Judge Confirms Final Award In ‘Long-Running Dispute’ Over Control Of Company
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 17 granted a petition to confirm a final award in a years-long arbitration in which the majority shareholders of a Latin American telecommunications company have defied past awards, including one ordering them to pay more than $325 million to minority shareholders, for which they were previously found in contempt.
After Vacating $102M Shipping Award Due To Fraud, Judge Denies Permanent Injunction
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on June 17 denied a shipping investor’s motion, in which two shipping companies joined, for a permanent injunction against three Cypriot companies that are alleged to have been the beneficiaries of a since-vacated JAMS award worth more than $102 million that the court said was “obtained through fraud,” writing that he would not enjoin future litigation or issue findings beyond those in his vacatur order.
3rd Circuit Won’t Revive Case Over Denial Of Accidental Life Benefits
PHILADELPHIA — Concluding that neither claim was plausible under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 17 affirmed rulings against a widower who argued that his late wife’s employer wrongly denied his claim for basic accidental life insurance and optional accidental death and disability (AD&D) benefits and wrongly failed to provide plan documents.
RICO Claims Tossed Against Physicians Accused Of Life Insurance Fraud Conspiracy
NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge dismissed claims for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), fraud, tortious interference and unjust enrichment claims against two physicians accused of conspiring to submit fraudulent medical records in support of life insurance applications, finding that the allegations were “conclusory” and failed to show that the physicians participated in falsifying records to further a “scheme.”
Depo-Provera MDL Judge Says Parties Have Reached Settlement To End Claims
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The manufacturers of Depo-Provera, a long-lasting injectable contraceptive that allegedly caused women to develop intracranial meningiomas, a type of brain tumor, have reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs’ lead counsel to resolve all cases that “meet the eligibility criteria agreed to by the Parties,” the Florida federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation said in an order vacating deadlines for the first pilot case.
Tribunal Dismisses Mining Company’s $315M Claim Against Mexico
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on June 16 published a tribunal’s award dismissing a $315 million North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim brought by a mining investor against the United Mexican States for failing to stop a mining cooperative from blockading and seizing silver and zinc mines in which it had invested and ordering the claimant to pay Mexico roughly $1 million in attorney fees, arbitration costs and expenses.
Judge OKs Stipulated Class Certification In ERISA Suits Over Fees, Funds
NEW YORK — Pursuant to joint stipulations, a New York federal judge on June 16 certified mandatory classes as to the remaining claims in two related long-running Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases that generally allege imprudent management of New York University (NYU) retirement plans.
Haitian TPS Holders Move To Dismiss U.S. Petition In Revocation Class Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should dismiss as improvidently granted a petition for a writ of certiorari that was filed by federal government parties after a federal court in the District of Columbia stayed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate the temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti, Haitian TPS holders argue in a June 16 motion filed in their own case and also docketed in a consolidated case concerning DHS’s decision to terminate the TPS for Syria.
4th Circuit Vacates Class Certification In Brewery Workers’ Pay Case
RICHMOND, Va. — A federal court in Virginia “committed legal error” and “erroneously ignored the directive of our binding Bojangles [Stafford v. Bojangles’ Restaurants, Inc.] precedent” when it determined that a proposed class of Anheuser-Busch LLC employees who allege they were not paid for pre- and post-shift activities met Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23’s commonality and predominance requirements, a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, finding “significant variation in the” employees’ work.
Judge Dismisses Parent Companies But Says Opioid Case Against PBMs Can Move Forward
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi federal judge agreed to dismiss nine entities from a lawsuit filed by Mississippi that alleges that various pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their parent companies contributed to the opioid epidemic in the state, finding that “the state has not explained how each Defendant’s actions contributed to the injury in Mississippi.”
Lilly, Medical Centers File Stipulation Of Dismissal In Compounded Drug Row
SEATTLE — Eli Lilly and Co., two medical centers and two of their physicians who prescribe patients compounded versions of tirzepatide, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for diabetes and weight loss, on June 15 filed a joint stipulation of dismissal after a Washington federal judge again refused to approve a sealed consent judgment and settlement agreement.