3 Race Bias Cases Against A Houston College Dismissed After Settlements
HOUSTON — Three racial discrimination cases by employees against Houston Community College, including two that were filed as class actions, were separately dismissed by a federal judge in Texas after more than 100 named plaintiffs reached a confidential global settlement with the school.
High Court Rules Against Employers In Withdrawal Liability Assumptions Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Taking the position supported by multiemployer plans and amicus curiae the U.S. government and opposed by the withdrawing employers, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 21 affirmed a ruling that the actuarial assumptions used to calculate liability for withdrawing from a multiemployer pension plan do not have to be made by the “measurement date,” which is the end of the plan year before the withdrawal.
Judge Rejects Challenge To LCIA’s Dismissal Of Employee’s $1.3M Bonus Claim
LONDON — An English judge on May 20 denied the former director of a Russian company’s challenge of a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitrator’s ruling dismissing the director’s claim for an unpaid bonus worth $1.3 million for lack of jurisdiction, writing that the arbitrator properly found the alleged incentive agreement was fraudulently backdated and therefore invalid.
COPD Ruling, Expert’s ‘Contaminated House’ Opinions Feature In Asbestos Case
NEW ORLEANS — A defense expert may testify that a man suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in addition to other asbestos-related illnesses, a federal judge in Louisiana said May 19 in denying a motion to exclude. In other developments, the court announced that the man had settled with Shell USA Inc. and asked the court to reconsider summary judgment on a nonintentional tort claim, and the parties wrapped briefing on a plaintiff expert’s “contaminated house” testimony.
Panel Affirms Order Issued Against Insurance Mogul’s Interest In Holding Company
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Court of Appeals of North Carolina on May 20 affirmed a lower court order granting a motion for a charging order filed by a life insurance company against the economic interest of former insurance mogul, Greg Lindberg, in his holding company, Global Growth Holdings LLC, finding that the lower court had statutory authority to issue the charging order and “was not required to establish in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction over Global because charging orders are not directed at foreign LLCs but rather concern the judgment-debtor’s personal property.”
3rd Circuit: Judge Improperly Analyzed Jurisdiction Before Tossing Copyright Claim
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge did not properly analyze whether alleged infringers’ shipments of products with copyrighted art to Pennsylvania established personal jurisdiction before dismissing an artist’s copyright infringement suit against dozens of foreign entities, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held May 19, vacating the dismissal.
Judge Approves Settlement Of Wells Fargo Discrimination Derivative Class Action
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California issued an order granting final approval to a settlement to end shareholders’ derivative class action against Wells Fargo & Co. over allegedly discriminatory lending and hiring practices.
U.S. To Settle With Remaining Defendants In Idaho CERCLA Asbestos Cleanup Case
POCATELLO, Idaho — The remaining two defendants named in a federal lawsuit filed by the United States seeking reimbursement of response costs incurred for cleanup of hazardous materials under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act at a shuttered Idaho industrial site stemming from the demolition of two buildings damaged by fire in a pair of proposed May 18 consent decrees agreed to pay a total of $360,000 to settle the claims, with one defendant set to pay significantly less than the other due to financial constraints.
Split Colorado Supreme Court Orders Injunction In Gender-Affirming Care Case
DENVER — A Colorado trial court erred in its application of the preliminary injunction test in Rathke v. MacFarlane, a divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled May 18, directing the trial court to issue a preliminary injunction in the class case ordering Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHC) “to restore its offering of medically necessary gender-affirming care, pending a decision on the merits” of the case brought by minor patients after CHC suspended such care due to a risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
Monsanto Settles PCB Claims With 2 States For A Combined Minimum Of $133 Million
LEVERKUSEN, Germany — Bayer AG on May 18 announced settlements with Michigan and Rhode Island for potential claims by the states related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pollution. The settlements have a combined total minimum payment of $133 million, with the possibility of additional contingent payments tied to an indemnity lawsuit that Monsanto Co. filed against companies that it says agreed to cover certain liabilities from PCBs.
Massachusetts Federal Jury Hits Takeda With $474M Verdict In Antitrust Class Action
BOSTON — A federal jury in Massachusetts on May 18 found Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. liable for $474.89 million in damages in a class action alleging that the pharmaceutical company violated federal and state antitrust laws by working with a competitor to delay the availability of a generic version of its drug to treat irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation.