Mealey Publications™
TOP STORIES
CLEVELAND — On the heels of a surge of similar litigation over the selection and retention of American Century Fund target date funds (TDFs) as retirement fund options, an Ohio federal granted dismissal of a putative class suit on the grounds that at most, the allegations show “modest underperformance” that “is insufficient to infer imprudence.”
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge in Connecticut has dismissed, without further leave to amend, a putative class action alleging that Kimberly-Clark Corp. is the source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in the local groundwater supply, ruling that the third amended complaint fails to plausibly allege that the plaintiffs’ injuries were caused by Kimberly-Clark.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Citing precedent from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a New York federal judge on March 30 granted Allstate’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stay no-fault arbitrations in state court filed by the same medical provider defendants Allstate is suing in federal court over their alleged participation in a no-fault fraud Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act scheme, finding that “the risk of irreparable harm” absent a stay tips “the balance of hardships” in favor of Allstate because the outcome of the state court proceedings “could have a preclusive effect” on the federal court’s “ability to provide relief.”
AUSTIN, Texas — The Third District Texas Court of Appealsreversed and remanded an amended final judgment that granted summary judgment in favor of the owner of a totaled Audi for nearly $240,000 plus interest for the value of his car, damages and attorney fees and costs in his suit against his insurer alleging breach of contract and state law claims, finding that the owner failed to conclusively prove the claims as a matter of law and failed to establish the policy terms and independent damage.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bars judicial review of the Homeland Security secretary’s designation of temporary protected status (TPS), as well as the termination of such designation, the secretary and other federal government agencies and officials argue in a petitioner brief filed March 30 in the U.S. Supreme Court.
HOUSTON — An additional insured is not entitled to coverage for business interruption losses caused by quarantine orders issued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because the commercial property policy’s pollution and contamination exclusion bars coverage, the 14th Texas Court of Appeals said March 31 in affirming a trial court’s ruling in favor of the insurer on breach of contract and extracontractual claims.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 30 in a dispute between the owners and operators of a West Hollywood luxury hotel and an employee terminated during the COVID-19 pandemic over whether a federal court that had original jurisdiction over a case and stayed it for arbitration maintains jurisdiction to confirm or vacate the arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) without an independent jurisdictional basis.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 30 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a terminated employee of a Georgia district attorney’s office seeking review of whether the dismissal of her federal claims that she was terminated because of her pregnancy was proper when the affirmative defense her employer used as the basis of its summary judgment motion was not filed as part of its answer to her amended complaint in violation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina federal bankruptcy judge did not misapply or misinterpret federal law or Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals precedent in denying two asbestos claimants’ motion to dismiss the Chapter 11 case of Georgia-Pacific spinoff Bestwall LLC, a federal judge in the state held March 27 in denying the claimants’ request to certify the decision for direct appeal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court will let stand a decision by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the addition of the Gardasil vaccine to the Vaccine Injury Table was constitutional and that women must first file claims in the Vaccine Act compensation program before suing in a district court, according to a March 30 docket entry.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Applying a recently established framework governing the economic substance doctrine and disclosure requirements in microcaptive insurance cases, a U.S. Tax Court judge held that a purported captive arrangement failed both prongs of the economic substance test and sustained a 40% accuracy-related penalty for a nondisclosed noneconomic substance transaction.