WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 20 reversed a Pennsylvania federal judge’s decision to exclude two expert witnesses in a dispute brought by a physician who claims DePuy Synthes Sales Inc. and related DePuy entities induced surgeons to infringe certain claims of his patents; the panel majority held that the judge wrongly treated claim construction and survey methodology questions as admissibility issues and not questions for a jury.

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a biomedical research company and its controlling members in a suit brought by its founder alleging they violated securities laws and breached their fiduciary duties by not informing him that they were considering private-equity financing when he sold his stake in the company, finding a genuine dispute of material fact exists as to the founder’s fiduciary duties claim but not as to his securities law claims.

BOSTON — A partially split First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel largely affirmed a Puerto Rico federal judge’s decision to dismiss a suit against Puerto Rican government entities brought by the sons of legendary baseball player Roberto Clemente for putting his image on license plates without their authorization, but the panel majority held that Clemente’s heirs had adequately raised Lanham Act claims against the government officials in their personal capacity to survive a motion to dismiss.

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 20 reversed a Maryland federal court’s grant of Under Armour Inc.’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in its directors and officers liability insurers’ lawsuit seeking a declaration that they owe no coverage for underlying investigations brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, shareholder demand letters and a securities class action, holding that the insured’s public financial forecasts and accounting practices are a single claim under the policy because they are ‘logically or causally related” and, therefore, the insured is not entitled to additional insurance coverage under its 2017-2018 D&O policy.

SAN FRANCISCO — After Kaiser Permanente affiliates agreed to pay $556 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations related to false claims for risk adjustment payments under Medicare Advantage, relators and the affiliates in consolidated qui tam suits filed joint stipulations of dismissal.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On de novo review, a California federal judge concluded that a mechanical engineer who said she was disabled by a COVID vaccine injury due to symptoms including fatigue and brain fog is entitled to retroactive long-term disability (LTD) benefits under the plan’s initial “regular occupation” standard.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In Jan. 20 oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on the parameters for calculating liability for withdrawing from a multiemployer pension plan, employers urged the high court to rule that there is a strict deadline for actuarial assumptions, and multiemployer plan trustees and the government as amicus curiae countered that the statutory text, standard actuarial practice and policy concerns all cut against that position.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska and the Trump administration on Jan. 16 filed separate briefs in support of motions to dismiss a lawsuit brought by environmental groups that are challenging President Donald J. Trump’s executive order that reopened areas of the outer continental shelf (OCS) for hydraulic fracturing. The state argues that the case should be dismissed for lack of standing because the plaintiffs have not alleged imminent and particular harm in the District of Alaska. The Trump administration, which insists it has sovereign immunity, contends that jurisdiction is lacking.