Mealey Publications™
TOP STORIES
RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 19 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of an internet services provider’s Communications Act violation suit against T-Mobile alleging network interference, finding that the “claim is barred by that statute’s election-of-remedies provision” because the provider had already filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) did not err when it held that Apple Inc. violated the Tariff Act by importing and selling Apple Watch models that infringed blood oxygenation patents held by other technology entities, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held March 19.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Tennessee federal judge who previously ordered further factual development in a suit over a long-term disability (LTD) claim that involves a mental illness limitation, pain and the headache condition occipital neuralgia on March 19 granted judgment on the administrative record, ruling on de novo review that the claimant was disabled under the policy’s any gainful occupation definition as of March 2021 and is entitled to continuing benefits.
DENVER — Noting that whether the complete defense rule applies in the context of title insurance is a matter of first impression in Colorado, a Colorado appeals panel on March 19 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a title insurer has no duty to defend a trust under either the complete defense rule or the insurance policy against an underlying trespass and unjust enrichment lawsuit brought by a neighbor.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — In a hurricane coverage dispute, a Florida appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court order enforcing an insured’s settlement agreement with a now-insolvent insurer against the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), which was substituted as a defendant after the insurer was placed into receivership, finding that the insured’s claim for attorney fees “does not fall within the statutory definition of a covered claim.”
TRENTON, N.J. — A panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of a homeowners insurer in a water damage coverage dispute after determining that the lower court did not err in allowing a jury to determine if the insurer breached its contract when it ceased payments for the repair of the insured’s condominium unit.
NEW YORK — Whether media companies’ allegation that OpenAI entities downloaded content and removed copyright management information from works used to train artificial intelligence suffices as an injury or whether copyright law requires something more came before the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals during oral arguments on March 18.
DETROIT — A Michigan appellate court on March 18 reversed and remanded a lower court’s order dismissing a declaratory judgment suit by Progressive Michigan Insurance Co. alleging that it owed no coverage for an accident due to material misrepresentations about the garage locations of the insured vehicle, finding that the lower court abused its discretion when entering a dismissal order after entering a default judgment against certain defendants because the dismissal order prevented State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the insurer of another vehicle involved in the accident, “from defending its interests as an interested party.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia ordered all Voice of America (VOA) employees placed on administrative leave in March 2025 to return to work no later than March 23, 2026, in a decision that partially granted and partially denied summary judgment motions filed by journalists, unions and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA.
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal judge dismissed a bad faith claim without prejudice after determining that the insureds failed to show that the insurer of a recreational vehicle wrongfully refused to pay policy proceeds, deceived the insureds or delayed the adjustment of the insureds’ vandalism claim.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A judge properly instructed a jury on the issue of whether an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance covered mesothelioma claims, and an attorney’s testimony explaining why a company would obtain insurance in a state where it had no employees was offered as rebuttal testimony, not expert opinion, a Missouri appeals court held in affirming a defense verdict.