Dismissal Denied In Dispute Over $100M Allegedly Depleted From Reinsurance Trust
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on Aug. 31 denied dismissal to a reinsurer and other parties that an insurer accused of improperly depleting a reinsurance trust account by more than $100 million, finding that the insurer has standing to sue because the trust agreement provided it with the right to withdraw trust assets at any time.
5th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment For FDA In GLP-1 Drug Shortage Delisting Cases
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in separate unpublished decisions, affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in challenges to the agency’s removal of tirzepatide and semaglutide, FDA-approved drugs for diabetes and weight loss, from its drug shortage list, finding that any failure to use notice-and-comment procedures was harmless and that the agency’s shortage determinations were not arbitrary or capricious.
2nd Circuit Affirms Direct FCA Claims Dismissal, Vacates Reverse FCA Claim Ruling
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s dismissal of a reverse false claim and remanded for further proceedings but affirmed a lower court’s judgment dismissing direct false claims in a relator’s suit alleging that a pharmacy services provider overcharged certain government health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) and related state law, finding that the relator failed to satisfy the specificity required regarding the direct claims but sufficiently alleged a reverse false claim.
Duty To Preserve Evidence Began When Insurer Denied Claim, Magistrate Judge Says
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge on Aug. 31 granted an insured’s motion to determine the triggering date of a pollution liability insurer’s duty to preserve evidence after concluding that the duty to preserve evidence related to the insured’s claim for environmental contamination remediation costs began on the date on which the insurer denied coverage for the claim.
Government To High Court: Deny Certiorari Petition Concerning Top-Hat Plans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a certiorari petition filed by participants in “top hat” deferred compensation and retirement plans, the U.S. government says in an Aug. 31 amicus curiae brief that the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals “erred in its analysis of surcharge” but “this case’s idiosyncratic factual context makes it an unsuitable vehicle for clarifying the propriety of surcharge relief” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act; simultaneously, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) asked the Fifth Circuit for permission to file a late amicus brief in a separate ERISA case arguing that “surcharge is a form of ‘appropriate equitable relief’ that may be awarded for claims brought against fiduciaries for breaches of fiduciary duties.”
Anthropic Largely Prevails In Suit Over Supply Chain Risk Designation
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. government’s designation of Anthropic PBC as a supply chain risk based on the company’s public comments about safe uses of its Claude artificial intelligence violates free speech and due process protections and constitutes an arbitrary and capricious agency action, a federal judge in California said in mostly granting the company’s motion for summary judgment and denying the government’s cross-motion.
Split 6th Circuit Vacates Order Denying Bid To Stop Social Media Law Enforcement
CINCINNATI — A split panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 28 vacated and remanded a lower court order denying a motion by internet trade association NetChoice LLC for a preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement against its members’ websites of a Tennessee law requiring, among other things, age verification for certain social media platforms, finding that the trial court abused its discretion in finding no irreparable harm absent injunctive relief .
Bank Of America Settles Claims Of Facilitating Epstein’s Trafficking For $72.5M
NEW YORK — Bank of America N.A. (BANA) will pay $72.5 million to settle a class complaint by an alleged trafficking victim who accused the financial institution of knowingly assisting, supporting and facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ventures, according to an order granting final settlement approval issued by a federal judge in New York on Aug. 28.
Data Breach Claims Dismissed For Failure To Show Injury, Traceability
BALTIMORE — A Maryland federal judge dismissed without prejudice a consolidated class action brought by individuals whose personal information was allegedly compromised in a July 2025 cyberattack on health care technology provider Healthcare Interactive Inc., finding that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because, although six of the 17 named plaintiffs alleged more specific harms, none provided sufficient detail tying those harms to information the company possessed or to the breach itself, while the remaining plaintiffs relied on generalized or conclusory allegations of injury.
Federal Judge Dismisses Yahoo’s Coverage Suit For Lack Of Personal Jurisdiction
WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss Yahoo Inc.’s lawsuit seeking a declaration as to coverage for costs that were incurred by its European subsidiary in regulatory proceedings alleging violations of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation and denied Yahoo’s motion to remand the lawsuit to a Delaware court, holding that the federal court lacks personal jurisdiction over the insurer.
Counterclaims Against Uber, FedEx Tossed In Suit Alleging Personal Injury Scheme
PHILADELPHIA — Dismissing physicians’ false light invasion of privacy counterclaims, defamation counterclaims by a medical practice, and physicians and attorneys’ civil extortion, sham litigation and abuse of process counterclaims, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in part that Pennsylvania does not recognize a civil cause of action for extortion in a suit by ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc. and Federal Express Corp. (FedEx) alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) related to an alleged scheme to litigate fraudulent personal injury claims in Philadelphia state court.