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Midwest
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February 1, 2013
Copper Co. Reaches $3M EPA Deal Over Lead Allegations
Copper-based alloy manufacturer H. Kramer & Co. struck a $3 million settlement Thursday with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Illinois to resolve allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act at its smelting foundry in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.
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January 28, 2013
Divisive Ruling Casts Doubt On Additional Insured Coverage
The Minnesota Supreme Court held Wednesday that a contractor could not force a subcontractor's insurance carrier to cover property damage during construction because the subcontractor wasn't to blame for the damage, a contentious ruling that policyholder attorneys say essentially rewrites the policy and conflicts with findings by other state courts.
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January 14, 2013
6th Circ. Upholds Black Lung Benefits For Deceased Miner
The Sixth Circuit on Friday upheld a black lung benefits award for a now-deceased career coal miner, shooting down Buck Creek Coal Co. and Old Republic Insurance Co.'s challenge to a ruling that found the miner's condition had changed since his previous claims were rejected.
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January 11, 2013
Nationwide Not Liable For Costs From Stolen Data: 7th Circ.
The Seventh Circuit on Friday affirmed that Nationwide Insurance Co. is not responsible for covering costs related to the theft of personal information from an accounting firm employee’s car because her policy excluded coverage for property in the care of the policyholder.
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January 9, 2013
10th Circ. Backs NPS Rejection Of Wolf Reintroduction Plan
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday rejected claims by an environmental group that the National Park Service erred when it chose not to include the reintroduction of naturally reproducing wolves in its plan to control elk populations in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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January 9, 2013
Junk Fax Cert. Survives Atty Ethics Questions In 7th Circ.
The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday declined to overturn class certification of a Telephone Consumer Protection Act junk fax suit, despite admonishing plaintiffs counsel for questionable conduct in allegedly using trial discovery to seek out new clients.
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January 8, 2013
10th Circ. Junks Enviro Suit Over Utah Tar Sands Leases
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday shot down a coalition of environmental groups' bid to revive a lawsuit against the federal government over a series of oil and gas leases they argue should have expired, ruling the groups had raised the challenge prematurely.
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January 7, 2013
Landowners' Wal-Mart Zoning Row Denied High Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by landowner siblings in a dispute over a Michigan city’s zoning laws that had prevented Wal-Mart Inc. from proceeding with a $4 million deal to buy the landowners' property to build a store.
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January 7, 2013
8th Circ. Affirms General Mills' $2.2M Win In Meatball Row
The Eighth Circuit on Monday affirmed a $2.2 million win for General Mills Operations LLC in its contractual fight with meat supplier Five Star Custom Foods Ltd. over a 2008 recall of beef used to make meatballs in Progresso soup.
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December 20, 2012
$125M Starwood Fraud Suit Belongs In Mexico, 7th Circ. Says
The Seventh Circuit on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of a $125 million fraud suit involving time shares in Mexico, ruling that condo owners' claims against the developers should be heard in Mexico under a forum-selection clause in the sales agreements.
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December 18, 2012
Bid-Rig Claims Against Morton, Cargill Fall Short: 6th Circ.
Ohio counties claiming that Morton Salt Inc. and Cargill Inc. divvied the northern Ohio market for rock salt by submitting sham bids for government contracts lacked a plausible basis for their antitrust conspiracy claims, the Sixth Circuit held Tuesday, tossing the suit.
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December 13, 2012
Best Buy, DDR Settle Insurance Dispute Over Mall Leases
Best Buy Stores LP and Developers Diversified Realty Corp. have reached an agreement to end their long-running fight in Minnesota federal court over insurance costs tacked onto rent agreements for mall properties DDR managed and Best Buy leased, a Wednesday order said.
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December 5, 2012
Astec Rock Crushers Patent Claims Invalid, Judge Rules
A Wisconsin federal judge on Tuesday found that parts of an Astec Industries Inc. patent covering rock-crushing technology were invalid, siding with Metso Minerals Industries Inc., which had sued to prevent an Astec unit from pursuing infringement allegations.
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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 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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October 30, 2012
Japanese Co. To Pay $18M For Auto Parts Price-Fixing
Japanese auto parts manufacturer Tokai Rika Co. Ltd. has agreed to pay $17.7 million to settle criminal charges that it conspired to fix rates for heater control panels and obstruct justice, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.
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October 24, 2012
Fox Loses Bid To Ax Chicago Judge's $28M Privacy Suit
Fox Television Stations Inc. lost its bid to ditch a $28 million invasion of privacy suit Tuesday, when an Illinois appeals court ruled Fox had failed to show that claims about the accuracy of its report on Chicago judges' working hours lacked merit.
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October 18, 2012
Marketing Co.'s Liability Upheld In Ex-Worker's Privacy Suit
Illinois' highest court on Thursday upheld a jury finding that marketing firm North American Corp. of Illinois is liable for the invasion of a former employee's privacy by two investigative firms she said deceptively obtained her phone records, but trimmed the worker's $1.75 million punitive damages award.
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October 11, 2012
Ohio Court Revisits Ruling On Noncompetes' Post-Merger Fate
The Ohio Supreme Court said Thursday it had been mistaken when it ruled in May that mergers could set the clock running on noncompete pacts' time limits, issuing a new decision that said a merged insurance services company could enforce noncompetes as if it had stepped into the absorbed company's shoes.
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September 24, 2012
7th Circ. Broadens ERISA Whistleblower Protections
An Employee Retirement Income Security Act provision preventing employers from retaliating against workers who protest meddling with their pensions includes informal communications as well as formal legal action, the Seventh Circuit has ruled.
Expert Analysis
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So You Think You Have Replacement Cost Coverage ...
In light of the Illinois Appellate Court's decision in Area Erectors Inc. v. Travelers Property Casualty Co., insureds should know that just because they have a “replacement cost” policy, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re entitled to recover the cost from the insurer to replace damaged property, says Neil Posner of Much Shelist PC.
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Consumers Go Up In Smoke In Phillips V. Philip Morris
Manufacturers of consumer products scored a double-win in the recent decision of Phillips v. Philip Morris Companies Inc., which has become a useful precedent for companies that find themselves the targets of consumer class actions based upon state consumer statutes, say attorneys with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP.
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Fish Yourself Out Of Asian Carp Scare
In a recent report, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers documented that Asian carp DNA found in the Chicago Area Waterway System could stem from at least six different sources besides live Asian carp. The report's findings should reduce the concern that Asian carp are about to enter the Great Lakes through the CAWS and allow consideration of more sensible alternatives to address the potential migration, says David Rieser of Much Shelist PC.
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The Debate Over Mich.'s Right-To-Work Law
It seemed to happen before you could say the words "right to work" — on Dec. 11, 2012, Michigan swiftly became the 24th state to enact right-to-work legislation. While the effects of Michigan’s new status will not occur as quickly, this controversial law is politically significant and likely to bring litigation over its scope, say attorneys with Nemeth Burwell PC.
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The Kilbride Court After 2 Years: Pragmatic And Collegial
In the 26 months since Thomas Kilbride became chief justice, the Illinois Supreme Court has decided 80 civil cases. In reviewing those cases, one statistic leaps out, confirming the impression of a highly unified court: 67.5 percent of the court's civil decisions have been unanimous. Significant dissent is rare. Our analysis of the dynamics of the Kilbride court just past its second anniversary suggests several tentative lessons for counsel, says Kirk Jenkins of Sedgwick LLP.
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The Ill. Supreme Court 2012: Year In Review
During 2012, the Illinois Supreme Court filed 71 written opinions, 39 in civil cases. Although the total opinion output was down somewhat from recent years, this represents the court's highest number of civil decisions since 2009. And all in all, it was a reasonably good year at the court for the business defense bar, says Kirk Jenkins of Sedgwick LLP.
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Western Pa.'s Take On Carbon Dioxide Liability Claims
Presented before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, was the question of whether state law nuisance claims for the emission of carbon dioxide were viable in the face of the Clean Air Act. If the Western District’s analysis is correct and applicable to carbon dioxide, such claims will not survive for very long, says J. Wylie Donald of McCarter & English LLP.
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Circuits Split On Mooting: Supreme Court To Give Insight
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to docket Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk has suddenly made mooting one of the hottest topics in wage and hour litigation. In Genesis, the court will determine the application of the mooting strategy in a putative wage and hour collective action — a decision upholding mooting may result in a sea change in wage and hour litigation, say attorneys with Baker & McKenzie.
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Case Study: Quade V. Secura Insurance
In Quade v. Secura Insurance, the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision placed issues of causation and extent of damages of property within the authority of insurance appraisers, but questions remain regarding when a liability determination is "incidental" to the analysis of amount of loss, says Emily Cowing of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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Case Study: Tussey V. ABB
A Missouri federal judge's decision in Tussey v. ABB Inc. serves as an important reminder to practitioners and to employers of the type of supervision that courts will demand from retirement plan fiduciaries, and the peril of facts that can be used to convince a court that plan fiduciaries are protecting their employer or themselves at the expense of the plan’s participants, say attorneys with Alston & Bird LLP.