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Texas Jury Awards $9.45 Million For Fall Into Unlit Empty Hotel Fountain

DALLAS — A Texas jury awarded a man $9,451,000 in compensatory and exemplary damages after finding a hotel he had been staying in liable for injuries he suffered falling into an empty fountain that was level with surrounding ground but concealed by darkness and a lack of illumination.

Trial Court Erred In Jury Instruction On Pro Rata Allocation, New York Panel Says

NEW YORK — A trial court erred when it instructed a jury to consider a pro rata method of allocation for apportioning damages and retention amounts when deciding whether an insured’s notice to an excess insurer of a claim for environmental remediation costs was timely, a New York appellate court said in reversing a portion of a trial court’s judgment in a longstanding  environmental contamination coverage dispute.

Student-Athletes’ More Than $2.5B NIL Settlement Granted Final Approval

OAKLAND, Calif. — A names, images and likenesses (NIL) class settlement between student-athletes and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and four conferences that provides $2,576,000,000 in damages and changes to NCAA rules that enable schools to share athletic revenues with Division I student-athletes and eliminate scholarship limits was granted final approval by a federal judge in California on June 6.

9th Circuit Institutes Test For ERISA Releases, Reverses As To Named Plaintiffs

SAN FRANCISCO — Saying it is taking the same approach as two sister circuits, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals quoted Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp. in holding “that releases and waivers under” the Employee Retirement Income Security Act “must ‘withstand special scrutiny designed to prevent potential employer or fiduciary abuse’”; it accordingly reversed and remanded summary judgment against the two named plaintiffs in a long-running class action concerning severance benefits.

Split U.S. Supreme Court Resumes DOGE Access To SSA Records

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Supreme Court majority on June 6 concluded that the Social Security Administration (SSA) must again provide access to agency records to a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) SSA team, staying a preliminary injunction issued in April by a federal judge in Maryland.

Supreme Court Grants Petition In DOGE Discovery Order Case; Narrowing Ordered

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Supreme Court majority on June 6 treated a stay application as a petition for a writ of certiorari and granted it in an appeal challenging two trial court discovery orders in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case regarding U.S. DOGE Service’s (DOGE or USDS) authority.

Woman’s Expert In Device Defect Case Properly Excluded, 8th Circuit Affirms

MINNEAPOLIS — The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a district court properly awarded summary judgment to a knee replacement system manufacturer after finding that testimony by a woman’s retained expert on her design defect claim was properly excluded.

Panel Upholds Constructive Discharge Claim Of Employee Who Refused COVID Tests

MINNEAPOLIS — Finding that a former county employee had established that her objection to her employer’s COVID-19 vaccination-or-test policy was based on sincerely held religious beliefs and that she plausibly alleged constructive discharge in being faced with giving up certain benefits, a panel of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 5 reversed the dismissal of her lawsuit by a Minnesota federal court.

Federal Circuit: Dolby Lacked Standing To Appeal PTAB Finding In Its Favor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp. lacked standing to appeal a procedural issue in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings where the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) held that a petitioner failed to show the invalidity of Dolby’s patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled June 5, saying Dolby was unable to establish an injury in fact.

Vaccine Refusal Discrimination Lawsuit Based On ‘Body-As-A-Temple’ Belief Settles

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Having been advised by counsel that the parties had settled a claim of religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act stemming from a former employee’s refusal to become vaccinated against COVID-19 as mandated by the employer, a South Carolina federal magistrate judge on June 5 dismissed the case without prejudice.

5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal For No Jurisdiction In Masons Online Defamation Row

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a tortious interference and defamation dispute between a masonic lodge and its conference regarding the suspension of the lodge’s charter and the conference’s alleged defamatory social media posts about the lodge, finding that the lower court correctly dismissed the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction.

LATEST NEWS

Texas Jury Awards $9.45 Million For Fall Into Unlit Empty Hotel Fountain
Trial Court Erred In Jury Instruction On Pro Rata Allocation, New York Panel Says
Insurer Accepts Subcontractor’s Offer To Settle Negligence Claims For $100,000
Ohio Appeals Court Partly Grants Inmate Mandamus In Records Request Dispute
EU Amici Tell High Court Intra-EU Arbitration Cases Incentivize Forum Shopping
3rd Circuit: Generic Drug Maker Lacked Standing To Appeal Foreign Discovery Order
Lenders Waive Response To Mortgagors’ High Court Petition In Appraisal Suit
5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Claims, Vacates Sanction Order In Coverage Suit
Reddit: Anthropic Copied User Data For AI Training Without Permission
Student-Athletes’ More Than $2.5B NIL Settlement Granted Final Approval
Insurer’s Motion To Compel Granted In Row Over Coverage For Underlying FCA Suit
Investors Won’t Respond To Petition On Securities Fraud Materiality Requirement
Insurer Granted Leave To File Third-Party Complaint In Contamination Suit
Split Federal Circuit: Apple Relied On Unanalogous Prior Art Before PTAB
Dead Smoker’s Husband, Philip Morris Settle Wrongful Death Suit
5th Circuit OKs Rehearing En Banc In Row Over Agencies’ No Surprises Act Regulations
Oil Companies, Government Say Groups Lack Standing, Injury In Drilling Permit Case
Antitrust Pricing Suit Against Juul Dismissed For Lack Of Specific Market
9th Circuit Institutes Test For ERISA Releases, Reverses As To Named Plaintiffs
Split U.S. Supreme Court Resumes DOGE Access To SSA Records
Texas Supreme Court Sets Oral Argument In Tornado Coverage Dispute
10th Circuit Denies Petition For Rehearing In Environmental Contamination Dispute
Company Says ‘All Leases’ Class Should Be Stricken From Mineral Rights Lawsuit
Supreme Court Grants Petition In DOGE Discovery Order Case; Narrowing Ordered
Amicus Backs Asbestos Talc Claimants In Appeal Of Revlon Bankruptcy Ruling
3rd Circuit Partially Restores Fire Department Admin’s Beard Discrimination Claims
Groups Say Federal Agency Violated Law When It Passed Offshore Fracking Rule
Oregon Appeals Court Finds Firearm Mark Analysis ‘Not Scientifically Valid’
DOL Tells 5th Circuit It Plans New Rulemaking On ESG Investment Rule
10th Circuit Affirms Interpretation Of Health Plan’s Limitations Provisions