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DOVER, Del. — An insurer failed to show that an interlocutory appeal of a Delaware judge’s ruling that a pollution exclusion applies only to traditional environmental pollution claims is warranted, a panel of the Delaware Supreme Court said April 20 in affirming the lower court’s denial of the insurer’s motion to certify the lower court’s ruling for interlocutory appeal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 heard oral arguments in a case asking it to determine whether the Securities and Exchange Commission may seek equitable disgorgement under federal securities laws without showing that investors suffered pecuniary harm; the SEC and an individual it brought a civil enforcement action against debated the definition and purpose of disgorgement, as well as the proper interpretation of Liu v. SEC.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 17 vacated and remanded a lower court order granting summary judgment to a health system and a supervisor in a qui tam suit filed by a physician and a manager who alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and related state law for fraudulent billing to Medicaid, finding that though the lower court determined that expressing concerns about purported fraudulent billing was a protected activity under the FCA, the court erred in holding that the physician did not establish a dispute regarding the retaliation against him because of the protected activity.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court on April 20 declined to review a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruling affirming the judgment of a New York federal court that found that state officials had qualified immunity from claims stemming from the deaths of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19 after a state directive prevented nursing homes from denying admission to patients having or suspected of having COVID-19.
BURLINGTON, Vt. — A federal judge in Vermont has denied Monsanto Co.’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the Burlington School District’s (BSD) lawsuit alleging the company is liable for contaminating Burlington High School (BHS) with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), ruling that “Monsanto knew that PCBs were toxic and that they caused harm to humans and animals.”
PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 17 reversed the dismissal of a putative class action against Target Corp. for allegedly falsely advertising the thread count of store-brand bedsheets in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), rejecting Target’s defense that the consumer could not be deceived by “physically impossible” statements about the thread count of cotton sheets,
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In accordance with an agreement reached by the parties, the U.S. Supreme Court on April 16 dismissed a certiorari petition that it had requested a response to; the 2-1 appeals court panel ruling affirmed vacatur of an award that resulted from pro se arbitration over severance pay and concerned an Employee Retirement Income Security Act discrimination claim that the majority concluded the claimant never raised, and the petitioner had argued that the decision “encourages a cascade of litigation over the enforceability of arbitral awards.”
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on April 16 granted a motion to dismiss with prejudice a putative class action accusing the maker of portable audio players for children of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by concealing a defect that would cause the devices’ batteries to overheat, noting that the company voluntarily recalled and replaced customers’ batteries.
PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 16 affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action against a water filter maker for allegedly misrepresenting their filter’s ability to purify water when it cannot remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), writing that “reasonable” consumers would not expect this ability and that the company was not required to disclose this as an “unreasonable safety hazard.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oil companies’ well drilling activities in Louisiana during World War II sufficiently relate to government contracts involving the production of aviation gasoline and trigger federal jurisdiction under 2011 amendments to the federal officer removal statute, the U.S. Supreme Court said today.
MILWAUKEE — A reasonable jury could conclude that Pabst Brewing Co. owned and controlled the premises and work where a pipefitter contractor suffered exposure to asbestos for liability under state law, but punitive damages are capped by the amount actually recovered and not the total amount awarded by the jury, a majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court said in partially affirming a verdict.