Federal Circuit Vacates Dismissal Of Takings Suit But Affirms Discovery Orders
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a nonprecedential opinion saying the U.S. Court of Federal Claims erred by converting a “motion for summary judgment into a motion to dismiss without providing notice to the parties,” the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 9 vacated and remanded dismissal of a suit filed against the federal government over a purported water flowage easement; however, the appellate court affirmed four discovery orders in which the lower court generally upheld the government’s assertion of deliberative process privilege, saying it found no abuse of discretion in those rulings.
Judge Boots 4 Lawyers From Case After Both Sides Caught Misusing AI
ABERDEEN, Miss. — A federal judge disqualified all four attorneys working on a breach of contract lawsuit involving the City of Aberdeen from further participation in the case, revoked the pro hac vice status of two of them and barred the two from practicing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for two years, and imposed a total of $8,000 in fines after finding artificial intelligence generated errors in filings by both sides.
Minnesota Panel Partly Reverses Ruling In Dog Bite Coverage Dispute
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota appeals court held that a lower court correctly determined that a homeowners insurance policy’s “resident-relative” exclusion did not bar coverage for a minor’s injuries arising from a dog bite but erred in ruling that the “history of biting” exclusion did not bar coverage, partly affirming and partly reversing the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the injured child’s representative.
Workplace Discrimination, Retaliation Disputes Won’t Be Heard By U.S Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 8 denied three petitions for a writ of certiorari seeking review of workplace discrimination and retaliation claims pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and various state statutes filed by a Michigan brewer, a Turkish-American Texas school district employee and a Russian immigrant who worked at an Alabama Walmart.
Pepsi, Coffee Maker React To Government Discouraging Certiorari In Trademark Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — PepsiCo Inc. and a coffee brewing company filed supplemental briefs on June 8 in the U.S. Supreme Court, reacting to the U.S. government’s call for the court to deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the coffee brewing company that argues the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals “stands alone” in considering a trademark’s strength a question of law and not a question of fact. The briefs follow a recent amicus curiae brief in which the government told the court that certiorari should be denied, even though it believes the Second Circuit’s opinion was erroneous.
5th Circuit: Insured’s Loss Falls Squarely Under Policy’s Deception Fraud Provision
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal court’s dismissal of an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking full crime coverage for its losses arising from $1,251,068.34 it paid to a fraudulent account, agreeing with the lower court that coverage is limited to the policy’s $100,000 Deception Fraud Provision.
Federal Circuit: AI Researcher’s Latest Government Takings Claim Rightly Tossed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held June 8 that a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge was right to find that the court had no jurisdiction under the Tucker Act to consider a pro se computer scientist’s Fifth Amendment takings claim against the U.S. government because copyright claims against the government can be brought only under the statute the plaintiff used to pursue relief in a series of earlier suits.
Minnesota Federal Judge Stays Insurer’s Silica Exposure Coverage Suit For 6 Months
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge on June 8 agreed to stay an insurer’s lawsuit for six months to allow a California federal judge to determine whether the California judge’s summary judgment order, entered in a similar lawsuit filed by the insured countertop manufacturer named in hundreds of underlying silica exposure lawsuits, applies to all of the underlying silica lawsuits or only a select number of the underlying suits filed against the insured.
N.J. Panel Affirms Arbitration Awards In Coverage Dispute With Guaranty Association
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appellate court affirmed arbitration awards of $45,000 in damages to a pedestrian struck by a car and $12,639.57 in favor of the New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association (NJPLIGA), which paid medical expenses for the pedestrian, in a suit against the owner of the car, rejecting the owner’s argument that there were extraordinary circumstances preventing him from filing a demand for a de novo trial after the completion of the arbitration hearing.
Known Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For Carbon Monoxide Injury Suit, Panel Says
NEW ORLEANS — Following a district court’s finding on remand that complete diversity of citizenship exists between an insured and the named insurers, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 8 affirmed the lower court’s summary judgment ruling entered in favor of the insurers, agreeing with the lower court that no coverage is owed pursuant to the policy’s known pollution conditions exclusion for the settlement of an underlying personal injury suit stemming from carbon monoxide exposure.
J&J Prevails In 2nd California Talc-Cancer Bellwether
LOS ANGELES — A jury hearing the second bellwether trial in consolidated ovarian-cancer cases in a California court found for Johnson & Johnson on June 5, finding no negligence on the company’s part for ovarian cancer alleged to have been caused by consumer talc use.