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Midwest
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December 5, 2012
Pharmacy Manager Says Walgreen Broke Deal, Copied Biz Model
A pharmacy benefit manager on Monday sued Walgreen Co. in Illinois state court for allegedly flouting contract terms by setting up a national platform that offers discounts to the manager’s rivals and improperly uses the manager’s confidential business model information.
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December 4, 2012
Ill. County Official Gets Tax Trial Pushed Back
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday pushed back the impending criminal tax trial of Cook County Commissioner William Beavers to early next year, citing uncertainty about when one of the defendant's lawyers would be able to return to court after an illness.
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November 30, 2012
Businessman Gets Probation In Iran Missile Export Case
An Illinois federal judge sentenced a California businessman to five years' probation Friday for trying to illegally export missile components bound for Iran, overriding a prosecutor's argument that he deserved at least two and a half years in prison.
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November 30, 2012
Judge Sets Limits Ahead Of Ill. Official's Criminal Tax Trial
A federal judge told an Illinois county official's attorneys Friday that they cannot mention his amended tax returns during opening statements at his upcoming criminal tax trial and also indicated that prosecutors should mind their tone if they talk about his alleged use of campaign funds to gamble.
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November 29, 2012
Chicago Firefighters Ask 7th Circ. To Let Them Enter Hiring Suit
Black Chicago firefighters who were excluded from receiving benefit awards in a long-running class action accusing the city of using a discriminatory hiring test told the Seventh Circuit on Thursday they should be allowed to intervene, saying they made the request soon after learning they'd been cut out.
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November 29, 2012
Feds Say Ill. Official Can't Back Up Claim Suit Was Vindictive
Prosecutors fought back Thursday against an Illinois county official's recent claim that a criminal tax case set for trial Monday is an instance of “vindictive prosecution” spurred by his refusal to cooperate in probes of other officials, saying the claim is unsupported.
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November 29, 2012
Lloyd's Avoids Covering Part Of Tyco's $76M Wis. Cleanup
A Wisconsin appeals court on Tuesday denied coverage under nine Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's and London Market Insurance Cos. excess policies to Ansul Inc. and Tyco International (U.S.) Inc. for a pollution cleanup that could cost up to $76 million, ruling the companies had violated provisions requiring prompt notice and cooperation.
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November 29, 2012
$450M AIG Deal Gives Liberty Short Shrift, 7th Circ. Told
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. on Thursday asked the Seventh Circuit to nix American International Group Inc.'s $450 million class action settlement resolving claims that it underreported premiums in a workers' compensation insurance pool, arguing the deal treats Liberty unfairly.
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November 27, 2012
Reinsurer Fights Coverage Of State's Atty Defense At 7th Circ.
White Mountains Reinsurance Co. argued Tuesday that it shouldn't have to reimburse National Casualty Co. for defense costs in underlying wrongful arrest lawsuits against a former Illinois state's attorney and Edgar County, Ill., while the county told the Seventh Circuit the attorney's state employee status doesn't bar coverage.
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November 27, 2012
Potash Cos. Want 7th Circ. Foreign Antitrust Ruling Reviewed
The Seventh Circuit's decision to back a more expansive view of federal antitrust laws' foreign authority is “legal imperialism,” and the wider reach could create friction between the U.S. and its trading partners, a group of international potash producers appealing the decision told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday.
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November 26, 2012
Ex-Seyfarth Shaw Atty Says Boss's Lies Got Him Fired
A former Seyfarth Shaw LLP attorney filed a defamation suit Friday targeting the firm and his former supervisor, alleging that he lost his job at the firm because his ex-boss told lies implying he was unable to perform his duties.
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November 15, 2012
Psychiatrist Took Kickbacks From Teva, FCA Suit Says
The federal government launched a civil False Claims Act suit against a Chicago psychiatrist on Thursday alleging that he raked in kickbacks from drug companies including Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. and submitted 190,000 false claims to Medicaid and Medicare while treating nursing home patients.
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November 15, 2012
6th Circ. Narrowly Shoots Down Mich. Affirmative Action Ban
A divided Sixth Circuit on Thursday struck down part of a Michigan constitutional amendment that banned affirmative action in government hiring and state college admissions, finding the ban violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
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November 15, 2012
Forex Trader Gets 14 Years For $31M Investment Fraud
A purported foreign currency trader received a 14-year prison sentence from an Illinois federal judge Thursday for running a Ponzi trading scheme that prosecutors say fraudulently raked in $31 million from more than 400 investors and caused roughly $17.7 million in losses.
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November 14, 2012
Tellabs Looks To Bar Lost Profits Damages In Fujitsu IP Row
A Tellabs Inc. attorney argued in Illinois federal court on Wednesday that Fujitsu Ltd. is not entitled to any damages for lost profits in its patent infringement lawsuit against Tellabs because Fujitsu's North American subsidiary has only a nonexclusive license to its parent's intellectual property.
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November 9, 2012
Ill. Town Asks High Court To Hear Parking Ticket Privacy Case
A Chicago suburb has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on an $80 million federal lawsuit over whether the town's policy of printing personal information on parking tickets violates a federal privacy statute, arguing such government functions are exempted.
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November 9, 2012
Loeb & Loeb Adds Barack Ferrazzano Consumer Defense Pro
Loeb & Loeb LLP has snapped up a consumer protection defense litigator with expertise in class action work and the automotive industry from Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP, expanding its Chicago office, Loeb & Loeb said Friday.
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November 8, 2012
Boeing Blamed for Crash of Russian Superjet in Indonesia
Relatives of victims of the crash of a Russian-made jet during a demonstration flight in Indonesia sued The Boeing Co. on Thursday, alleging it equipped the Sukhoi Superjet 100 with a faulty ground proximity warning system.
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November 8, 2012
CORRECTED: Leo Burnett Sues Workers Who Quit With Kellogg Info
Ad agency Leo Burnett Co. Inc. on Tuesday fired a contracts suit at eight employees who abruptly resigned last week, claiming they left so they could use their inside knowledge of a marketing project for Kellogg Co. to form or join another business that Kellogg would be forced to hire.
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November 6, 2012
Crawford Labs Wants Arcadis Ordered To Continue Site Cleanup
Crawford Laboratories Inc. told an Illinois federal judge Tuesday that it needs a temporary restraining order forcing Arcadis US Inc. to continue its environmental remediation work at a Crawford site, while Arcadis argued that the dispute belongs before their arbitrator and no emergency exists to warrant the order.
Expert Analysis
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Changing Landscape Of Same-Sex Couples' Inheritance Rights
In a trailblazing decision, a Minnesota court has ruled that a partner in a same-sex marriage may receive full spousal inheritance rights under the state’s intestacy statutes — despite the fact that same-sex marriages are not lawful in Minnesota. The decision highlights the importance of companies staying current on the developing law of same-sex inheritance rights, say Janet Evans and Matt Frerichs of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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Safety First: Minn. Reviews Changes To Excavation Laws
Excavation damage remains the leading cause of all preventable pipeline accidents — yet there is no comprehensive national damage prevention law. Many states, including Minnesota and its Office of Pipeline Safety, have begun reviewing current regulatory provisions to determine whether changes are warranted, says Charlene Wright of Lathrop & Gage LLP.
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The Extent Of Coverage Under Minn. Title Insurance Policies
In Associated Bank v. Stewart Title, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota has had occasion to consider when a loss is valued for the purpose of coverage under a title insurance policy. With no Minnesota case law directly on point, the court's decision relied on the majority view in other jurisdictions, says Brian Margolies of Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP.
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What Contractors Can Learn From Indiana V. IBM
The problems experienced in Indiana’s welfare modernization and the unfortunate litigation that followed serve to remind contractors of how much is at stake when large-scale system implementations fail, say Robert Metzger and Mark Linderman of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC.
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The Benefit Corporation: A Silent Trend
For the past two years, state legislatures have been authorizing corporations to form a hybrid corporate legal structure called the benefit corporation. This much legislative action — nine states have passed legislation and 11 states are currently considering it — would seemingly produce an equal reaction, but this part for-profit/part-nonprofit corporation has not garnered much public or corporate awareness, say attorneys with Herrick Feinstein LLP.
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Bakken Boom: A North Dakota Mineral Rights Primer
While the fast-paced oil and gas development in North Dakota's Bakken formation presents challenges to all involved stakeholders, it is especially vital for mineral rights owners to recognize the issues and events that may impact their property interests, say Jan Conlin and Andrew Pieper of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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Case Study: Minn-Chem V. Agrium
The Seventh Circuit's decision in Minn-Chem Inc. v. Agrium Inc. eases the burden on plaintiffs alleging that foreign conduct violates U.S. law and can be challenged in U.S. courts, and will likely result in fewer successful motions to dismiss by defendants at the outset of an antitrust case involving foreign conduct, says Joseph Adamson of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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In Termination, Liability Doesn't Stop At The Employer
The Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Smith v. Bray has opened the door for future plaintiffs to assert discrimination and retaliation claims not only against their employers, but also against human resources personnel or other individuals who play a role in the decision-making process, say Gwen Morales and Mike Warner of Franczek Radelet PC.
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Takeaways From Rosenfield V. HSBC
The Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Rosenfield v. HSBC Bank NA tackled the question of what constitutes a consumer's timely exercise of the Truth in Lending Act's rescission right. This is the latest circuit court opinion addressing an area of the TILA that is rapidly evolving and increasingly relevant for lenders and loan servicers, say attorneys with Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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Protecting Insurers And Leaving Policyholders In The Dark
It is unquestionable that the Sixth Circuit's decision in OneBeacon v. Am. Motorists is a win for settling insurers, who by settling are left in peace with no further liability to their policyholder or to any other insurer that otherwise would seek equitable contribution. What is less clear is whether OneBeacon provides a victory for policyholders, say attorneys with Calfee Halter & Griswold LLP.