2nd Circuit: NSA Doesn’t Imply Private Right Of Action To Enforce IDR Awards
NEW YORK — Saying that it was joining a sister circuit in holding that the No Surprises Act (NSA) “does not imply a private right of action to enforce” independent dispute resolution (IDR) awards, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a suit that an out-of-network health care provider filed against companies that administer “private employer-sponsored group health plans.”
Colorado High Court: Insurer Insolvency Doesn’t Make Covered Events Not Covered
DENVER — In a unanimous ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court on Sept. 21 answered “no” to a question certified to the court from a federal court asking whether umbrella/excess policies are triggered because payment cannot be collected from the insolvent primary carrier despite an occurrence being otherwise covered, finding that the terms of the umbrella policies do not require that insurer to “step into the shoes of an insolvent, scheduled underlying insurer.”
Asbestos Claimants Take Fight Against Texas 2-Step To Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Supreme Court should “protect the integrity of the bankruptcy system” and “safeguard claimants’ constitutional rights to seek redress in the nation’s civil justice system” by putting a stop to the growing practice by wealthy corporations of shedding their asbestos liabilities through a restructuring known as the “Texas Two-Step,” asbestos claimants in the Chapter 11 case of CertainTeed LLC spinoff DBMP LLC say in a petition for a writ of certiorari.
Reporters, CNN, MS NOW, POLITICO, Seek TRO After Ban Announcement On Truth Social
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After President Donald J. Trump announced on the Truth Social platform a White House ban of CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO, these news outlets and three of their reporters on Sept. 21 filed a complaint in District of Columbia federal court, asserting constitutional claims against Trump and several administration officials; the plaintiffs also moved for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that day, seeking to stop the defendants from taking further action to implement the ban and requiring the defendants to immediately restore their press credentials and access.
$5M Class Action Settlement Given Final OK In Case Arising From Data Breach
CINCINNATI — An Ohio federal judge on Sept. 18 granted final approval to a class action settlement under which one of the largest vision benefits companies in the U.S. agreed to establish a $5 million nonreversionary common fund after a company email account was breached in 2020 and hackers were able to obtain current and former clients’ protected health information (PHI) and personally identifying information (PII).
Copyright Register’s Suit Stayed Until December Pending Agencies’ Clarification Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Sept. 18 stayed until December a lawsuit by the register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office challenging her purported removal by President Donald J. Trump; the stay is in light of a bill awaiting Senate approval that “would make clear that the Register of Copyrights is an officer ‘appointed by the President’ with the advice and consent of the Senate.”
Federal Circuit Affirms $3.24M In Fees In Diamond Growing Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a New York federal judge’s decision to enter a $3.24 million award for attorney fees and expenses, along with postjudgment interest, in a dispute related to patents describing processes for growing diamonds in a lab, agreeing that the plaintiff-appellant’s infringement position became objectively baseless after discovery, yet the entity still pursued its infringement claims.
Federal Circuit Vacates PTAB’s Construction Of Rejected Patent Claim Phrase
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a decision by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that affirmed a patent examiner’s rejection of a claim in a patent describing a catheter device, finding that PTAB’s “incorrect construction of ‘flow barrier’ impaired its obviousness analysis.”
Judge Tosses Tort Suit, Finds Streamed Comments Of ‘Legitimate Public Concern’
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota federal judge on Sept. 17 dismissed with prejudice a former professional football player’s unjust enrichment and invasion of privacy suit against his ex-wife, a social media influencer and model, alleging that she publicized private facts about him on a livestream on the Twitch platform, finding that the ex-wife’s remarks were about her life and the purported trauma she experienced in their marriage and were of “legitimate public concern” given that the former spouses were both celebrities.
Dismissal Of Laos’ $4.5M Casino Petition Reversed In Part By 9th Circuit
HONOLULU — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 17 reversed in part a federal judge’s dismissal of a petition filed by the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) to enforce three arbitral awards worth more than $4.5 million for a casino dispute against an investor and his financing company, which it alleged are alter egos of the award-debtors, ruling that the lower court should have evaluated Lao PDR’s alter-ego arguments first before granting dismissal.
Sewage-Contaminated Water Damage Barred By Pollution Exclusion, Federal Judge Says
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A pollution exclusion bars coverage for damages caused by sewage-contaminated water that entered a condominium, a Florida federal judge said Sept. 17 after finding that the Florida Supreme Court’s logic in interpreting an almost identical pollution exclusion supports the application of the exclusion as a bar to coverage for the condominium owner’s damages.