Judge Dismisses All RICO Claims In FCA Suit Against Medical Center, Physicians
LYNCHBURG, Va. — A Virginia federal judge granted defendants’ motions to dismiss in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and False Claims Act (FCA) suit filed by whistleblower physicians against the University of Virginia Health System and related entities (collectively, UVA) and individuals claiming that the defendants demanded that physicians increase the cost of medical procedures through fraudulent billing, finding that the RICO claims against UVA were dismissed because of sovereign immunity and that those against the remaining defendants were dismissed for failure to state a claim.
Judge Issues TRO To Stop OMB, DHS From Airing Trump Political Ads
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on Oct. 28 granted a motion by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and stayed the apportionment of $20 million for political ads in commemorative funds appropriated to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the DNC’s suit against President Donald J. Trump, the White House Office and two government agencies, finding that the DNC is likely to succeed on its Administrative Procedure Act claim against the agencies.
7th Circuit: Copyright Claims Against NFL, Wisconsin Agency Properly Tossed
CHICAGO — In a short Oct. 28 order, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a Wisconsin federal judge’s decision to dismiss a man’s copyright infringement suit against the National Football League (NFL) and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, holding that the phrases the man used in Green Bay Packers-themed songs were unprotectable slogan-like phrases.
Judge Bars Expert Testimony, Awards Summary Judgment In Cruise Ship Fall Case
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge granted summary judgment to Carnival Corp. in a passenger’s slip-and-fall suit after excluding a floor-safety expert’s testimony and a treating physician’s causation opinions and finding insufficient evidence of a dangerous condition or notice.
Spotify Proposes Judgment After Class Suit Over Alleged Bot Streams Dismissed
LOS ANGELES — Spotify USA Inc. on Oct. 28 filed its proposed judgment of dismissal in California federal court after a federal judge dismissed with prejudice a putative class action brought against it by a rapper who accused the company of negligence and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) for allegedly failing to prevent billions of artificial “bot streams” of music by musicians such as Drake, which allegedly reduced the revenue pool open to competing musicians.
7th Circuit: Authors Had Right To Publish Late Psychoanalyst’s Article
CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed an Indiana federal judge’s grant of summary judgment to two defendant-appellee authors on copyright claims brought against them by an organization focusing on a type of psychotherapy, holding that the authors had been granted permission to use an influential psychoanalyst’s article in their book by the previous copyright owners of the essay.
Ill. Federal Judge Won’t Transfer Medtronic Spinal Stimulator Suit To Minnesota
PEORIA, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois denied a motion to transfer a lawsuit involving an allegedly defective Medtronic Inc. spinal cord stimulator to a Minnesota federal court, finding that the plaintiff’s surgery, alleged injuries and device-related marketing in Illinois outweighed the manufacturer’s arguments favoring transfer.
5th Circuit Revives Union Pacific Worker’s ADA Suit, Finds Class Tolling Applies
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed and remanded a Texas federal judge’s ruling rejecting a former Union Pacific Railroad Co. conductor’s assertion that he was entitled to American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah tolling in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) suit filed over denial of a follow-up vision test needed to remove work restrictions, finding that the company did “not prevail” because the employee “was not unambiguously excluded from” a previously filed class action’s revised class definition.
U.S. Supreme Court Requests Responses To Cape Receivership Petitions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 27 asked asbestos plaintiffs and a receiver, who previously waived their right to respond, to file responses by Nov. 27 to two certiorari petitions challenging a South Carolina court’s ruling condoning appointment of the receiver over the assets of an English company.
Panel Affirms Ruling For Sign Company In Conversion Dispute Over COVID-Era Loan
DETROIT — A Michigan appellate court affirmed a lower court’s judgment in favor of a sign company and its owner in their suit against a former business partner alleging conversion, unjust enrichment, fraudulent representation, defamation, retaliatory eviction and assault regarding the parties’ dispute over business bank account funds, some of which were obtained through a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), finding in part that the issue of who had authority to withdraw the funds was not preserved for appeal.
Federal Judge Grants Final Approval Of $2.5M Data Breach Class Action Settlement
SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge granted final approval of a $2.5 million class action settlement resolving claims against a legal services firm arising from a 2024 data breach that allegedly compromised the personal information of tens of thousands of individuals, finding the settlement fair, reasonable and adequate and dismissing the action with prejudice.