$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.
7th Circuit Interpretation Of MPPAA Creates Circuit Split On Withdrawal Liability
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 17 affirmed a withdrawal liability ruling that is contrary to decisions by two sister circuits, saying in part that the case involves “complex” statutory provisions “and both sides offer plausible arguments”; the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America had both filed amicus curiae briefs supporting affirmance.
5th Circuit Vacates EPA’s Methylene Chloride Rule, Cites ‘Errors Of Law’
NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule and its risk determination regarding the use of methylene chloride (MC), writing that “errors of law occurred and substantial evidence did not support EPA’s decision,” denied an environmental group’s petition for review and remanded the matter to the EPA for further proceedings.
N.Y. Appeals Court Reverses Denial Of Rehab Dismissal In COVID Wrongful Death Case
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York appellate court reversed a lower court’s ruling denying dismissal of a wrongful death suit against a nursing and rehabilitation facility and its owner and operator after a woman died purportedly from contracting COVID-19 at the facility, finding that the lower court should have dismissed the complaint because the defendants were immune from liability under the Emergency or Disaster Treatment Protection Act (EDTPA).
High Court Distributes Clemente Trademark Dispute For October Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 16 distributed for conference a challenge from the family of baseball player Roberto Clemente to a partly divided First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel opinion that largely affirmed a Puerto Rico federal judge’s decision to dismiss a suit against Puerto Rican government entities by Clemente’s sons; while the family questions the extent to which the government entities are immune from trademark infringement suits, the government entities said in an August response that the bid for certiorari should be denied.