Connecticut

  • April 19, 2024

    Timing Of Cigna Workers' Relief Bid Perplexes Conn. Judge

    A Connecticut federal judge wondered Friday if a class of more than 25,000 Cigna workers waited too long to renew a request for an accounting tied to the millions of dollars in underpaid benefits the workers won nearly a decade ago, questioning if the plaintiffs had a right at this stage in the 23-year-old matter to again challenge the company's calculations. 

  • April 19, 2024

    Banking Boss Seeks First Bite In Lawyer-Linked Debt Services

    Connecticut's banking commissioner says a trial court judge misapplied case law by sidelining his authority to investigate complaints against a debt collection operation attached to a law firm, saying his office should be the first to decide whether he or the judicial branch has authority over the matter.

  • April 19, 2024

    Sentence For Pandemic Funds Theft Seems To Split 2nd Circ.

    A three-judge panel of Second Circuit jurists seemed split Friday over whether a Connecticut man's eight-year prison sentence for stealing COVID-19 funds from the city of West Haven was too harsh, with one judge expressing skepticism and two hinting it was likely appropriate.

  • April 19, 2024

    Antitrust Case Judge Reveals Husband's Ties With Apple

    A New Jersey federal magistrate judge assigned to the U.S. Department of Justice's recent iPhone antitrust case disclosed on Friday that her husband has ties to Apple, but told the parties she does not believe she needs to recuse herself.

  • April 19, 2024

    Landlord Says Willkie Partner Can't Dodge Arbitration

    A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner's former landlord asked a Connecticut state judge to force the attorney and his wife back to arbitration in their lease dispute, arguing that they cannot dodge their binding agreement just because the parties' first-choice mediator walked away.

  • April 18, 2024

    Conn. Marketing Co. Says Competitor Poached Top Exec

    Unlock Health Inc. hired away a senior executive at competing healthcare marketing firm Primacy LLC who arrived at his new job with trade secrets from his ex-employer and a plan to lure former clients and co-workers, according to a lawsuit in Connecticut federal court. 

  • April 18, 2024

    Elevance Units Not Fiduciaries Of Union Plans, Court Told

    A lawsuit that two union healthcare funds brought against Elevance Health Inc. and several subsidiaries should be dismissed because it does not plausibly allege that fund money was overspent on medical care and administrative fees, and the defendants did not have fiduciary responsibilities, attorneys told a Connecticut federal judge on Thursday.

  • April 18, 2024

    Software Co. Demoted Worker For Getting Pregnant, Suit Says

    A former sales director has claimed the software company she worked for ran afoul of federal and state laws when it gave away her job while she was on maternity leave and put her in a more junior role when she returned, according to lawsuit filed in Connecticut federal court.

  • April 18, 2024

    Gulf Oil Terminal Sale Spurs Environmental Settlement Talks

    The recent sale of a Gulf Oil shoreline terminal in New Haven, Connecticut, is poised to advance settlement talks in an environmental lawsuit challenging the facility's preparedness for the alleged effects of global warming, according to a federal court hearing held Thursday.

  • April 18, 2024

    Conn. Ethics Office Wants Atty Suspended For Defying Audits

    The office that regulates Connecticut attorneys wants a lawyer with a decadelong history of failing to respond to grievances and information requests to be found in contempt and immediately suspended for failing to comply with a trust account audit.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ex-Frontier CEO Renews $17M Insurance Tax Recoupment Bid

    The former CEO of a Frontier Communications predecessor has filed a signed version of a lawsuit seeking $17.7 million to reimburse money the retired executive says he paid on life insurance policies after the company stopped footing the tax bills.

  • April 17, 2024

    2nd Circ. Won't Revive Investor Fight Over Honeywell Spinoff

    The Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday the dismissal of a proposed securities class action accusing a bankrupt Honeywell transportation business spinoff of misleading investors about significant risks it faced under its asbestos-liability indemnity deal with Honeywell, finding that the spinoff was frank about the uncertainty of its financial future.

  • April 17, 2024

    2nd Circ. Doubts Adidas Appeal In Thom Browne TM Case

    A Second Circuit panel on Wednesday appeared skeptical of Adidas' arguments that a Manhattan district judge gave improper instructions to a jury that shot down its trademark infringement claims against fashion brand Thom Browne, suggesting the lower court had laid out the issues fairly.

  • April 17, 2024

    Managing Partner Pilfered Exiting Atty's Gmail, Regulator Says

    The managing partner of a six-attorney Hartford, Connecticut, personal injury and employment law firm threatened to gin up a criminal probe and ordered downloads from the personal Gmail account of a departing attorney, according to a post-trial brief by disciplinary authorities seeking the partner's one-year suspension.

  • April 17, 2024

    Conn.'s 1st Female Justice Remembered As Trailblazer

    Ellen Ash Peters, the first woman appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court and, later, the first woman elevated to chief justice, has died at age 94, the Connecticut Judicial Branch confirmed Wednesday.

  • April 17, 2024

    Court Trims Atty Fee Bid For Xerox Workers' $4.1M ERISA Deal

    After a $4.1 million Connecticut ERISA settlement, a federal court has awarded more than $1 million in fees to attorneys who represented a class of nearly 40,000 Xerox workers, determining a one-quarter fee amount was more appropriate than the requested one-third cut.

  • April 17, 2024

    Justices Rule Criminal Forfeiture Deadline Isn't Absolute

    The U.S. Supreme Court held Wednesday that courts can issue forfeiture orders at sentencing in criminal cases even if prosecutors fail to submit a draft request prior to the court-ordered date, ruling noncompliance with the rule doesn't strip judges of the authority to direct defendants to hand over ill-gotten gains.

  • April 16, 2024

    2nd Circ. Frees FDNY From TM Limits In Nonprofit's Suit

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday threw out an injunction barring New York City and its fire department from using the allegedly infringing term "medical special operations," reasoning in the trademark suit that it's too general to be considered an infringement of a nonprofit's name for meetings.

  • April 16, 2024

    Colo. Shooting Case Could Return To State Court, Judge Hints

    A federal judge in Connecticut hinted Tuesday that he might send cases by Colorado mass shooting victims against gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co. back to state court, noting that only rarely may district court judges hear core state law claims when federal law provides an ingredient in the analysis.

  • April 16, 2024

    Buttigieg, State AGs To Probe Consumer Airline Complaints

    Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday announced a new partnership with Colorado and over a dozen other states to investigate consumer complaints about air travel, vowing to hold airlines and ticket agents accountable for excessive flight cancellations and unfair business practices.

  • April 16, 2024

    Zuckerberg Dodges Liability In Meta Addiction MDL, For Now

    A California federal judge has tossed certain fraud-by-omission claims seeking to hold Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable in sprawling multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive design, but she allowed the plaintiffs to amend their allegations to assert a new theory of corporate officer liability against Zuckerberg.

  • April 16, 2024

    Sikorsky Calls Chopper Crash Suit 'Beyond' US Court's Power

    Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. is pushing a Pennsylvania federal judge to toss liability claims brought by the families of six Canadian military personnel who died in one of its helicopters, arguing that the witnesses and evidence for the case are in Canada, "beyond the compulsory process of this court."

  • April 15, 2024

    Conn. Court Should Allow Award For PTSD Firing, Agency Says

    Connecticut's state human rights watchdog has urged a state court to uphold a $62,000 award in favor of a Charter Communications worker who says she was fired because she had post-traumatic stress disorder, arguing that the decision followed sound legal principles and the judicial branch should defer to the agency's ruling.

  • April 15, 2024

    Pet Food Brand Chicken Soup Says Supplier Hiked Costs

    A manufacturer that supplied the Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food brand bought ingredients from its own subsidiary, hiked prices and failed to deliver products, according to a response to the manufacturer's $3.1 million allegation that the name brand failed to pay for food already manufactured and sold to consumers.

  • April 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Affirms Telecom Co.'s $13M Union Pension Bill

    The Second Circuit upheld a New York federal court's determination that a telecommunications company owed $13 million in withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension plan for electrical and contract workers, agreeing Monday with an arbitrator's finding that a construction industry exception didn't apply to the disputed work.

Expert Analysis

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • How Legal Teams Can Prep For Life Sciences' Tech Revolution

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    The life sciences and health care industries are uniquely positioned to take advantage of new efficiencies created by cloud computing and generative artificial intelligence, but the sensitivity of their data also demands careful navigation of an expanding legislative and regulatory landscape, say Kristi Gedid, Zack Laplante and Lisa LaMotta at Ernst & Young.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Employer Takeaways From 2nd Circ. Equal Pay Ruling

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    The Second Circuit 's recent decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America reversed a long-held understanding of the Equal Pay Act, ultimately making it easier for employers to defend against equal pay claims brought under federal law, but it is not a clear escape hatch for employers, say Thelma Akpan and Katelyn McCombs at Littler.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Opinion

    Civil Litigation Against Gun Businesses Can Reduce Violence

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    With mass shootings skyrocketing, and gun control legislation blocked by powerful interest groups, civil litigation can help obtain justice for victims by targeting parties responsible beyond the immediate perpetrator — including gun manufacturers, dealers and retailers, says Tom D'Amore at D'Amore Law Group.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • High Court Bakery Driver Case Could Limit Worker Arbitration

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    Employers that require arbitration of worker claims under the Federal Arbitration Act should closely follow Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries as it goes before the U.S. Supreme Court, which could thoroughly expand the definition of “transportation workers” who are exempt from compulsory arbitration and force companies to field more employee disputes in court, says Nick Morisani at Phelps Dunbar.

  • State Regs Sow Discord Between Cannabis, Hemp Industries

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    Connecticut, Maryland and Washington are the latest states choosing to require intoxicating hemp products to comply with the states' recreational marijuana laws, resulting in a widening rift between cannabis and hemp as Congress works on crafting new hemp legislation within the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

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