An insurer can't escape an auto parts manufacturer's suit seeking $50 million in coverage for COVID-19-related losses, a North Carolina federal court ruled, saying the manufacturer sufficiently alleged that its losses are covered under the policy's communicable disease endorsement.
Law360
Insurance
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Insurer Can't Escape Auto Co.'s $50M COVID Coverage Suit

By Hope Patti

An insurer can't escape an auto parts manufacturer's suit seeking $50 million in coverage for COVID-19-related losses, a North Carolina federal court ruled, saying the manufacturer sufficiently alleged that its losses are covered under the policy's communicable disease endorsement.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Coverage Row Over OpenText Merger Now Moot, Judge Says

By Ganesh Setty

A Michigan federal court tossed on Thursday an insurer's lawsuit seeking a declaration that it had no duty to indemnify a shareholder class action stemming from Covisint's 2017 merger with software company OpenText, finding the dispute is now moot because the insurer's coverage limit has already been exhausted.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Biz Court Limits Testimony In Smithfield Coverage Trial

By Ryan Harroff

A North Carolina business court judge refused to exclude expert witnesses from either side of an insurance coverage dispute between Smithfield Foods Inc. and a Chubb subsidiary, but did limit their testimony for the firms' upcoming April trial on how much the insurer owes for breaching its duty to defend.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Firm Sues Allstate Over Wrecked Car Fee Coverage

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia law firm hit Allstate Insurance Co. with a proposed class action over allegations that it fails to pay title transfer fees and license registration fees to insureds who incur total loss claims.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ENFORCEMENT

Diopsys Inks $14M Deal Resolving Vision Testing FCA Claims

By Hailey Konnath

Medical device maker Diopsys Inc. has agreed to pay up to $14.25 million to put to rest allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false Medicare and Medicaid claims for certain vision testing services, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement Thursday.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LITIGATION

Panera Franchisee Blames Insurer For Slip-And-Fall Payout

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts Panera franchisee said Travelers and its counsel botched a minor slip-and-fall claim, eventually leaving it on the hook for its full $250,000 deductible to cover an "inflated" settlement and legal fees in the case.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Elevance Fails To Pay Wages At Termination, Worker Says

By Emmy Freedman

Elevance Health failed to pay workers their final wages on the business day following their terminations in violation of Connecticut law, and now owes them twice the amount of those wages, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

How Fla. Is Floating A Raft Of Bills To Stem Insurance Woes

Proposed reforms that follow a report skewering Florida's insurance industry offer a step in the right direction in providing relief for property owners, despite some limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

Airlines Should Follow Treaty On Prompt Crash Payouts

In the wake of the recent crash of a Delta Air Lines flight during landing in Toronto, it is vital for air carriers and their insurers to understand how the Montreal Convention's process for immediate passenger compensation can avoid years of costly litigation and reputational damage for companies, says Robert Alpert at International Crisis Response.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Judges Block Trump's Jenner & Block, WilmerHale Orders

By Lauren Berg, Ali Sullivan and Alison Knezevich

Jenner & Block LLP and WilmerHale both won temporary restraining orders late Friday blocking President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the firms, with two Washington, D.C., federal judges determining the firms have shown the orders are likely retaliation for their representation of certain clients.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Skadden Offers $100M In Pro Bono Work To Avoid Trump Order

By Aebra Coe

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has reached a deal with President Donald Trump to avert an impending executive order that could have prevented it from taking on work connected to the federal government and its contractors, according to an announcement by the president Friday on social media platform Truth Social.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Up Next At High Court: Terror Liability, Health Provider Choice

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench this week to consider whether a federal law subjecting Palestinian government organizations to federal jurisdiction violates due process principles and if the Medicaid Act's provider choice provision allows individual benefit recipients to sue states over the disqualification of healthcare providers. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Grants Clemency To Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson

By Hailey Konnath

President Donald Trump has granted clemency to former Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson, who was facing nearly a decade in prison for lying to banks and investors to secure funding for his now-shuttered multimedia company, the White House confirmed Friday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Pardons BitMEX Crypto Co., Four Ex-Executives

By Aislinn Keely

President Donald Trump has pardoned the business entity behind cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and four of the firm's former executives years after they copped to Bank Secrecy Act violations and lax anti-money laundering controls, the White House confirmed Friday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tubi Says Keller Postman Breached Deal In Arbitration Fight

By Emily Sawicki

The D.C. federal judge overseeing video streaming service Tubi Inc.'s tortious interference suit against Keller Postman LLC over mass arbitration claims ordered the parties on Friday to schedule a status conference for next month, in light of Tubi's claims that the firm violated an agreement.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Paralegal Sues Ga. Personal Injury Firm Over 658 OT Hours

By Irene Spezzamonte

An Atlanta-based personal injury law firm didn't pay a former paralegal for 658 hours of overtime, and it erroneously considered her a salaried-exempt employee, according to a lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen sparkling winemaker Nyetimber hit a rival distillery with an intellectual property claim, Newcastle United's former owner Mike Ashley target the club's ex-vice president for damages tied to a fraudulent investment, and a real estate agency file a legal claim against law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

As a growing number of companies and their general counsel consider moving their incorporation out of Delaware, the state's governor has quickly signed into law a measure revising its corporation statutes, though there are still critics. And 98% of legal leaders in a recent survey said their budgets are increasing in 2025 to handle the extra work stemming from new diversity risks, tech changes and cybersecurity threats.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

UCLA School of Law's Supreme Court Clinic and Gair Gallo Eberhard LLP head this week's list of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Seventh Circuit ruling that upheld the conviction of a former Chicago alderman for making false statements about loans from a defunct bank.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads 2025 AI Survey Promo that reads Law360 UK Pulse UK Satisfaction Survey

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Aidala Bertuna

Akin Gump

Arnold & Itkin

Arnold & Porter

Arthur Cox

Ashfords LLP

Ashurst LLP

Bailey & Dixon

Barclay Damon

Birketts LLP

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang

Clark Smith Villazor

Clement & Murphy

Clyde & Co

Collins Einhorn

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cozen O'Connor

DWF LLP

Dalton & Finegold

Dickinson Wright

Druces LLP

Dykema

Eversheds Sutherland

Fain Major

Farah & Farah

Fisher & Phillips

Foley Hoag

Gateley PLC

Giarmarco Mullins

Gibson Dunn

Gilbert & Tobin

Gordons LLP

Gutride Safier

Hayber McKenna

Hecker Fink

Honigman LLP

Irell & Manella

Jenner & Block

Keller Postman

Keystone Law

Kirkland & Ellis

Kline & Specter

Lankler Siffert & Wohl

Latham & Watkins

Lipson Neilson

Lober & Dobson

Macfarlanes LLP

Mayer Brown

Mitchell Silberberg

Morgan Lewis

Morvillo Abramowitz

Nabarro LLP

Pallas Partners

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robinson & Cole

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Shook Hardy

Shoosmiths LLP

Sidley Austin

Signature Litigation LLP

Simmons & Simmons

Skadden Arps

Smith Anderson

Sperduto Thompson

Squire Patton

Stephenson Harwood

Sullivan Law Firm PLLC

Sweet James LLP

TLT LLP

Wachtell Lipton

Weightmans LLP

Wiley Rein

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

gunnercooke LLP

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

A.P. Moller-Maersk

Alliance Defending Freedom

Amicus

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

Axis Bank Ltd.

BDO LLP

Barclays PLC

Bayer CropScience Ltd.

BuzzFeed Inc.

Coupang Inc.

Delta Air Lines Inc.

Digital River Inc.

EE Ltd.

Elevance Health Inc.

Elliott Investment Management LP

Endeavor Air Inc.

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

FTI Consulting Inc.

Great American Insurance Co.

HDR Global Trading Ltd.

Intel Corp.

James Hardie Industries PLC

LG Electronics Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

Major League Baseball Inc.

Mars Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA

Miami Herald Media Co.

Monsanto Co.

National Westminster Bank PLC

Netlist Inc.

Open Text Corp.

Panera Bread Co.

Phillips 66

Planned Parenthood Federation

RELX PLC

Ryanair Holdings PLC

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Severn Trent PLC

Smithfield Foods Inc.

Sony Music Publishing LLC

St. Louis Cardinals

The AZEK Co. LLC

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

The Travelers Cos. Inc.

UCLA School of Law

Uber Technologies Inc.

Vice Media Inc.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Warner Bros. Records Inc.

WeWork Inc.

World Airways Inc.

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Financial Reporting Council

Florida House of Representatives

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

Food and Drug Administration

National Labor Relations Board

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

United Nations

Wisconsin Department of Justice

Wisconsin Supreme Court