In Another PRT Appeal, DOL Again Urges Reversal Of Standing Finding
NEW YORK — Making the same key arguments it did in January in a similar interlocutory appeal, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a ruling that retirees had standing to file a putative class lawsuit that is part of a much-watched string of pension risk transfer (PRT) challenges; among other things, the retirees generally allege that the use of offshore captive reinsurers makes the insurers now responsible for paying their annuities more likely to fall short of their obligations.
Judge Enforces Award Worth More Than $1B Against South Sudan And Its Bank
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on July 23 granted a Qatari bank’s motion for default judgment against the Republic of South Sudan and summary judgment against its state-owned bank, the Bank of South Sudan (BOSS), and enforced an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitral award against them worth more than $1 billion for defaulting on a roughly $700 million loan, rebuffing BOSS’s arguments opposing enforcement based on “vague allegations of corruption.”
Judge: Statute Of Limitations Bars Assignee’s Recovery Of Asbestos Losses
NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge granted summary judgment in favor of a U.K.-based reinsurer after determining that the statute of limitations on an assignee’s reinsurance billing claims began in October 2001 when the reinsurer sent a letter denying the validity of the claims, rendering the assignee’s September 2023 demand for $403,748.42 time-barred.
Parties Debate How Pilot Cases Should Proceed In Depo-Provera MDL After Settlement
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, recommended three cases to serve as replacement pilot cases in the multidistrict litigation in a Florida federal court after the parties have reached a settlement agreement to resolve all cases that “meet the eligibility criteria agreed to by the Parties”; the women whose cases were suggested responded with varying degrees of opposition to the designation (In Re: Depo-Provera [Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate] Products Liability Litigation, No. 25-3140, N.D. Fla.).
3rd Circuit Vacates Certification Of Third-Party Payers Class In Avandia MDL
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 21 vacated the certification of a class of third-party payers (TPPs) who paid for prescriptions for Avandia after finding that the statistical evidence presented in the district court to prove that alleged fraud by GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK) caused them to pay more for diabetes drug showed proof of correlation but failed to meet the appropriate causation standard.
Homeowners Insurer Was Required To Replace Only Damaged Siding, Judge Says
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer on breach of contract and bad faith claims after determining that the insurer was required to replace only damaged aluminum siding on the insureds’ home as long as it was “substantially similar” to the damaged siding.
ICSID Award Worth $390M Was Timely Enforced Under Local Law, D.C. Circuit Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 21 affirmed a $390 million federal court judgment entered after the confirmation of an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award in favor of airline investors and against the Argentine Republic, writing that the case was timely filed under the District of Columbia’s 12-year statute of limitations.
4th Circuit Affirms Judgment For Employer In FCA Dispute Involving ADA Claims
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment for an employer in a former employee’s suit alleging that she was terminated in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), finding that the former employee failed to show that there is a dispute regarding whether the employer’s stated reason for her termination was a pretext for disability discrimination.
California Panel: Insured’s Failure To Submit To EUO Dooms Coverage Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on July 20 affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer in an insured’s breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing lawsuit seeking coverage for theft by conversion of three African art pieces, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s refusal to submit to an examination under oath as required by the personal articles insurance policy doomed his lawsuit.
3rd Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Patent Licensing Dispute Over Contract Terms
PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 20 affirmed a Delaware federal judge’s dismissal with prejudice of a breach of contract suit involving a licensing agreement for patented hand sanitizer and other skin-care products; the panel agreed with the judge that the plaintiff-appellant entity never received a required affirmative written communication that would allow it to bring infringement suits regarding the patents.
4th Circuit Remands Mootness Issue Raised By Insurer For 1st Time On Appeal
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 20 remanded for the district court to consider a commercial general liability insurer’s argument that its declaratory relief action was rendered moot by the settlement of an underlying lawsuit alleging that a nightclub insured misappropriated professional models’ likenesses and injured their professional reputations by posting their images online without their consent, noting that the question of mootness was raised by the insurer for the first time on appeal.