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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied abuse claimants’ petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ dismissal of their appeal seeking to reverse a lower federal court’s confirmation order that affirmed the Boy Scouts of America’s third modified fifth amended Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which contemplates the creation of a settlement trust to “assume liability for all Abuse Claims.”
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A federal judge in North Dakota granted a motion for default judgment against Atlas Turner Inc. on Jan. 13 after an attorney acknowledged the company received the motion but informed the plaintiffs that the company wouldn’t be replacing counsel and lacked the financial resources to continue defending asbestos cases in the United States.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) correctly construed a claim phrase requiring bidirectional antennas during inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Apple Inc., the board erred by failing to address alternate arguments raised by Apple in response to the patent holder’s proposed claim construction, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 13.
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with a Louisiana federal judge’s determination that a songwriter and his corporation, and not a music publication company, own the worldwide copyrights associated with the early rock ‘n’ roll song “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love).”
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Upholding termination of long-term disability (LTD) benefits under a regular-occupation standard for an investment portfolio manager whom surveillance showed had played 20 rounds of golf in three months in late 2024 despite allegedly disabling back problems, a Virginia federal judge concluded that despite there being some support for his claim, the termination “was both the product of a deliberate, principled reasoning process, and supported by substantial evidence.”
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana on Jan. 12 held that an insurer is entitled to summary judgment on its insureds’ breach of contract claim for damages that exceed those claimed in an Oct. 22, 2024, proof of loss, dismissing with prejudice the insureds’ lawsuit seeking coverage under their Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) for flood damage caused by Hurricane Francine.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its affiliates, along with unsuccessful bidders for its assets at an auction in Delaware federal court to enforce arbitral awards and bond debts, filed appellant briefs in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the lower court’s order approving a more than $5.8 billion bid for Venezuela’s oil holdings in the United States was flawed and conflicted.
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on Jan. 12 dismissed without prejudice a putative class action breach of contract suit filed against an auto insurer for its alleged failure to compensate a driver for her son’s auto accident while driving her insured vehicle, finding that the misrepresentation in the policy application by not listing her son as a driver “was material” because it prevented the insurer “from adequately assessing the risk” of insuring her vehicle.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An en banc ruling reversing a panel conclusion about who constitutes an interested party in the government procurement setting will stand after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an artificial intelligence computer vision company’s petition for certiorari and argument that it could challenge a government contract even though it wasn’t an active bidder in the process.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued two decisions on Jan. 12 that it designated as precedential; both decisions concern the PTO and the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) discretion in granting petitions.
PHILADELPHIA — Issuing a nonprecedential disposition affirming summary judgment against a class of retirement plan participants, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court that the fund selection and monitoring process at issue were “adequate to satisfy the duty of prudence imposed on fiduciaries by” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.