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Benefits
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April 29, 2024
Judge Rejects Class Certification Of Seizure Drug Customers
An Illinois federal judge has rejected a class certification bid in a suit against drugmaker Mallinckrodt and prescription delivery platform Express Scripts, ruling that the plaintiffs were unable to meet their predominance burden as a class.
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April 29, 2024
Aetna Can't Arbitrate Aramark's Suit Over Billing Issues
A Texas federal judge refused to boot to arbitration a suit Aramark filed against Aetna accusing the insurer of costing the food services company millions by approving shoddy health benefit claims, saying the allegations fall into a carveout in the parties' arbitration agreement.
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April 29, 2024
DOL Finalizes Rescission Of ACA-Skirting Health Plan Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday finalized its rescission of an association health plan rule that allowed small businesses to band together to create healthcare plans that skirt certain Affordable Care Act requirements, which a D.C. federal court largely invalidated in 2019.
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April 29, 2024
NC Law Firm Ends Fired Paralegal's Pregnancy Bias Suit
A real estate law firm agreed to end a former worker's suit claiming she was fired from her paralegal job only 12 days after she notified her bosses that she was pregnant and needed maternity leave, according to a North Carolina federal court filing.
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April 29, 2024
Supreme Court Will Review Veteran's PTSD Benefits
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday accepted an Air Force veteran's petition seeking to examine if an administrative veterans' court should have reviewed his entire case history before denying his benefits claim for post-traumatic stress disorder.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
HHS Finalizes Bolstered Sexual Orientation Bias Protections
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday unveiled a final rule designed to beef up protections against discrimination in healthcare, in particular protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community as well as for other vulnerable populations.
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April 26, 2024
Mich. To Pay $55M In Suit Over COVID-19 Aid Clawbacks
Michigan's unemployment insurance agency will pay $55 million to people whose benefits were improperly clawed back without notice during the pandemic and reform its collection practices to ensure due process under a settlement that has received initial approval from a state judge.
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April 26, 2024
ERISA Suits Targeting Annuity Deals Could Escalate
A quartet of lawsuits targeting employers who terminate their pension plans and exchange them for annuity insurance contracts could trigger a new wave of class action litigation if they gain traction, since hundreds of thousands of retirees have been subject to pension risk transfers in recent years, attorneys say.
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April 26, 2024
Health Co. Not Liable For Cigna Underpayment, 3rd Circ. Says
The Third Circuit on Friday backed a win for a healthcare cost management company in a suit over Cigna's alleged underpayment for plastic surgery, finding the contract between the company and a plastic surgery practice did not guarantee a set payment rate.
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April 26, 2024
Investors Ask 3rd Circ. To Revive Row With Maiden Holdings
Investors urged the Third Circuit to revive their suit claiming that reinsurance company Maiden Holdings Ltd. misrepresented its underwriting and risk management practices, saying the lower court's erroneous discovery restriction prevented them from proving their case.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-Conn. Hospital Worker Says He Was Assaulted, Then Fired
Stamford Health Inc. terminated a hospital maintenance worker soon after he suffered a violent assault in the workplace, claiming that he abandoned his job even though it failed to provide him with necessary paperwork to take medical leave, according to an amended lawsuit filed Friday in Connecticut federal court.
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April 26, 2024
Gov't Wants Ex-Boston Celtic Imprisoned For Health Plan Scheme
Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence former Boston Celtics player Glen "Big Baby" Davis to roughly three years in prison after he was convicted of scheming with a group of ex-pros to submit fraudulent invoices to the NBA's healthcare plan.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-BP Commodities Trader Says Co. Reneged On Bonus
A former BP commodities trader accused the company in Texas federal court of shorting him to the tune of $6 million when it abruptly fired him in January 2022 and paid him a smaller bonus than the $11 million he expected to receive.
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April 25, 2024
Tesla Says Investors May Want To Influence Shareholder Vote
Tesla on Thursday questioned the motives of investors who want billions of dollars in company stock put into a trust, saying that their push to hasten the court's decision in their suit over Elon Musk's compensation plan raises concerns that they want to "elicit commentary" ahead of a shareholder meeting.
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April 25, 2024
Zendesk Beats Shareholders' Suit Over $10B PE Takeover
Zendesk Inc. has defeated a securities class action in California federal court accusing the customer service software company of undervaluing itself to get a $10.2 billion go-private merger with private equity firms approved by Zendesk shareholders.
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April 25, 2024
Feds Say COVID Fraud Case Against Ex-Pol Clears Early Bar
Federal prosecutors said Thursday that a former Massachusetts politician should save for trial his arguments seeking to dismiss claims that he lied to rake in COVID-19 relief funds and tried to avoid reporting income to the Internal Revenue Service.
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April 25, 2024
Manufacturer To Pay $3M To End Retirement Kickback Suit
An aerospace and auto parts manufacturer will pay nearly $3 million to settle a suit claiming it pushed workers' retirement savings into lackluster funds through an investing tool that prioritized kickbacks for the plan's recordkeeper over returns for employees, according to a filing Thursday in Michigan federal court.
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April 25, 2024
Judge Decries Discovery Delay In Chicago Genetic-Bias Fight
An Illinois federal judge has warned a proposed class of Chicago employees that further discovery delays in their suit alleging a city wellness program intentionally discriminated against them on the basis of their genetic information could result in the court barring witnesses' testimony from the case.
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April 25, 2024
Paint Cos. Owe Fringe Benefits, Union Fund Trustees Say
The trustees of an International Union of Painters and Allied Trades benefits fund accused a Michigan painting company of violating a collective bargaining agreement by not making contributions and subcontracting work to a related entity in an attempt to evade its obligations.
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April 25, 2024
4 Takeaways From DOL's Final ERISA Investment Advice Regs
The U.S. Department of Labor’s finalized regulations broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will bring more investment advisers under the purview of federal benefits law, but the final version contains some important differences from what the DOL initially proposed. Here are four key takeaways.
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April 25, 2024
Mich. Justices Reject Park Ranger's Disability Benefits Appeal
Two Michigan Supreme Court justices on Thursday agreed with the rest of the bench not to rule on a park ranger's claims that state retirement law unconstitutionally prevents him from challenging his disability benefit denial, but called out a lower court's "circular" reasoning for finding him ineligible.
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April 25, 2024
WWE Shareholders Combine Chancery TKO Merger Suits
Delaware's Court of Chancery will decide this summer whether teams led by Block & Leviton, Bernstein Litowitz or Robbins Geller will represent World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. stockholders in a consolidated class suit against founder Vincent McMahon and others over the company's $21 billion merger with the Endeavor Group.
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April 25, 2024
Class Counsel Seeks $31M From $93M Lipitor Settlement
Attorneys representing a class of buyers in antitrust litigation against Pfizer over the cholesterol medication Lipitor have asked a New Jersey federal judge to approve their request for $31 million in fees after the two sides agreed to a $93 million settlement in February.
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April 25, 2024
Airplane Fuel Co. Seeks To Ax Union Healthcare Dispute
A company that fuels airplanes at major U.S. airports asked a New York federal judge to dismiss a $157,000 suit accusing it of underfunding a Teamsters healthcare plan, saying the plan trustees filed the suit too late and can't prove the company owes the money.
Expert Analysis
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Calif. Independent Contractor Lessons From Grubhub Suit
California courts have been creating little in the way of clarity when it comes to the employment status of gig workers — and a recent federal court decision in Lawson v. Grubhub illustrates how status may change with the winds of litigation, offering four takeaways for businesses that rely on delivery drivers, say Esra Hudson and Marah Bragdon at Manatt.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Defending Against Fail-Safe Classes With Rule 23
The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in the case of White that there is no stand-alone rule against fail-safe classes deepens an existing circuit split — but defendants can still effectively attack fail-safe class definitions via different procedural arguments based in Rule 23, say Jeffrey Huberman and Andrew Soukup at Covington.
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Opinion
Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Rebuttal
Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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NFT Tax Guidance Shows IRS Interest In Crypto Enforcement
The IRS' first ever guidance addressing the federal income tax treatment of NFTs indicates the agency could take a potentially aggressive stance in enforcing U.S. tax laws in the NFT and crypto spaces, which could have a significant impact on the self-directed IRA market, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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What ACA Preventive Care Ruling Means For Employers
Though a Texas federal court's recent ruling in Braidwood v. Becerra paves the way for employers to reimpose cost-sharing requirements on preventive care, companies considering making these changes to their group health and welfare plans should first analyze the financial and social impacts, says Rachel Shim at Holland & Knight.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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What's Next After High Court Stay On Abortion Pill Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent stay of a Texas federal court's order invalidating mifepristone's U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals provides a welcome antidote to the flurry of litigation surrounding the abortion drug, but its ultimate fate hinges on how the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court will rule on the merits, says Eric Alexander at Reed Smith.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Structured Settlements In Workers' Comp Cases: A Win-Win
With interest rates rising, workers' compensation benefits decrease in price, so structured settlements in personal injury litigation may benefit both injured workers and the employer or carrier, and ultimately help settle complicated cases by bridging the gap between the demand and offer in negotiations, says Julio Martinez at Gilson Daub.
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How Cos. Should Navigate State AGs' Partisan ESG Approach
As the politicization of the environmental, social and governance debate reaches new heights, general counsel should discuss issues affecting their company or industry with attorneys general on both sides of the aisle to minimize corporate risk, say Meghan Stoppel and Emily Yu at Cozen O'Connor.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.