Mealey Publications™

TOP STORIES

Reorganizing In Face Of Asbestos Claims Is Valid Goal, Georgia-Pacific Spinoff Says

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should affirm a bankruptcy court’s denial of a “belated and meritless” motion to dismiss the Chapter 11 case of Georgia-Pacific spinoff Bestwall LLC by the Official Committee of Asbestos Claimants because Bestwall has “a valid reorganizational purpose” and “sufficient financial distress” to pursue relief in good faith under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the debtor says in a Nov. 1 response brief.

New Jersey Panel Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Row Over $1M Auto Rental Coverage

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appellate court on Nov. 1 affirmed a lower court ruling granting summary judgment to an insurer and rescinding for material misrepresentation a $1 million nonowned auto liability policy issued to a business operating a summer camp, finding that the lower court correctly determined that there was no ambiguity in a question in the policy application where the insured answered in the negative regarding renting vehicles but actually rented vans that were not covered under the policy.

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Suit Over Privacy Of Nevada Family Court Records

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 4 declined to review a case in which a father involved in a custody dispute challenged a ruling in which a divided Nevada Supreme Court declared state laws to be unconstitutional because they presumptively sealed child custody court proceedings.

Challenge To Michigan Law On Which COVID Crowd Restriction Was Based Is Deemed Moot

LANSING, Mich. — A divided Michigan Supreme Court on Nov. 1 reversed a split lower appellate panel ruling that a challenge to a state statute on which a COVID-era executive order imposing restrictions on gathering size was based was not moot and remanded the case to the appellate court for entry of an order granting summary disposition in favor of the director of the state department of health and human services.

Louisiana Sued Over Law Classifying Abortion Drugs As Controlled Substances

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana law that classifies misoprostol and mifepristone — two drugs used to induce early termination of pregnancy — as controlled dangerous substances is unconstitutional because it “threatens access to lifesaving medications for certain patients, and improperly interferes with timely and appropriate access for others with a range of physical conditions,” a doula practice in the state and others alleges in a complaint filed in state court.

California Panel Upends Auto Shop Owner’s $10.1M Asbestos Verdict

SAN FRANCISCO — A trial court overseeing an asbestos case that produced a $10.1 million verdict erred in issuing a directed verdict on the sophisticated user defense in the case of an automobile shop owner and by failing to list certain potentially liable parties on the verdict sheet, a California appeals court panel said in reversing and remanding for a new trial.

Split Panel: Silicosis Case Fails Due To Plaintiff’s Unreliable Experts

HOUSTON — A split Texas appeals court panel on Oct. 31 affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Exxon Mobil Corp. in a silica injury lawsuit brought by a worker who sandblasted railcars and contended that he developed pulmonary fibrosis because the company created a situation in which he had to perform an “intrinsically unsafe and ultrahazardous activity.”  The panel held that the worker’s experts were not reliable.

Insurer Seeks Policy Voidance, Declaration Of No Duty To Defend In Underlying Suit

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A commercial insurer on Oct. 31 sued its insured trucking company and the company’s purported owners in a Wyoming federal court, seeking a declaration that the policy issued to the insured is void due to alleged material misrepresentations regarding ownership of the company and there is no duty to defend or indemnify the company in an underlying suit.

High Court Sets Oral Argument Date In Row Over Texas Age-Based Online Porn Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 31 set for argument a case in which Free Speech Coalition Inc. (FSC), a nonprofit adult industry trade association, along with adult entertainment industry petitioners, urge reversal of a ruling by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that vacated an injunction of a Texas law requiring the operators of pornographic websites to verify that their visitors are adults, which the petitioners say “imposes a content-based burden on adults’ access to constitutionally protected speech.”

Judge Rejects Online Sports Betting Company’s Request For Fees In Patent Dispute

WILMINGTON, Del. — While a federal judge in Delaware held that a defendant online sports gambling company is the prevailing party in a suit brought against it by a patent owner accusing it of infringement, he said the company is not owed attorney fees or other costs because the case is not “exceptional” as defined under the Patent Act.

Judge Grants Final Approval To Nearly $20M Settlement Of Ticket Insurance Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge granted final approval to a nearly $20 million settlement resolving claims that insurers including Allianz Global Assistance (AGA) violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws in relation to its online marketing of travel and event insurance, with the plaintiffs’ attorneys awarded nearly $5 million in attorney fees.

LATEST NEWS

Judge Approves $21M Class Settlement Over Silver Mine’s Alleged Misrepresentations
Judgment Granted For State Farm In No-Fault Fraud Suit Involving Chiropractors
Insured Waives Right To Respond To High Court Petition In Chemical Exposure Suit
Judge Consolidates AI Suits; Parties To Work Out Social Media Dispute
Bid To File Redacted Agreements Under Seal Is Granted In Direct Action Case
Reorganizing In Face Of Asbestos Claims Is Valid Goal, Georgia-Pacific Spinoff Says
New Jersey Panel Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Row Over $1M Auto Rental Coverage
Panel Affirms $6.6M Appraisal Award In Insured’s Favor In Hurricane Coverage Dispute
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Trademark Claims From Search Engine Operator
U.S. High Court Won’t Hear Inventorship Correction Arguments From Patent Owner
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Suit Over Privacy Of Nevada Family Court Records
Kentucky Panel Affirms No Coverage Ruling In Insurer’s Dispute With Contractor
Federal Judge: Case Alleging Injury From Falling Sign In Target Moves Forward
Challenge To Michigan Law On Which COVID Crowd Restriction Was Based Is Deemed Moot
U.S. High Court Won’t Review Tribe’s NPDES New Source Permit Ruling
Louisiana Sued Over Law Classifying Abortion Drugs As Controlled Substances
Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Suits Stemming From Explosion, Insurers Say
Petitioners Urge D.C. Circuit To Vacate Coal-Fired Power Plant Emissions Rule
NLRB Waives Response Petition On Deferring NLRA Interpretation To NLRB
Supreme Court OKs Government Participation In Trademark Arguments
Judge Tosses Copyright Suit Brought By Photographer Against TikTok, OKs Amendment
Michigan Attorney General Sues Paper Mill For PFAS Pollution After Many Violations
Contractual Indemnification Against Architect Survives, But Other Condo Claims Out
Florida Appeals Court Reverses Home Defect Arbitration Order
Ky. Supreme Court Affirms Attorney Fees Denial In Child Custody Proceeding
Insurer: No D&O Coverage Owed For Claims Insured’s Employee Mishandled Corpse
Federal Judge Dismisses Equitable Contribution Suit After Insurers Reach Settlement
University Manager Seeks En Banc Review Of 6th Circuit’s Vaccine Ruling
Just 1 Claim In ERISA Top Hat Dispute Survives Summary Judgment Ruling
High Court Allows Solicitor General To Participate In Scienter Pleading Arguments