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Parties In Neck Fan Patent Dispute Request Stay While Settlement Is Finalized

CHICAGO — The holder of patents related to a fan device that hangs around a wearer’s neck and an electronics company it accused of infringing its patents filed a joint motion to stay the infringement case in Illinois federal court, indicating in their Oct. 14 motion that they had reached a settlement agreement.

U.S. High Court Declines To Review 7th Circuit’s Ruling Affirming FCA Liability

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 15 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a business owner and his three health care companies seeking review of a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling affirming a district court’s judgment finding the owner and his companies liable for violating the False Claims Act (FCA) and Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) for fraudulent Medicare billing.

5th Circuit: AI Real Estate Firm Forfeited Arguments On Appeal Of Trademark Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of judges in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 14 dismissed a defendant artificial intelligence-based real estate website’s appeal of a Texas federal judge’s grant of a plaintiff real estate company’s motion to dismiss its trademark claims in the wake of the defendant website’s shuttering; the panel held that the defendant website “forfeited any argument that this court has jurisdiction to hear its appeal.”

Panel: No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Gender Discrimination Claim

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Oct. 14 affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of a medical professional liability insurer in a plastic surgeon insured’s breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for a transgender woman’s claims that he discriminated against her based on her sexual orientation when he refused to perform breast augmentation surgery, finding that no coverage was triggered because it is clear that the underlying claims were based on an alleged gender-identity discrimination and not on a medical incident.

Sackler Family To Bankruptcy Court: Liability In Opioid Cases ‘Cannot Be Assumed’

NEW YORK — The Raymond Sackler family says in a statement filed Oct. 14 in a New York federal bankruptcy court that it takes no position on the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC) motion for standing to pursue estate claims because it argues that the proposed claims “are utterly meritless regardless of who brings them,” citing rulings from various courts that found that state public nuisance laws don’t apply to the manufacturing of opioids.

Borrower’s UCL, Elder Abuse Claims Over Potential Foreclosure Partly Dismissed

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California on Oct. 11 granted in part and denied in part a lender’s motion to dismiss claims brought against it for financial elder abuse and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by a borrower who claims that during the coronavirus pandemic, the lender obstructed her efforts to modify her loan or obtain a reverse mortgage, leading her to potential foreclosure.

Florida Resort Pays $100,000 To End EEOC’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Case

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida hotel and resort will pay $100,000 to end a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it terminated a worker shortly after she requested leave to recover and grieve following a stillbirth during the fifth month of her pregnancy, according to a consent decree approved by a federal judge on Oct. 11.

U.S. Government Wants To Participate In High Court Argument In Trademark Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. government on Oct. 11 asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to participate as an amicus curiae in oral arguments when the high court considers whether courts under the Lanham Act “can include an order for the defendant to disgorge the distinct profits of legally separate non-party corporate affiliates” and whether the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals improperly upheld a $43 million disgorgement award against the defendant.

Questions Of Fact Exist On Breach Of Contract, Bad Faith Claims In Disability Suit

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge on Oct. 11 denied a disability insurer’s motion for summary judgment on an insured’s breach of contract and bad faith claims after determining that questions of fact exist as to whether the insured remained disabled from performing the duties of his own occupation and whether the insurer acted in bad faith in handling the insured’s claim.

Jury Awards $78M To Couple In Roundup Case; Monsanto Plans Supreme Court Petition

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in Pennsylvania state court has awarded a couple $78 million against Monsanto Co. for injuries related to exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.  In a statement responding to the verdict, which was officially posted to the docket on Oct. 11, Bayer Corp., Monsanto’s parent company, said the verdict “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence” and contended that the claim in the case is preempted by the ruling of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Schaffner v. Monsanto, warranting review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

3rd Party Defendants: ‘Norfolk Southern Alone’ Is Liable For Ohio Train Derailment

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two of the third-party defendants being sued by Norfolk Southern Corp. over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have filed a brief in support of a motion for summary judgment on two claims against them, arguing that “Norfolk Southern — and Norfolk Southern alone — is responsible for the derailment it caused and the consequences of its erroneous vent-and-burn decision.”

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Talc Retailer Facing Mesothelioma Case Wants Hysterectomy Evidence Excluded
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AI Evidence Requires Frye Hearing, New York Surrogate Court Judge Says
Exclusion Bars Coverage For Farm Injuries, N.D. High Court Rules In Reversal
On Remand, News Group Dismisses Suit Over Hawaiian Medical Records Sealing Rule
5th Circuit: PPP Applicant Timely Notified By Lender As To Depletion Of Funds
Parties In Neck Fan Patent Dispute Request Stay While Settlement Is Finalized
U.S. High Court Declines To Review 7th Circuit’s Ruling Affirming FCA Liability
Judge Won’t Dismiss Putative Class Suit Against Snapple For ‘ALL NATURAL’ Labels
5th Circuit: AI Real Estate Firm Forfeited Arguments On Appeal Of Trademark Suit
Panel: No Professional Liability Coverage Owed For Gender Discrimination Claim
Federal Judge Dismisses Most Trademark, Patent Claims For Lack Of Jurisdiction
NECC Pharmacist Sentenced In Michigan State Court In Involuntary Manslaughter Case
Pollution Exclusion, Aircraft Exclusion Bar Coverage For Herbicide Damages Suit
Sackler Family To Bankruptcy Court: Liability In Opioid Cases ‘Cannot Be Assumed’
Altria Group, United States Both Seek Judgment In $106M Foreign Tax Dispute
10th Circuit: Untimely Removal Of Class Wage Suit Against Wendy’s Supports Remand
U.S. High Court Won’t Review EAJA Fee Denial In ESOP Challenge
Panel: Medical Monitoring Claim In Asbestos Suit Creates Potential For Coverage
Panel Reverses Judgment For Nursing Home In Death Suit Over Sepsis, Organ Failure
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Walgreens To Pay $80M In Settlement With Baltimore For Role In Opioid Crisis
Magistrate Judge Finds Access Paramount, Won’t Seal Asbestos Settlement Documents
New York Times’ Auto Renewal Class Settlement Granted Final Approval
Reconsideration Of Latest Postjudgment Ruling Denied In ERISA Conversion Case
Amici Urge Imposing Duty For Kentucky Take-Home Asbestos Cases
Judge Admits Marine Engineering Expert In Asbestos Sovereign Immunity Case
Judgment Entered In Favor Of Insured In Coverage Dispute Over Fireworks Explosion