered in Georgia federal court wrapped up a long-running suit over lump-sum payments from terminated “top hat” plans that had provided life annuities for NCR Corp. executives.
Divided 4th Circuit Won’t Rehear Intel Agencies’ DEIA Worker Termination Ruling
RICHMOND, Va. — A divided Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 3 denied a petition filed by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Central Intelligence Agency to rehear a panel majority’s decision affirming a preliminary injunction preventing the agencies from firing, without providing reassignment or appeal procedures or obtaining federal district court approval, a group of workers who said they were faced with termination after working in temporary assignments related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA).
Asbestos Case Settles After Judge Allows Soil Sample Evidence
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana ordered an asbestos case dismissed on Nov. 3 after the parties notified the court that they had reached a compromise, just days after the judge said she would admit soil testing results because they were relevant to the defendants’ alternative asbestos exposure theory and it was irrelevant that some of the samples came from neighboring properties that the exposed individual never owned.
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal In Part In Sex-Trafficking Suit Against Meta
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 3 affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded a lower court’s dismissal of a sex-trafficking victim’s suit alleging in part that Meta Platforms Inc. financially benefited from sex trafficking, finding that while Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act bars a product liability design defect claim based on identity and age verification requirements, it does not bar the design defect claim based on reporting requirements.
3M Announces $7.35B Resolution Covering Most PFAS Injury Claims From AFFF MDL
CHARLESTON, S.C. — 3M announced Nov. 3 that it has reached an agreement to make a $7.35 billion pretax nominal commitment to be paid over nine years to settle more than 100,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-related personal injury claims in and outside the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a federal court in South Carolina.
Texas High Court Orders Vacatur Of Homestead Inspection Ruling
AUSTIN, Texas — Conditionally granting mandamus relief and saying that “discovery must always be proportionate to the needs of the case,” the Texas Supreme Court ordered a trial court to vacate a ruling it concluded wrongly “compelled entry onto the relator’s homestead for inspection over her objection” in a neighborhood dispute.
Justice Dissents As Texas Court Won’t Rehear Asbestos MDL Jurisdiction Case
HOUSTON — A trial court properly applied admittedly ambiguous rules governing transfer of older asbestos cases to the Texas multidistrict litigation, a Texas appellate court justice said in a dissent after the court denied en banc reconsideration of a ruling ordering remand of the cases.
En Banc 5th Circuit Will Rehear Ruling Reinstating Fired Trader Joe’s Worker
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will rehear en banc a panel majority’s ruling granting a cross-petition filed by the National Labor Relations Board to enforce an order reinstating and making whole a Trader Joe’s employee — whom the company said was “described by her colleagues as a toxic bully” — after finding that she was unlawfully fired after she engaged in protected activity regarding COVID-19 safety protocols.