ST. LOUIS — Amid concerns raised by some putative class members, a state court judge in Missouri on March 4 granted preliminary approval to a $7.25 billion nationwide Roundup settlement between the putative class and Bayer Corp., Monsanto Co.’s parent company, which would resolve claims alleging that the herbicide causes cancer.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a lower court’s grant of summary judgment for the U.S. government in its suit alleging that a wheat farmer defrauded the government and violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by concealing harvested wheat and receiving crop insurance indemnity payments of more than $500,000, finding that issues of fact remain regarding whether the farmer acted with the required scienter under the FCA.

NEW YORK — Greatly narrowing a putative class suit in which plaintiffs challenging purported cross-selling done by a third-party service provider have sought to represent participants in thousands of retirement plans, a New York federal judge on March 4 ruled that the plaintiffs “may not attempt to pursue classwide claims for those plans in which they did not participate” because they didn’t show “class standing” as required in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Race law scholars and faith-based groups filed amicus curiae briefs March 3 and 4 in the U.S. Supreme Court, joining more than three dozen other amici in arguing against a January 2025 executive order (EO) that would end birthright citizenship.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 4 heard arguments on whether a common-law action for negligent hiring of a motor carrier or driver by a freight broker is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA), which preempts state laws related to the services of a broker with respect to the transportation of property but does not restrict the safety regulatory authority of states with respect to motor vehicles.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After a jury returned a verdict finding that a life insurer was entitled to rescind its insured’s $1.4 million policy, a Florida federal judge on March 3 ordered the court clerk to enter judgment in favor of the insurer on the rescission issue and denied the insurer’s request for a declaratory judgment that the insured, a physician who has been missing at sea since Aug. 10, 2022, committed suicide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel delivered a mixed opinion on March 3 in a dispute over a patent that concerns the use of 3D modeling of patient data on augmented reality (AR) headsets, affirming the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) decision to reject the appellant’s anticipation arguments but reversing the rejection of obviousness arguments.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A New York federal bankruptcy court should approve a request by new Chapter 11 debtor Vanderbilt Minerals LLC to allow a stalking horse bidder and bid procedures for the sale of most of the debtor’s assets over the objections of counsel for asbestos claimants and the U.S. trustee so potential bidders have timely information on the sale, the debtor says in a March 4 reply to the objections.