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August 23, 2012
Damages Issue Dooms T-Mobile Class Action, 11th Circ. Says
The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s refusal to certify a class action accusing T-Mobile USA Inc. of unlawfully reactivating lost or stolen cellphones, saying the plaintiffs failed to address concerns over how proposed damages were to be determined.
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August 23, 2012
USPTO Can't Dodge Exela Suit Over Patent Revival
A Virginia federal judge on Wednesday preserved Exela Pharma Sciences LLC's lawsuit alleging the federal government improperly revived a patent related to injectable acetaminophen treatment Ofirmev, a significant victory as the company defends itself in a separate patent infringement case.
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August 23, 2012
Medicare Recruiter Gets 5 Years For $205M Fraud
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Medicare patient recruiter to 57 months in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $1 million in restitution for taking kickbacks as part of a massive $205 million home health care fraud.
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August 22, 2012
11th Circ. Weighs Coverage For Unreasonable Settlements
An Eleventh Circuit coverage battle between a builder and Mid-Continent Casualty Co. over a copyright settlement may clear up the question of whether under Florida law, insurers can avoid covering all — or just part — of an underlying settlement that's found unreasonable, but not fraudulent or collusive, attorneys say.
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August 22, 2012
Psych Counseling Can Be A Medical Exam Under ADA: 6th Circ.
The Sixth Circuit ruled Wednesday that psychological counseling can count as a medical examination under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which forbids employers from requiring such exams unless they are job-related, reviving an ambulance driver's lawsuit against her employer.
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August 22, 2012
Southern Co. Cleared To Advance $14B Reactor Project
Southern Co. unit Georgia Power has received the go-ahead from Georgia regulators for the remainder of its 2012 spending on a $14 billion nuclear plant expansion, the utility said Tuesday.
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August 22, 2012
Strip Club Chain Settles Spam Text Suit For $2M In Coupons
A Florida district judge on Wednesday granted final approval of a $2 million coupon settlement between strip club chain Rick's Cabaret International Inc. and a class of consumers who accused the company of sending them unwanted text messages.
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August 22, 2012
Citing Concepcion, 11th Circ. Nixes Sprint Fee Suit
The Eleventh Circuit on Monday dismissed a Sprint Nextel Corp. customer's putative roaming fee class action under the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Concepcion decision, ruling that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts any Florida law that might void a class action waiver in a consumer contract.
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August 22, 2012
Ex-Miss. Official, Relatives Cop To $1.2M Katrina Kickbacks
A former Hancock County, Miss., official and his wife and two brothers pled guilty Wednesday to taking part in a scheme to defraud the federal government through $1.2 million in kickbacks on federal money earmarked for Hurricane Katrina cleanup contracts.
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August 22, 2012
Higher One, Bancorp Force Students Into Accounts, Suit Says
Higher One Holdings Inc. and The Bancorp Bank were hit with a proposed class action in Alabama on Friday accusing the companies of automatically creating bank accounts for college students without their knowledge or permission, as well as other violations of consumer protection law.
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August 22, 2012
$250M Capital One Settlement Doesn't Bar AG Suits: Judge
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday denied Capital One Bank's bid to block Hawaii and Mississippi from pursuing consumer fraud lawsuits against it, saying those states' attorneys general couldn't be bound by a $250 million class action settlement to which they were not parties.
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August 22, 2012
JPMorgan Chase Beats Home Equity Plan Suit
An Alabama federal judge tossed a putative class action against JPMorgan Chase Bank NA on Tuesday that alleged the bank unlawfully changed the terms of its home equity line of credit plans, noting that the bank's term interpretations were consistent with the contracts.
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August 22, 2012
MetLife Accused Of Sending Unsolicited Junk Faxes
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. was hit with a putative class action in South Carolina federal court Tuesday accusing the insurance giant of sending unsolicited fax advertisements to many recipients in violation of the Junk Fax Prevention Act.
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August 22, 2012
Health Care REIT Inks $2B Deal For Sunrise Senior Living
Toledo, Ohio-based Health Care REIT Inc. will acquire Sunrise Senior Living Inc. and its interests in 125 senior housing facilities, it said Wednesday, announcing a $1.9 billion deal to become one of the country's biggest retirement-community owners.
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August 22, 2012
HCC Claims No Duty To Cover Oreck In False Ad MDL
HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. on Monday asked a Tennessee federal judge to dismiss Oreck Corp.’s lawsuit demanding that HCC cover the vacuum cleaner maker in multidistrict litigation alleging it misled consumers into purchasing products that did not perform as advertised.
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August 22, 2012
Shoe Insert Maker Sued Over Whistleblower's Ouster
A Tennessee company that manufactures shoe inserts for diabetics fired an employee who complained about Medicare fraud and illegal telemarketing practices, according to an amended whistleblower suit filed Tuesday that drops the company's now-imprisoned owner as a defendant.
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August 21, 2012
5th Circ. Lets Texas Defund Planned Parenthood
Texas can proceed with a law that cuts off state funds to Planned Parenthood and other clinics affiliated with abortion providers after the Fifth Circuit vacated an injunction against the law Tuesday, ruling the clinics' free speech wasn't penalized by the state's decision to disfavor abortion.
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August 21, 2012
Schwab, Others Accused Of Infringing Online Security Patents
A patent-holding company accused Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., Scottrade Inc. and OptionsHouse LLC in Georgia federal court Friday of infringing a group of security patents used to safeguard online information associated with customers' accounts.
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August 21, 2012
Drug Cos. Cut Loose From Darvocet, Darvon MDL Suits
A Kentucky federal judge on Tuesday tossed 17 lawsuits against bankrupt AAIPharma LLC, NeoSan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and AAIPharma Development Services Inc. in a multidistrict litigation over injuries tied to painkillers Darvocet and Darvon, saying the plaintiffs couldn’t prove who made the drugs they took.
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August 21, 2012
State Farm Off Hook For Injury Suits Against Pharmacy
A Mississippi federal judge ruled Monday that State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. had no duty to defend a pharmacy and its employees against claims that they liberally doled out addictive drugs, causing injuries and in some cases deaths.
Expert Analysis
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Is Ch. 9 The Next Chapter In The Municipal Saga?
Boise County, Idaho, demonstrates one of the reasons that Chapter 9 is not a panacea for every kind of financial problem burdening U.S. municipalities. Unfortunately, an increasing number of municipalities are passing the test that Boise County failed, say Joseph Witalec and Mark Douglas of Jones Day.
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No Wonder: Denying A D&O Claim As Excluded Loss
In U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Federal Ins. Co., litigation stemming from Hostess Brands Inc.'s first bankruptcy filing, the Eighth Circuit handed down a decision that offers instruction to insurance and bankruptcy practitioners alike, providing further refinement in the debate on the effect an agreement not to sue has when the covered loss is an amount the insured is “legally obligated to pay,” says William Webster of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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A Little 'Guidance': All You Need For Preemption?
Regulated entities, courts and federal agencies have struggled with the question of whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reliance on guidance documents, employed in place of formal rulemaking, can be used to preempt state law claims when such claims conflict with agency guidance, but do not explicitly conflict with formally adopted regulations or laws, say David Graham and Anthony de Sam Lazaro of Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP.
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Revised Removal Statutes — Possibilities, Pitfalls: Part 1
The recently effective amendments to the federal removal statutes resolve a circuit split, cure potential inequities, clarify various aspects of removal procedure and jurisdiction, avoid a lurking constitutional problem, and present litigators with significant tactical choices and opportunities, say Colin Wrabley and Richard Heppner of Reed Smith LLP.
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A Crude Move Against Calif. Low Carbon Fuel Standard
In Rocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Goldstein, a federal district court has struck down California's low-carbon fuel standard as prohibited by the federal Commerce Clause. The decision is likely to reverberate well beyond the state, as most other states' LCFS are based to some degree on California's regulations, says Kurt Blase of Holland & Knight LLP.
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How To Lead A Practice Group
Now, as all law firms are grappling with a weak economy and an increasingly competitive market for legal services, the need for practice group leaders to actually lead has become acute. The good news is that the skills necessary to be an effective practice group leader can be learned and honed, says Susan Dunlap of Susan Dunlap & Associates.
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A Study In State Law Barriers To Ch. 9
Although Chapter 9 provides significant benefits to distressed municipalities, the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s quick and effective move to block Harrisburg’s bankruptcy filing illustrates the severe constraints municipalities are under when seeking relief under Chapter 9 without the support of the state government, say attorneys with Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
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BPA Class Certification: Denied
A Missouri federal court has denied the class certification motion of consumers suing defendants in the multidistrict litigation over the use of bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups. The court offered a number of reasons for the denial, including the fact that plaintiffs’ proof of what defendants failed to disclose would not be common for all class members, says Sean Wajert of Dechert LLP.
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Drilling Out The Weak Spots In Auditor Requirements
In September 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a proposed rule that will have the effect of impeding an operator’s ability to comply with safety and environmental management system auditing requirements in Outer Continental Shelf drilling. The oil and gas industry ought to take the lead in proposing guidance for filling gaps in the proposed rule, say Stephanie Salek, Jonathan Henry and Kelsey Desloover of King & Spalding LLP.
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The Nonoccurrence Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Emitters of greenhouse gases now more than ever need to be keenly aware of the exact terms of their insurance coverage policy, as insurers will be able to use the Virginia Supreme Court's recent decision in AES Corp. v. Steadfast Insurance Co. to argue that greenhouse gas emissions do not constitute an occurrence under a standard general liability policy, say Joseph Jean and Kimberly Diamond of Lowenstein Sandler PC.