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SAN FRANCISCO — Issuing a per curiam opinion in a dispute over a contract that greatly reduced withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension fund, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the challenged ruling on a different ground than the lower court had, holding “that the contract is a financial accommodation, without reaching whether it is executory”; the appellant, which signed the contract before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, unsuccessfully sought a ruling that would let it assign the agreement to its acquirer.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump on Sept. 16 issued a fourth executive order pausing enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act as to TikTok until Dec. 16, requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to enforce the act, which would have resulted in a ban on the popular social network absent a corporate ownership change.
CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed an Ohio federal judge’s order granting summary judgment motions filed by a university and two faculty members regarding a transgender professor’s Title VII, First Amendment and perceived disability claims after a promotion was rescinded following the professor’s “weeks-long, profanity-laden Twitter tirade insulting colleagues and the university.”
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 16 denied an aircraft facility operator’s petition for reconsideration of its opinion affirming in part and reversing in part a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in an insurer’s subrogation lawsuit arising from property damage incurred by the insured’s privately owned noncommercial aircraft while it was parked and stored at the petitioner’s facility, standing by its finding that there is a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether it was reasonable for the petitioner to conclude that the pilot had the apparent authority to bind the aircraft owner to the limitation of liability provision of the landing card.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed Walmart Inc.’s appeal of an Arkansas federal jury award of more than $100 million to a nitrile glove supplier for Walmart’s broken promise to purchase millions of boxes of gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic and the supplier’s cross-appeal after the parties stipulated to the dismissal.
ATLANTA — In a per curiam order issued without explanation in a dispute where a federal jury sided with a long-term disability (LTD) insurer, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for panel rehearing, letting stand its ruling vacating a judgment of nearly $450,000 for the insurer on its unjust enrichment claim but upholding dismissal of a breach of contract counterclaim.
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a final judgment of $193 million against Eli Lilly & Co. stemming from a False Claims Act jury verdict for reporting falsely deflated drug prices to the government.
PHILADELPHIA — A panel opinion allowing courts to put aside the rigorous analysis traditionally required for class certification and creating a new standard for price impact disclosures in securities actions will have a “problematic” influence in district court cases involving billions of dollars, Johnson & Johnson entities defending claims that they hid the presence of asbestos in talc from shareholders tell the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 15 declined to stay a district court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) as to the purported removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Chegg Inc., an online textbook rental service, on Sept. 15 filed a joint motion for a stipulated order for a permanent injunction and monetary judgment in a California federal court in the FTC’s suit alleging violations of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) for Chegg’s purported failure to provide subscribers with a “simple” method to cancel recurring charges, stating that the parties have agreed to a $7.5 million judgment against Chegg and that Chegg is permanently “enjoined from failing to provide a simple mechanism for a consumer to cancel.”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In an order entered Sept. 15 after plaintiff Newsmax Broadcasting LLC filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, a Florida federal judge dismissed without prejudice Newsmax’s complaint against Fox News Network LLC and Fox Corp. alleging violations of the Sherman Act and Florida state law related to Fox News’ purported “market power to coerce distributors,” including virtual multichannel video programming distributors, “into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax.”