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Michigan
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April 03, 2024
Amazon Book Scammer Can't Trim Prison Time
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a 16-year prison sentence Tuesday for a man who scammed Amazon by renting textbooks from the e-commerce giant and then selling them at a profit, ultimately costing Amazon approximately $3.2 million.
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April 03, 2024
OpenText Belongs In Merger Suit Coverage Row, Insurer Says
OpenText belongs in a dispute over coverage for a class action alleging Covisint's shareholders got a bad deal when it merged with OpenText in 2017, Covisint's insurer told a Michigan federal judge, arguing OpenText has a vested interest because it may have indemnification obligations if no coverage exists.
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April 03, 2024
Ex-NBA Guard's Health Fraud Perjury Merits Prison, Feds Say
Manhattan federal prosecutors said a former Detroit Pistons point guard who was convicted on one of two counts over an alleged scheme to defraud the NBA's healthcare plan should be sentenced to 27 to 33 months in prison, claiming he lied during his testimony.
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April 02, 2024
Feds Want 2 Years For Culprit In Fake NASA Contracts Plot
Prosecutors urged a Virginia federal judge to sentence a Michigan man to 25 months in prison Tuesday after he admitted to defrauding investors through fake NASA contracts, seeking a sentence lighter than the guideline range because he spent eight grueling months in a Philippines detention center before he was in U.S. custody.
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April 02, 2024
Frat That Allows Women Barred From Using 'Sigma Phi' Name
A federal judge in Detroit says that a University of Michigan fraternity is breaking the law by continuing to use the Sigma Phi name after the national fraternity excommunicated the group for accepting women.
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April 02, 2024
Axle Maker Says It's Getting Shafted On Exclusive Parts Deal
A Colorado maker of electrically powered axle components says a Michigan heavy-vehicle company broke their exclusivity agreement and is trying to replace the manufacturer with a competitor, according to a complaint removed to Colorado federal court Monday.
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April 02, 2024
9th Circ. Urged Not To Create Dormant Commerce Split On Pot
A Michigan resident and a California lawyer vying for one of Washington state's social equity cannabis licenses are urging the Ninth Circuit not to create a circuit split and to find that regulators' licensing scheme unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state players.
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April 02, 2024
7th Circ. Won't Revive Parents' Claims in Abbott Formula Row
The Seventh Circuit upheld on Tuesday the dismissal of parents' claims they were economically harmed from buying infant formula that could have been contaminated with bacteria at an Abbott Laboratories plant, saying their alleged injuries aren't enough to prove standing.
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April 02, 2024
Mich. Warns PFAS Ruling Could Fuel More Agency Challenges
Michigan has warned the state's high court that an appellate decision invalidating PFAS drinking water limits could pave the way for future litigants to attack state regulations by pointing to imperfect cost estimates, urging the court to revive the PFAS rules.
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April 02, 2024
$40M Union Pension Dispute To Head Back To Arbitrator
A Michigan federal judge stood firm on his decision to send a roughly $40 million dispute between a demolition company and a union pension fund back to an arbitrator, rejecting the company's bid for him to reconsider his opinion.
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April 02, 2024
Aretha Franklin's Estate Says Atty Can't Get Unpaid Fees
A lawyer who claims Aretha Franklin owed him for his work getting her a recording deal declined to participate in oral arguments Tuesday in Michigan appellate court, where the singer's estate told the court he filed his claims years too late.
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April 01, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Warns Of 'Trap' In Medical Malpractice Laws
The Sixth Circuit has backed an Ohio federal judge's decision to toss a couple's claim against a doctor they say failed to provide proper prenatal care that could have prevented their child's brain damage, with one judge writing separately that the relevant laws can easily "trap unwary litigants" with their requirements.
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April 01, 2024
Ford Can Keep Pursuing Narrowed BCBS Antitrust Suit
A Michigan federal judge has trimmed some of Ford Motor Co.'s time-barred claims alleging Blue Cross Blue Shield engaged in an anti-competitive scheme to drive up prices, but said the auto giant established it had standing to pursue allegations it was injured by market-restricting agreements among insurance licensees.
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April 01, 2024
Mich. Can't Get Immunity In Courthouse ADA Class Action
Attorneys with disabilities and a disability rights advocate can proceed with a proposed class action aimed at forcing accessibility improvements at several Michigan courthouses and government buildings, a Michigan federal judge ruled Saturday, rejecting the state's argument that it was immune from the suit.
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April 01, 2024
One Set Of Amazon Buyers Can't Cancel Later Antitrust Case
Antitrust lawsuits against Amazon.com in New York and Washington federal court will remain separate after a New York federal judge refused Friday to let online shoppers in the earlier-filed Washington case intervene in — and junk — the other proposed class action filed two years later.
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April 01, 2024
Insurer Can't Avoid Indemnity Payments Over Grocery Fire
West Bend Mutual cannot avoid making extra indemnity payments to a Detroit grocery store over a fire or collect its insured's unpaid premium from another insurer, a Michigan federal court ruled after previously compelling both insurers to provide coverage because their policies were active when the fire occurred.
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April 01, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Atty's Bid To Conflict Out Entire Ill. Bench
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the case of a lawyer suspended in Illinois who claimed the state's entire federal judiciary needed to recuse itself from his challenge to Illinois' attorney watchdog.
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March 29, 2024
Weed Investors' Money Shift Cost Co. Millions, Suit Says
A Michigan entrepreneur has hit his ex-partner with a $5 million lawsuit, accusing him of wrecking plans to buy a 10-acre marijuana grow facility near Ann Arbor by poaching the lead investors so he could fund his own Colorado cultivation.
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March 29, 2024
Fiat Chrysler Can't Get Out Of Workers' Overtime Suit
Fiat Chrysler must face a proposed collective action by workers accusing the automaker of failing to fully pay overtime wages, with a Michigan federal judge saying Friday that the company's argument improperly attacked the claims' merits rather than whether there was enough proof to keep them in court.
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March 29, 2024
Vidal Offers 'Peace Of Mind' For MDL Rivals Heading To PTAB
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal has set new boundaries on interpreting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's discretionary denial precedent for follow-on petitions, making clear that defendants can work together in multidistrict litigation without giving up the right to file separate patent challenges.
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March 29, 2024
Varnum Grows Practice With Corporate Immigration Pro
A Michigan law firm has picked up an immigration attorney with more than 25 years of experience helping businesses meet their immediate and long-term immigration needs.
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March 29, 2024
GOP Targets Mich. Framework For Approving Mail-In Ballots
National and state Republican groups are contesting a Michigan directive for counting mail-in ballots, arguing that the guidance about verifying signatures runs afoul of state elections law.
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March 29, 2024
Flint Residents Can't Show Profit From Hasty Water Rate Hike
Residents challenging the city of Flint's rushed implementation of higher water and sewage rates couldn't show how the city unjustly profited from the change or whether the increased rate was unreasonable, a Michigan appellate panel said in upholding the dismissal of the residents' suit.
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March 29, 2024
8 States Seek $122M After Robocaller Allegedly Ignored Ban
Attorneys general from eight states urged a federal judge to modify an existing injunction barring a businessman from engaging in robocalling or telemarketing campaigns, asserting he has violated that order, should be held in contempt and must pay $122 million.
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March 28, 2024
Judge Powers Down Lenovo Computer Crashing Claims
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday scrapped a proposed class action claiming Lenovo marketed a computer as reliable when it allegedly suffered from performance issues, saying the company never promised the computer wouldn't freeze or crash.
Expert Analysis
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FLRA Ruling May Show Need For Congressional Clarification
With its recent decision in The Ohio Adjutant General's Department v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, the U.S. Supreme Court took a somewhat behavioral approach in determining that the guard acted as a federal agency in hiring dual-status technicians — suggesting the need for ultimate clarification from Congress, says Marick Masters at Wayne State University.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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Cos. Shouldn't Alter Noncompete, Severance Agreements Yet
Two recent actions from the Federal Trade Commission and the National Labor Relations Board have sought to ban noncompete agreements and curtail severance agreements, respectively, but employers should hold off on making any changes to those forms while the agencies' actions are challenged, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.
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Dissecting The Case Law On Automaker Arbitration Provisions
As automakers increasingly turn to arbitration agreements for trimming and defending putative class action lawsuits, there are five factors driving courts' disparate outcomes when resolving an automaker's motion to compel arbitration, say Ellisse Thompson and Brandon Boxler at Klein Thomas.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
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Opinion
High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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Opinion
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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PFAS Coverage Litigation Strategy Lessons For Policyholders
While policyholders' efforts to recover insurance proceeds for PFAS-related costs are in the early stages, it appears from litigation so far that substantial coverage should be available for PFAS-related liabilities, including both defense costs and indemnity payments in connection with those liabilities, say Benedict Lenhart and Alexis Dyschkant at Covington.
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When Are Cos. Liable For Building Customers' Designs?
The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Cash-Darling v. Recycling Equipment serves as a warning to manufacturers regarding the extent to which they may become involved in customers' design decisions without exposing themselves to liability, and highlights the fact-sensitive nature of such cases, says Timothy Freeman at Tanenbaum Keale.
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What Associates Need To Know Before Switching Law Firms
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The days of staying at the same firm for the duration of one's career are mostly a thing of the past as lateral moves by lawyers are commonplace, but there are several obstacles that associates should consider before making a move, say attorneys at HWG.
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A Case For Sharing Mediation Statements With Counterparties
In light of a potential growing mediation trend of only submitting statements to the mediator, litigants should think critically about the pros and cons of exchanging statements with opposing parties as it could boost the chances of reaching a settlement, says Arthur Eidelhoch at Eidelhoch Mediation.
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Tackling Long-Tail Legacy Liability Risk: A Defendant's Toolkit
Johnson & Johnson was recently rebuffed in its efforts to employ the "Texas Two-Step," which is likely to affect this increasingly popular method to isolate and spin off large asbestos and talc liabilities, but companies have multiple options to reduce long-tail legacy liability risk, says Stephen Hoke at Hoke LLC.
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Preparing For Legal Scrutiny Of Data Retention Policies
Two recent cases involving Google and Meta should serve as a call to action for companies to ensure their data retention policies are updated and properly implemented to the degree of being able to withstand judicial scrutiny, especially as more data is generated by emerging technologies, say Jack Kallus and Labeed Choudhry at Kaufman Dolowich.
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EPA's Good Neighbor Ozone Plan: What Cos. Should Know
With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently issued Good Neighbor Rule set to restrict ozone-forming smokestack emissions from power plants and industrial facilities in 23 states, the time is now for companies to consider options available under the rule to mitigate costs and legal exposure, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.