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Benefits
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July 11, 2024
Insurer Can Tap Trust Fund For Old Claims, Mass. Court Says
A Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Thursday that workers' compensation insurers who are no longer selling policies in the state but still paying benefits on older claims are entitled to seek partial reimbursement from an employer-funded state trust fund, reversing its own prior holding on the question.
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July 11, 2024
3rd Circ. Backs Toss Of $427K Arbitration Liability Award
The Third Circuit upheld a lower court's nix of an arbitration award of more than $427,000 against a painting company over a union pension fund's withdrawal liability claims, determining Thursday that the fund waited too long to request payment under federal benefits law.
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July 10, 2024
Rite Aid, DOJ Craft $410M Settlement Of Opioid Sale Claims
Rite Aid agreed to a nearly $410 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, the bulk of which will be an unsecured claim in the company's Chapter 11 case, that will put to bed allegations the pharmacy chain dispensed opioids illegally, the DOJ announced Wednesday.
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July 10, 2024
Drug Pricing, Overreach Dominate IP Disclaimer Feedback
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received heated feedback regarding its proposal to make follow-on patents easier to invalidate, with drug pricing advocates applauding it, top technology and pharma companies decrying it, and high-profile officials calling the proposal an overstep of the agency's authority.
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July 10, 2024
Ex-CEO Of Mogul-Tied Co. Fired For Failures, Fraud Suit Says
A European IT company tied to convicted mogul Greg Lindberg struck back against a lawsuit by its former CEO who alleges he was fired abruptly, accusing the former executive of shirking his leadership duties in a counterclaim.
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July 10, 2024
Utility Locating Co.'s Ex-CEO Sues For Severance After Firing
The former CEO of a utility locating company in North Carolina is suing for severance after he was unexpectedly fired, saying he was never told the grounds for his termination and should be paid his base salary plus a bonus under the terms of his employment contract.
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July 10, 2024
AdaptHealth Investor Attys Get 25% Of $51M Deal, With Caveat
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday granted final approval to a $51 million settlement between AdaptHealth and investors over allegations tied to its merger with a blank check company, but the plaintiffs' counsel must wait for certain shares to be sold before they can collect their $12.8 million fee.
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July 10, 2024
Buyers Say Teva Had Multipart Scheme To Delay Inhaler Rivals
Employee benefit funds accusing Teva of orchestrating a decadelong scheme to delay generic competition for its QVAR asthma inhalers told a Massachusetts federal court the drugmaker is trying to end the case by addressing merely one aspect of a multipart scheme.
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July 10, 2024
UMB Fired VP After Denying Further Cancer Leave, Suit Says
UMB Financial Corp. fired an executive for requesting more time to recover from chemotherapy treatments, according to a suit filed in Colorado federal court, after she was made to work 12-hour days in preparation for her leave to complete the work she would miss while she was out.
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July 10, 2024
X Corp., Musk Dodge $500M Severance Suit
X Corp. and Elon Musk can escape claims they owe former employees $500 million in severance following the business mogul's purchase of the social platform formerly known as Twitter, a California federal judge ruled, saying the facts don't show that federal benefits law governed the payments workers received.
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July 10, 2024
2nd Circ. Won't Rethink Arbitration Denial In ERISA Suit
The Second Circuit declined to reconsider its May ruling that a group of financial services companies can't compel individual arbitration of a proposed class action accusing them of overcharging an employee stock ownership plan, rejecting one company's argument that the panel unfairly displayed "hostility to arbitration."
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July 10, 2024
House Panel Votes To Nix Biden's Retirement Advice Rule
A Republican-controlled panel of U.S. House lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday to block recently finalized regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor that expand the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, after a brief debate on retirement policy that clearly split along party lines.
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July 09, 2024
With Chevron's End, LGBTQ+ Healthcare Regs Face New Risk
The end of Chevron deference is already disrupting regulation meant to protect LGBTQ+ access to healthcare, with three federal judges blocking enforcement of a Biden administration rule prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in healthcare.
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July 09, 2024
Healthcare Cases To Watch: A 2024 Midyear Report
Courts across the U.S. this year will oversee key cases to the healthcare industry, from multidistrict litigation over the Change Healthcare hack to a challenge of a state gender-affirming care ban at the Supreme Court. Here are the healthcare cases to watch in the second half of 2024.
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July 09, 2024
Miracle-Gro Scores Early Win In Benefits Cutoff Suit
Scotts Miracle-Gro notched an early win in a former worker's lawsuit alleging she was forced out when her health benefits were cut after she asked to work remotely following a bout of COVID-19, with a Georgia federal judge ruling Tuesday her position necessitated in-person attendance.
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July 09, 2024
Aetna Beats Blue Cross In NC Health Plan Contract Battle
An administrative judge affirmed North Carolina's switch of its employee and retiree health plan to Aetna, reasoning Blue Cross Blue Shield failed to prove state officials made errors favoring the competitor when evaluating bids.
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July 09, 2024
3rd Circ. Questions DuPont Family Trust's ERISA Status
In a hearing Tuesday about a dispute between the DuPont family and its domestic workers over trust money, Third Circuit judges quizzed both sides on the level of involvement needed from trustees or the family for the fund to be considered a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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July 09, 2024
NFL Says Ex-Pro's Benefits Row Belongs At Bargaining Table
The National Football League has pushed back against a Fifth Circuit appeal by a former player whose benefits suit was tossed, arguing his issue is not with the plan's board but the plan's design, which can only be resolved through bargaining, not in court.
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July 09, 2024
Tampa Atty Accused Of Fraud In Long-Running House Dispute
A Tampa-area estate lawyer has been accused of fraud conspiracy in a state court lawsuit brought by a former tax attorney who alleges that her house was taken to collect fees stemming from a false guardianship case, saying a court order that revoked possession of the property violated the Florida Constitution.
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July 09, 2024
5th Circ. Skeptical Of Nixing ESG Rule Despite Chevron's End
A Fifth Circuit panel appeared unlikely Tuesday to knock out a Biden administration rule allowing retirement plan advisers to consider environmental, social and governance factors when choosing investments, although one judge seemed to support vacating a lower court's decision upholding the regulation in light of the Chevron doctrine's demise.
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July 08, 2024
Class Attys Seek 24.4M Tesla Shares For Musk Pay Suit Win
A stockholder attorney whose team won an order voiding Tesla CEO Elon Musk's $56 billion, stock-based, 10-year compensation package in January urged Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday to reject as "inherently wrong" the electric vehicle manufacturer's attacks on winning-side, stock-based attorney fee proposals ranging in value from $1.44 billion to more than $7 billion.
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July 08, 2024
9th Circ. Denies Northrop Retirees' Bid For New Judge
A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday shot down Northrop Grumman pensioners' bid to have their proposed ERISA class action tried before another judge, after two different appellate court panels overturned a lower court judge's two previous dismissals in the matter.
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July 08, 2024
NJ Says State Temp Worker Law Doesn't Conflict With ERISA
The State of New Jersey urged a federal judge to keep in place the equal benefits provision of its law codifying protections for temporary workers, arguing it is not superseded by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because employers can satisfy the state law without altering ERISA plans.
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July 08, 2024
UnitedHealth's Cross-Plan Offsetting Affirmed By 8th Circ.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Monday a Minnesota federal judge's decision to toss a suit from patients insured by UnitedHealth Group alleging a billing practice known as cross-plan offsetting violated federal benefits law, finding the lower court properly concluded the patients hadn't sufficiently established injury.
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July 08, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Prince's heirs were left standing alone in a cold world last week after Delaware's Court of Chancery found their attempts to gain control of the late musician's estate too demanding. Delaware's court of equity also waved a wand for Walt Disney and slashed nearly $10 million from a damages award for Sears stockholders. In case you missed anything, here's a recap of all the latest news from Delaware's Chancery Court.
Expert Analysis
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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Understanding Illinois' Temp Worker Obligation Updates
Recent amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act would significantly expand the protection for temporary workers in the state, impose new compliance obligations on staffing agencies and their client companies, and add significant enforcement teeth to the act, say Nicholas Anaclerio and Ellie Hemminger at Vedder Price.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.
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What The ESG Divide Means For Insurers And Beyond
The debate around ESG is becoming increasingly polarized, with some states passing legislation that prohibits the use of ESG factors and others advancing affirmative legislation, highlighting the importance for insurers and other companies to understand this complex legal landscape, say Scott Seaman and Bessie Daschbach at Hinshaw.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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Opinion
Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action
After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.
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Cos. Must Prepare For More ESG Scrutiny From All Sides
As businesses face challenges to their environmental, social and governance efforts and statements — both from those who find them inadequate, and from those who think they go too far — it is more important than ever to proceed with care in implementing and disclosing ESG initiatives, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Recent Changes Mark A Key Moment For New York High Court
Recent developments in the New York Court of Appeals — from rapid turnover and increasing diversity, to a perception among some of growing politicization — mark an important turning point, and the court will continue to evolve in the coming year as it considers a number of important cases, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback
Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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New NLRB Bench Book Is An Important Read For Practitioners
Though the National Labor Relations Board's Bench Book is aimed at administrative law judges who adjudicate unfair labor practice hearings, key updates in its 2023 edition offer crucial reading for anyone who handles charges before the agency, say David Pryzbylski and Thomas Payne at Barnes & Thornburg.
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Steps To Success For Senior Associates
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.
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Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities
At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.
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Opinion
Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice
The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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Secure 2.0 Takeaways From DOL's 2024 Budget Proposal
The U.S. Department of Labor’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal provides insight into the most pressing Secure 2.0 implementation issues, including establishment of a search database for finding lost retirement savings and developing guidance on the execution of newly authorized emergency savings accounts, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.