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9th Circuit Restores Full Attorney Fees Award Of Social Security Claimant

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge erred in finding that part of a Social Security claimant’s attorney fees request was categorically excluded under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, in light of the magistrate’s finding that the denial of her benefits request by the Social Security Administration (SSA) was not “substantially justified.”

Judge Denies Bid To Dismiss Unlawful Discharge Claim In Former Twitter Execs’ Suit

OAKLAND, Calif. — A California federal judge has denied a motion in which Elon Musk and related defendants sought dismissal of one of six Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims asserted against them by four former Twitter Inc. officers or executives who are seeking severance benefits, equitable relief and statutory penalties.

Colorado High Court: Lack Of Formal Acceptance Does Not Bar Expert Testimony

DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that an expert witness is not required under the state’s rules of evidence or case law to be formally offered and accepted as an expert for the testimony to be admissible, reversing a court of appeals ruling that overturned a murder conviction.

9th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Partly Reviving Pension Benefits Class Action

PASADENA, Calif. — After partly reviving an Employee Retirement Income Security Act pension benefits class action after a bench trial in an unpublished memorandum disposition, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for panel or en banc rehearing that was supported by an amicus curiae brief.

Jury Awards Cigna $7.25M In Suit Over Fraudulent Billing For Drug Testing

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Connecticut federal court jury has awarded Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. $7,256,100.60 in damages in a suit alleging that Florida drug testing labs were unjustly enriched by submitting to Cigna claims for reimbursement for medically unnecessary urine drug testing, resulting in purported overpayments to the labs of more than $20 million.

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments On FLSA Exemption Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, which is the default standard for civil cases, should be applied to all 34 exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the attorney representing a food distributor and the company’s CEO argued Nov. 5 before the U.S. Supreme Court.

5th Circuit Rejects Insurer’s Argument In Coverage Dispute Over LSU Hazing Death

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S Court of Appeals on Nov. 4 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling against an excess homeowners insurer in lawsuit brought by the parents of a Louisiana State University (LSU) freshman who died in 2017 of alcohol poisoning following a fraternity hazing incident, finding that the lower federal court did not err by denying the insurer’s motion for summary judgment on the applicability of its policy exclusions.

11th Circuit: Equitable Tolling Entitlement Not Shown In VA Worker’s Race Bias Case

ATLANTA — A Department of Veterans Affairs worker failed to show that she was entitled to equitable tolling of the 15-day deadline to file a formal administrative complaint with the VA, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in a race bias and retaliation case, affirming dismissal but finding that the case cited by the trial court did not control as the issues were different.

Group: Companies Conspired To Fix Prices By Restricting Supply Of Oil

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A group of individuals and businesses on Nov. 4 sued oil and gas producers in New Mexico federal court seeking damages for engaging in a “conspiracy to coordinate, and ultimately constrain, domestic shale oil production, which has had the effect of fixing, raising, and maintaining the price of crude oil, and thereby the price paid by end-users of oil-derivative products, including but not limited to gasoline,” in violation of the Sherman Act and numerous state antitrust and unfair competition laws.

Validity Of Kaiser’s Bankruptcy Plan Debated On Remand From Supreme Court

RICHMOND, Va. — Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the primary insurer of Chapter 11 asbestos debtors Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. has standing to object to the debtors’ reorganization plan, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should uphold the insurer’s merits arguments and reverse confirmation of the plan, the insurer says in its Nov. 4 supplemental reply brief on remand from the high court.

2nd Circuit Affirms Finding That Ed Sheeran Didn’t Infringe Marvin Gaye Song

NEW YORK — A 2014 hit single from English pop star Ed Sheeran did not infringe on the copyright related to a 1973 song from Marvin Gaye, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a New York federal judge’s finding of noninfringement.

LATEST NEWS

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AFFF Defendant Settles Claims With Water Providers, Airports For $190 Million
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Meta’s Advertising Fraud Dispute Distributed For Conference In Supreme Court
Insurer And Beneficiary Of $1.5M Policy Settle Suit Over Memory Misrepresentations
7th Circuit Hears Argument On Arbitration Preclusion Dispute In Reinsurers’ Appeal
9th Circuit Restores Full Attorney Fees Award Of Social Security Claimant
Amici Tobacco Companies Support FDA’s Delay Of Menthol Cigarette Ban
LTD Benefits Termination Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, Federal Judge Says
Physician’s Suit Against GEICO Tossed For Failure To Allege ‘Protected Right’
Federal Judge: No Jury Would Find Infringement In Patent Dispute Over Chairs
Judge Adopts Recommendation To Dismiss Defective Medical Device Case
7th Circuit Affirms Rulings For Multiemployer Plan In ERISA Contribution Case
YouTube Entities Seek Dismissal Of UCL Claims In AI Suit
Glyphosate Cancer Plaintiffs: Lower Court ‘Committed A Fundamental Error’
Tribunal: Surveyors’ NAFTA Claim Against Canada May Proceed After Claimant Dies
San Diego Sues Oil Companies For Colluding, Conspiring To Fix Gas Prices
Judge Denies Bid To Dismiss Unlawful Discharge Claim In Former Twitter Execs’ Suit
Winning Firm In Data Breach Arbitration Waives Response To Res Judicata Cert Petition
AI Company Opposes Bid For Summary Judgment In Sci Fi-Based Name Battle
Employer Seeks Rehearing After Default Judgment Upheld In Wage-And-Hour Suit
Colorado High Court: Lack Of Formal Acceptance Does Not Bar Expert Testimony
Judge: DMCA Claim Tossed From Copyright Dispute Over Architectural Designs
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Partly Reviving Pension Benefits Class Action
Insurer Files Counterclaim, Third-Party Complaint In Reinsurance Dispute
Jury Awards Cigna $7.25M In Suit Over Fraudulent Billing For Drug Testing
Theft Claim Is Time-Barred By Policy’s Limitations Period, Panel Affirms
Paragard MDL Judge Sets Trial Dates For 1st 2 Bellwether Cases
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments On FLSA Exemption Standard
9th Circuit Won’t Reconsider Sanction Of Saudi Heirs’ Lawyer For Fake News Article