Colorado High Court Remands DNA Subpoena Issue To Trial Court
DENVER — In an en banc decision concerning denial of a motion to quash “a wide-ranging subpoena” focused on DNA analysis, the Colorado Supreme Court remanded for further proceedings upon concluding that the “subpoena exceeds the bounds of the governing rule of criminal procedure” and “the district court’s reliance on the Colorado Forensic Science Integrity Act (‘FSIA’) . . . fares no better.”
Meta Seeks Injunction To Stop Enforcement Of Law Curbing Minors’ Social Media Use
SAN FRANCISCO — Meta Platforms Inc. on Nov. 5 moved for a preliminary injunction in California federal court, seeking to stop the enforcement of a California law with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2027, that Meta says prohibits it “from considering minor users’ personal interests when organizing billions of posts across its Facebook, Instagram, and Threads services.”
11th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment For Health System In Long COVID ADA Suit
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment for a health system in a suit filed by its former physician, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related Florida law, retaliation and workers’ compensation interference related to the health system’s purported failure to grant her accommodations for long COVID, finding in part that testimony and evidence established that she was not a qualified individual under the ADA when the health system terminated her employment.
Washington Judge Orders Albertsons To Pay $900M For Role In State’s Opioid Crisis
SEATTLE — A Washington state judge on Nov. 5 ordered Albertsons Companies Inc. and Safeway Inc. (collectively, Albertsons) to pay $800 million for opioid abatement and $100 million in civil penalties after finding that their opioid distribution and dispensing practices created a public nuisance and violated the state’s consumer protection law.
Judgment Granted For Insurer In Dispute Over Whether Car Was Stolen Or Abandoned
SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington federal judge granted summary judgment to an auto insurer in an insured’s breach of contract, bad faith and statutory law violations suit accusing the insurer of failure to cover a claim for a vehicle the insured said was stolen but the insurer said was abandoned, finding that the evidence establishes that the insured misrepresented where he left his car and where the alleged theft occurred.
2nd Circuit Finds Securities Fraud Bar Defeats RICO Claims
NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed dismissal of an entrepreneur’s civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims against his securities broker, holding that the alleged conduct would have been actionable as securities fraud and therefore was barred from serving as the basis for civil RICO claims under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA).
Insurance Mogul’s Appeal Of Receivership Order Related To $524M Judgment Dismissed
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Nov. 4 dismissed an appeal of an order appointing a general receiver of the assets of insurance mogul Greg Lindberg in a life insurer’s efforts to collect a federal judgment of $524 million plus interest, finding that the court lacks jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal.
Panel Affirms Denial Of Arbitration In Unfair Pricing Class Suit Against Uber
SAN FRANCISCO — A California appellate panel on Nov. 4 affirmed a trial court’s ruling denying Uber Technologies Inc.’s motion to compel arbitration with two consumers who accuse Uber of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by deceptively listing prices on its app, writing that because the consumers seek public injunctive relief their claims are not arbitrable.
Panel Reverses Dismissal Of Fraud Suit Against Affiliate Of Insurer In Liquidation
ATLANTA — A Georgia appellate court reversed a lower court’s judgment dismissing the Georgia insurance commissioner’s conversion and fraud suit against an affiliated company of a Georgia health maintenance organization (HMO) in liquidation regarding the company’s alleged improper receipt of $21 million in advance funds, finding that the lower court had jurisdiction under the Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act and that the commissioner had standing to sue.
$47.75M Deal Gets Final OK In Execs’ Suit Over Terminated Top-Hat Plans
ATLANTA — Following final approval of a $47.75 million class deal under which class members will have an average gross recovery of more than $252,000, a Nov. 4 judgment entered in Georgia federal court wrapped up a long-running suit over lump-sum payments from terminated “top hat” plans that had provided life annuities for NCR Corp. executives.
Divided 4th Circuit Won’t Rehear Intel Agencies’ DEIA Worker Termination Ruling
RICHMOND, Va. — A divided Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 3 denied a petition filed by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Central Intelligence Agency to rehear a panel majority’s decision affirming a preliminary injunction preventing the agencies from firing, without providing reassignment or appeal procedures or obtaining federal district court approval, a group of workers who said they were faced with termination after working in temporary assignments related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA).