3rd Circuit: Oil, Gas Producer Didn’t Abandon Arbitration Rights In Royalty Dispute
PITTSBURGH — An oil and gas producer sued by a class of leaseholders seeking allegedly unpaid royalties didn’t abandon its arbitration rights related to unnamed class members when it waited until after class certification to move to compel arbitration against those with arbitration clauses in their leases, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in an interlocutory appeal, vacating the trial court’s ruling and remanding.
D.C. Circuit Affirms Medical Device Repair Exemption For DMCA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a District of Columbia federal judge’s finding that a medical device repair exemption that allows for the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) to access clinical-operation software to diagnose, maintain or repair a device was reasonable, saying the Library of Congress reasonably concluded that such access is likely fair use.
Washington Panel Says Auto Insurer Acted Reasonably In Handling UIM Claim
SPOKANE, Wash. — A panel of the Washington Division III Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment rulings on breach of contract and extracontractual claims entered in an auto insurer’s favor because the insurer acted reasonably when it told the insureds it could not evaluate their underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits claim until it knew the liability limits of the tortfeasor’s insurance policy.
Google Divestiture Rejected, Most Behavioral Remedies Accepted In Antitrust Suit
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia federal judge on Sept. 2 rejected proposed remedies that would have required Google LLC to divest portions of its advertising technology business but accepted most of the parties’ proposed behavioral remedies as modified by the court in a suit by the U.S. government and 17 states asserting that Google violated the Sherman Act by monopolizing the publisher ad server market and the ad exchange market and by unlawful tying.
Man Awarded $28M In Glyphosate Cancer Case Doesn’t Oppose Monsanto’s Petition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A man who says he developed cancer after exposure to the active ingredient in Roundup and who was awarded a $28 million combined award against the herbicide manufacturer filed a three-page brief on Sept. 2 responding to Monsanto Co.’s petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court stating that he “does not oppose the disposition the petition requests, which would leave it to the California Court of Appeal to apply [Monsanto Co. v. Durnell] to this record in the first instance.”
5th Circuit Dismisses Church’s Appeal In Coverage Suit For Want Of Prosecution
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 2 dismissed a church insured’s appeal of a Texas federal court’s final judgment dismissing with prejudice its claims against its commercial property insurer for breach of contract, bad faith, unfair or deceptive acts or trade practices and violations of the Texas Prompt Payment Claims Act in a coverage dispute over hailstorm damage, finding that the insured failed to timely file its appellant brief and record excerpts.
Federal Judge Rules For Insurers In Ghost Guns Coverage Dispute
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Sept. 1 granted insurers’ motion for partial summary judgment in a declaratory judgment lawsuit disputing coverage for underlying claims that their mutual insured violated federal, state and local laws when it deliberately sold and shipped ghost gun parts and kits to New York, holding that the underlying “Ghost Gun” actions do not allege harm that was caused by an “accident” to trigger coverage and, therefore, the insurers have no duty to defend or indemnify.
5th Circuit Reverses Tax Change To Tobacco Companies’ Texas Settlement Payments
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 1 reversed and remanded a ruling allocating additional liability against two tobacco companies for underpayment of their annual settlement payments to Texas based on a change to federal corporate income tax rates, writing that the payments should be calculated based on the applicable year’s profits rather than the amount set in a 2001 amendment to the settlement agreement.
Federal Judge Says N.Y. Climate Change Act Preempted By CAA, U.S. Constitution
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Finding that New York’s embattled Climate Change Superfund Act is preempted by the U.S. Constitution and the Clean Air Act (CAA), a federal judge granted summary judgment to 22 states, coal, oil and natural gas industry groupsand organizations representing the country’s largest energy producers on claims in consolidated cases challenging the law’s constitutionality.
11th Circuit Says FCA Qui Tam Provisions Don’t Violate Appointments Clause
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 1 vacated a lower court order dismissing a qui tam suit alleging that medical providers and Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers violated the False Claims Act (FCA) and remanded, finding that the FCA’s qui tam provisions do not violate the appointments clause of Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
Texas Federal Judge Says States Have Standing, Agrees To Pause Mifepristone Case
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A Texas federal judge held that Florida and Texas, which challenge federal actions involving the abortion drug mifepristone, one of two drugs used to induce early termination of pregnancy, have standing to sue, denying motions to dismiss filed by two drug manufacturers but granting the federal government’s request for a temporary stay while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviews the challenged actions.