United States Tells High Court To Reject Petition In Compounding Drug Case
WASHINGON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny a petition for a writ of certiorari on whether state unfair competition laws are preempted by federal law in cases accusing compounding pharmacies of marketing drugs without premarket approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because the lower court got it right and the FDA “is currently considering whether to take regulatory action with respect to the drug at issue here,” the federal government contends in a May 21 amicus curiae brief.
Panel: Court’s Dismissal Of Case For Prosecutorial Delay Was Abuse Of Discretion
SAN DIEGO — A California appellate panel ruled in an unpublished opinion that a trial court abused its discretion by dismissing a wrongful death lawsuit against Monsanto Co. and others for delay in prosecution after the plaintiffs made a sufficient showing of good cause for the delay.
3 Race Bias Cases Against A Houston College Dismissed After Settlements
HOUSTON — Three racial discrimination cases by employees against Houston Community College, including two that were filed as class actions, were separately dismissed by a federal judge in Texas after more than 100 named plaintiffs reached a confidential global settlement with the school.
Judge: Some Of Pool Construction Company’s Claims Against Insurer May Continue
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge granted in part and denied in part an insurer’s motion to dismiss a pool construction company’s suit against it stemming from two underlying suits for property damage and construction defects, finding that the company provided sufficient allegations to plausibly support the company’s claims for breach of contract and bad faith, but not its claims for declaratory relief or under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) or the Texas Insurance Code.
High Court Rules Against Employers In Withdrawal Liability Assumptions Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Taking the position supported by multiemployer plans and amicus curiae the U.S. government and opposed by the withdrawing employers, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 21 affirmed a ruling that the actuarial assumptions used to calculate liability for withdrawing from a multiemployer pension plan do not have to be made by the “measurement date,” which is the end of the plan year before the withdrawal.
Judge Rejects Challenge To LCIA’s Dismissal Of Employee’s $1.3M Bonus Claim
LONDON — An English judge on May 20 denied the former director of a Russian company’s challenge of a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitrator’s ruling dismissing the director’s claim for an unpaid bonus worth $1.3 million for lack of jurisdiction, writing that the arbitrator properly found the alleged incentive agreement was fraudulently backdated and therefore invalid.
COPD Ruling, Expert’s ‘Contaminated House’ Opinions Feature In Asbestos Case
NEW ORLEANS — A defense expert may testify that a man suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in addition to other asbestos-related illnesses, a federal judge in Louisiana said May 19 in denying a motion to exclude. In other developments, the court announced that the man had settled with Shell USA Inc. and asked the court to reconsider summary judgment on a nonintentional tort claim, and the parties wrapped briefing on a plaintiff expert’s “contaminated house” testimony.
Panel Affirms Order Issued Against Insurance Mogul’s Interest In Holding Company
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Court of Appeals of North Carolina on May 20 affirmed a lower court order granting a motion for a charging order filed by a life insurance company against the economic interest of former insurance mogul, Greg Lindberg, in his holding company, Global Growth Holdings LLC, finding that the lower court had statutory authority to issue the charging order and “was not required to establish in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction over Global because charging orders are not directed at foreign LLCs but rather concern the judgment-debtor’s personal property.”
3rd Circuit: Judge Improperly Analyzed Jurisdiction Before Tossing Copyright Claim
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania federal judge did not properly analyze whether alleged infringers’ shipments of products with copyrighted art to Pennsylvania established personal jurisdiction before dismissing an artist’s copyright infringement suit against dozens of foreign entities, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held May 19, vacating the dismissal.
Judge Approves Settlement Of Wells Fargo Discrimination Derivative Class Action
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California issued an order granting final approval to a settlement to end shareholders’ derivative class action against Wells Fargo & Co. over allegedly discriminatory lending and hiring practices.
U.S. To Settle With Remaining Defendants In Idaho CERCLA Asbestos Cleanup Case
POCATELLO, Idaho — The remaining two defendants named in a federal lawsuit filed by the United States seeking reimbursement of response costs incurred for cleanup of hazardous materials under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act at a shuttered Idaho industrial site stemming from the demolition of two buildings damaged by fire in a pair of proposed May 18 consent decrees agreed to pay a total of $360,000 to settle the claims, with one defendant set to pay significantly less than the other due to financial constraints.