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NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 affirmed a lower federal court’s “carefully crafted opinion” that dismissed with prejudice an insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for its Hurricane Zeta damage, agreeing with the lower court that the insured’s action is time-barred by the one-year statute of limitations pursuant to its Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP).
CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has issued a mandate affirming its decision to reverse a ruling by a federal judge that denied qualified immunity to two defendants in one of three lead-contaminated water lawsuits being litigated in Michigan federal court by residents against Benton Harbor, Mich. The Sixth Circuit, which reached a split decision, issued the mandate after it denied a petition for rehearing sought by Benton Harbor city officials.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 vacated a California federal judge’s finding of noninfringement in a patent dispute over a type of semiconductor light source, holding that the order was based on an improper term construction.
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 affirmed an International Chamber of Commerce award worth more than $7 million in a Guatemalan hydroelectric dam dispute, rejecting arguments by the award-debtor that the tribunal exceeded its authority by ordering it to maintain existing bonds or purchase new ones and by rejecting its argument that the other party engaged in bribery.
ATLANTA — After the Florida Supreme Court answered in the negative questions regarding whether violations under the Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act, including failure to provide a written estimate, preclude a repair shop from receiving payment from an insurance company, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s judgment dismissing a claim and granting summary judgment to the repair shop on the remaining claims, partially due to GEICO’s concession that the complaint fails upon a judicial determination that “alleged Repair Act violations do not void the repair invoice.”
NEW YORK — Reversing a trial court’s dismissal of a putative class action against the National Basketball Association (NBA) under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel concluded that the lead plaintiff qualifies as a consumer under the statute and that he has standing to sue for the NBA’s purported sharing of his personal viewing information (PVI) related to videos he watched on the NBA’s website.
WASHINGTON, D.C — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 denied an emergency application filed by 25 states for an immediate stay of a rule that would impose new emissions standards on coal-fired power plants under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA), finding that the implementation of the rule won’t likely occur until after a decision by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is rendered.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 heard oral arguments on a dispute over San Francisco’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) sewer system permit in an appeal by the city asking the justices to decide whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) permits the Environmental Protection Agency or authorized states to impose general prohibitions rather than specific limits when it comes to water quality standards and permitted discharge.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A jury in Connecticut on Oct. 15 awarded a man and his wife $15 million in their asbestos-talc suit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and various related entities and triggered a punitive damages phase that by state law will be decided by the judge in the future, sources told Mealey Publications.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — E-cigarette makers, politicians, industry associations and economics groups filed eight amicus curiae briefs on Oct. 15 urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of Food and Drug Administration bans of certain flavored e-cigarette products as arbitrary and capricious, with several amici arguing that the FDA’s bans conflict with Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.
ATLANTA — A Georgia Supreme Court majority on Oct. 15 ruled that jailhouse phone calls between an arrestee and his counsel did not include legal advice and, therefore, were not protected by the attorney-client privilege.