More Insurance Coverage
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April 02, 2024
NM Medical Cannabis Insurance Row To Stay In Federal Court
The federal court is the proper place for a proposed class action seeking to make Blue Cross and Blue Shield and other insurers cover medical cannabis, a New Mexico federal judge has ruled, rejecting objections by patients who said the state's high court will eventually need to get involved.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Seek Use Of 'Intertwined' Evidence In NC Tax Fraud Trial
Federal prosecutors have asked a North Carolina district court to permit tangential evidence in a tax fraud trial, saying that the evidence is "inextricably intertwined with the charged conduct" of two St. Louis attorneys and a North Carolina insurance agent.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-Trustees Urge Ga. High Court To Take On Legal Fee Spat
Former trustees of a furniture tycoon's trust have asked the Georgia Supreme Court to rule that the trust has a duty to defend them against claims from the trust beneficiaries, arguing that this "appeal has implications for every indemnitee/insured" in the state.
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April 01, 2024
Trump Posts $175M Bond, Pausing $465M Fraud Judgment
Donald Trump on Monday posted a $175 million bond, ducking, for now, enforcement of a nearly $465 million civil fraud judgment against him and his businesses in the New York attorney general's case accusing them of defrauding banks and insurers.
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April 01, 2024
Insurance Mogul's Cos. Want $161M Arbitration Case Tossed
Two companies associated with Greg Lindberg are looking to nix litigation filed by defunct Dutch life insurer Conservatrix to enforce an arbitral award that could force the embattled insurance mogul to fork over about $161 million, arguing that the award orders only provisional relief and is not enforceable.
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April 01, 2024
Milliman Lost 401(k) Funds On Unproven Strategy, Judge Told
Milliman's risky investments cost its employees' retirement plan more than $50 million and were part of a failed "experiment" to benefit its own bottom line, a class of employees told a Washington federal judge on Monday, kicking off a bench trial seeking to recover their losses.
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April 01, 2024
Ford Can Keep Pursuing Narrowed BCBS Antitrust Suit
A Michigan federal judge has trimmed some of Ford Motor Co.'s time-barred claims alleging Blue Cross Blue Shield engaged in an anti-competitive scheme to drive up prices, but said the auto giant established it had standing to pursue allegations it was injured by market-restricting agreements among insurance licensees.
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April 01, 2024
Allstate Liable For Contractors' Illegal Marketing Calls
An Illinois federal judge found that Allstate violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when its telemarketing subcontractor made phone calls to a man whose number was on Allstate's internal do-not-call list.
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April 01, 2024
Cigna Can't Escape Patients' ERISA Fight Over Claim Rates
A Connecticut federal judge agreed to trim a federal benefits lawsuit against Cigna alleging the company underpaid claims from providers who indirectly contracted with the insurer, finding allegations from participants in employer-sponsored health plans could proceed to discovery but that several medical associations lacked standing to sue.
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April 01, 2024
Murdaugh Gets 40 Years For Financial Crimes In Fed. Court
Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina lawyer serving a life sentence for murder, was hit with a concurrent 40-year prison term in federal court Monday after pleading guilty to stealing at least $9 million from clients.
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April 01, 2024
Gas Well Tubing Loss Likely Not Covered, Insurer Says
An insurer asked a Colorado federal court to find that it is largely not responsible for covering a natural gas extractor whose tubing was damaged when a well spewing fluid had to be closed manually.
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April 01, 2024
Aramark Accuses Aetna Of 'Gamesmanship' In Benefits Fight
Aramark said Aetna sued it over an arbitration pact in Connecticut as a tactical response to Aramark's Texas suit claiming the insurer cost it millions by approving shoddy health benefit claims, and urged a federal judge to ship Aetna's suit to Texas as well.
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March 29, 2024
Home Depot Asks High Court To Block $2.67B BCBS Deal
Home Depot has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a $2.67 billion settlement in antitrust litigation targeting Blue Cross Blue Shield, saying the deal immunizes activity that hurts competition.
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March 29, 2024
Blackbaud Defeats 7 Insurers' Claims For Data Breach Costs
Complaints by seven insurers seeking reimbursement for $2.1 million in expenses paid to insureds following a ransomware attack on software company Blackbaud Inc. were torn apart by a Delaware state judge, who called the insurers' allegations "conclusory," tossing the two cases.
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March 29, 2024
Epiq Says Chubb Owes Costs In Clergy Abuse Data Leak Case
Epiq Corporate Restructuring LLC has sued Chubb-affiliated insurers in Connecticut federal court seeking to be reimbursed for $2.5 million in settlement costs and roughly $1.8 million for its defense of litigation over Epiq's disclosure of sex abuse survivors' names in a Chapter 11 case.
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March 29, 2024
Sweeping Class Certified In Nationwide Pension Plan Suit
More than 50,000 participants in a Nationwide pension plan can proceed as a class with claims that the company unlawfully transferred assets from the plan to a company subsidiary, as an Ohio federal judge ruled that questions about Nationwide's conduct outweigh differences among participants.
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March 29, 2024
Income From Schools' Reinsurance Excluded, IRS Says
A nonprofit insurance company can exclude income received for providing reinsurance coverage for a conglomerate of public charter schools from its gross income as its work is "an essential government function," the Internal Revenue Service said in a ruling published Friday.
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March 29, 2024
5 Appellate Arguments Benefits Attys Should Watch In April
A defense contractor will square off with the government over pension obligations, workers at an auto parts retailer and Georgetown University staffers will look to revive suits claiming their retirement savings were mismanaged, and a ban on gender-affirming care for minors will get an en banc review. Here are five argument sessions that should be on benefits attorneys' radar in April.
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March 28, 2024
Judge Grants Request To Halt Camden Diocese Ch. 11 Plan
A New Jersey bankruptcy judge agreed Thursday to freeze the implementation of the Roman Catholic Diocese's Chapter 11 plan, saying he does not want any action of the diocese to try and moot an appeal by insurance carriers.
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March 28, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A marine insurer confirmed it's cooperating with Baltimore authorities after an insured cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, music festival South by Southwest's class action coverage efforts were renewed, and North Carolina justices dismantled 30 years of intermediate appellate court adherence to "stacking" underinsured motorist policies.
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March 28, 2024
Fruit Grower Cleared To Leave Ch. 11 With $43M Exit Loan
California stone fruit producer Prima Wawona is set to wind down its packing and distribution division, hand ownership of the reorganized company to creditors and leave bankruptcy after a Delaware bankruptcy judge agreed to approve its Chapter 11 plan Thursday.
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March 28, 2024
Boy Scouts Trustee Appeals To Block $120M Insurer Suit
The former bankruptcy judge overseeing Boy Scouts of America's $2.4 billion childhood sexual abuse settlement trust has informed Delaware's bankruptcy court she's appealing its decision allowing a former Boy Scout to continue suing Liberty Mutual and other insurers in Missouri to collect a $120 million judgment against his ex-scoutmaster.
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March 28, 2024
Feds Finalize Restraints On Short-Term Health Insurance
President Joe Biden's administration finalized regulations Thursday that shrink the window for short-term, limited-duration health insurance from three years to no more than four months, but it backed off more sweeping changes from its July proposal that would have affected fixed indemnity insurance.
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March 27, 2024
Fruit Grower And Landlord Agree To Ch. 11 Settlement
Fruit producer Prima Wawona reached a deal with the lone objector to its second Chapter 11 liquidation plan Wednesday, clearing the way for the company to get another bite at the apple after its plan was initially voted down by creditors.
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March 27, 2024
Malpractice Suit Against Texas Magnate's Atty Revived
A Texas appeals court has revived claims that a longtime family attorney violated his duty as trustee to their fortune by using his position to enrich himself and undercut the heir to a Lone Star State business empire.
Expert Analysis
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ESG Around The World: Australia
Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.
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Ore. Warranty Ruling Complicates Insurance Classification
The Oregon Court of Appeals' recent TruNorth v. Department of Consumer and Business Services holding that a service contract — commonly referred to as an extended warranty — covering commercial property is subject to the state's consumer service contract laws raises regulatory questions for contract obligors, sellers and administrators, say attorneys at Locke Lord.
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9th Circ.'s Latest UBH Ruling Ignores Case's Core Issue
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision to vacate its earlier opinion in Wit v. United Behavioral Health frustratingly disregards the case’s key issue of benefits coverage for mental health treatment, and illogically elevates an insurer's discretionary authority over the medically necessary needs of patients, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Pickleball Makes Waves In Fla. Real Estate, With Risks In Play
Pickleball's burgeoning popularity in Florida is catalyzing a transformation in the state's commercial real estate market, but investors must take steps to navigate legal challenges related to noise, insurance and community dynamics, says Emmanuelle Litvinov at DarrowEverett.
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Mass. Dispute Highlights R&W Insurance Considerations
The progression of the litigation in a Massachusetts state court between pH Beauty and its representations and warranties insurers to the summary judgment stage offers rare insight into coverage disputes that can arise under such policies, including takeaways for buyers and sellers looking to procure adequate coverage for future transactions, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Standing Issues Prevail In Wake Of Calif. Competition Ruling
Courts and litigants may grapple with uncertainty in the wake of the California Supreme Court's recent California Medical Association v. Aetna Health decision broadening standing to sue under the state's unfair competition law, and additional litigation will likely be required to develop its contours, say attorneys at Skadden.
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It's Not You, It's Me: Breaking Up With Mass. FCA Prosecutors
A recent Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office settlement, which required a hospital to admit to certain facts, continues a state trend away from traditionally defense-friendly nonadmission language and may complicate the prospects of amicably resolving future False Claims Act cases, say Jonathan York and Scott Memmott at Morgan Lewis.
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An In-Depth Look At FDIC Reform Options After Bank Failures
Anthony Pirraglia and Melissa Hall at Loeb & Loeb explain the three coverage options for reforming the deposit insurance system, which were proposed in a recent report from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures.
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Legal Considerations For Calif. Rental Vehicle Data Collection
The legal implications under California’s Rental Passenger Vehicle Transactions Law must be thoroughly understood and navigated carefully, and rental companies operating in the state should consider some key factors before installing tracking devices in their vehicles, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.
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Top 5 Privacy Cases To Watch, From Chatbots To Geolocation
Litigation related to privacy law violations has been on the rise recently, and while some judges have pushed back on the novel theories set forth by plaintiffs, new privacy cases are launched almost every day, including notable ones on topics ranging from chatbots to geolocation, say Sushila Chanana and Rodolfo Rivera Aquino at Farella Braun.
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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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Texas Bankruptcy Ruling May Create Uncertainty For Sureties
A Texas federal court’s recent ruling in Markel Insurance v. Origin Bancorp casts uncertainty on the utility of commonly used contractual trust language, and highlights that sureties should not be put to the task of negotiating intercreditor agreements to protect their rights, says Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond.
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2nd Circ. Reinsurance Ruling Correctly Applied English Law
Contrary to a recent Law360 guest article's argument, the Second Circuit correctly applied English law when it decided in Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas that concurrent reinsurance certificates required the reinsurer to cover loss in accordance with the law of the policy's governing jurisdiction, say Peter Chaffetz and Andrew Poplinger at Chaffetz Lindsey.