NJ Holding Co. Escapes $1M Printers' Union Pension Liability

By Kellie Mejdrich

A union pension fund that tried to collect more than $1 million in withdrawal liability after a printing company ceased operations failed to prove that a holding company was a trade or business, a New Jersey federal judge ruled Friday, handing the holding company a win.

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11th Circ. Sinks Firm's $1.5M Win Over 'Illegal' ESOP Advice

By Chart Riggall

The Eleventh Circuit threw out a $1.5 million verdict awarded to a financial advisory firm that alleged its former client backed out of an employee stock ownership plan contract, ruling Friday that the firm could not recover for the cost of the "illegal investment advice" it furnished.

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Elevance Can't Nix Suit Over GLP-1 Coverage For Sleep Apnea

By Grace Elletson

An Indiana federal judge declined to toss a proposed class action claiming Elevance Health Inc. illegally denied coverage for a GLP-1 weight loss medication that was prescribed to treat sleep apnea, ruling that the insurance company is the right party to answer to the allegations at play.

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Compass Group Workers Get Cert. For Tobacco Fee Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Former employees for food service company Compass Group USA have secured class certification for their Missouri federal lawsuit claiming the company's $48 bi-weekly health insurance fee for tobacco using-workers violates federal law.

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Chicago Plumbing Co. Defying Arbitration Order, Suit Says

By Katherine Smith

A Chicago plumbing company is refusing to follow all the terms of an arbitration award ordering it to obtain a dual wage and fringe benefit bond with a labor union, a lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court has claimed.

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Feds Say Pot Opponents Lack Injury In CMS Hemp Suit

By Sam Reisman

Federal health regulators have urged a D.C. federal judge to toss a bid by anti-cannabis activists to block a program to ease access for Medicare beneficiaries to federally legal hemp products that have small amounts of THC.

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How Calif. Safety Worker Pension Bill Could Cost Employers

Public employers should carefully consider how pension costs and bargaining concerns could change under a California Legislature bill that would increase retirement benefits for safety employees like police and firefighters, which could erode previous efforts to fully fund the public retirement system without necessarily improving worker retention, says Michael Youril at Liebert Cassidy.

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Trump Order Signals Tougher Benefits Fraud Probes

A recent order from President Donald Trump establishing a federal taskforce for addressing fraud in federally funded benefit programs emphasizes interagency information sharing, potentially affecting a broad range of areas including government contracts, administrative law considerations and False Claims Act cases, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

By Pete Brush

A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

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Q&A

Former Pardon Atty Says Trump's Clemency Grants Hurt DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer spoke recently with Law360 about how the pardon process has changed, the impact the shift might have on the DOJ and how the system could be reformed.

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DOJ Urges DC Circ. To Revive Trump EOs Targeting Firms

By Alison Knezevich

The D.C. Circuit should individually review each section of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting four law firms, allowing certain portions to stand if others are blocked, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a new filing urging the court to revive the measures.

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Analysis

The Justices Had Their Say On Immunity. Is A DC Jury Next?

By Chris Villani

The limits of presidential immunity are once again set to be tested after a D.C. federal judge ruled President Donald Trump must face civil claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, clearing the way for trial and potentially another high-stakes appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meta Pulls Some Attys' Social Media Addiction Ads

By Rachel Rippetoe

After losing a bellwether trial last month in one of a slew of cases from plaintiffs who claim to have been harmed by social media, Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients with similar claims.

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Brief

EEOC To Produce Law Firm DEI Letter Records By May 15

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Monday that it would give two law professors documents related to 20 letters the agency sent to law firms over their purported diversity, equity and inclusion practices by May 15.

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Morgan & Morgan Sued Over Firing Amid Nevada Expansion

By Emily Sawicki

Personal injury titan Morgan & Morgan is facing allegations from a former firm attorney in California state court alleging the Golden State lawyer was pressured to file suits in neighboring Nevada despite having an inactive law license and no experience practicing there, and was then harassed and wrongfully fired over the filings.

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Atty Says Ogletree Can't Litigate Against Her In 2 Similar Cases

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney said Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC should be disqualified from serving as defense counsel in a discrimination suit she's working on while simultaneously litigating against her on behalf of her ex-employer in a similar matter.

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NJ Man Who Sought To DQ US Atty Leadership To Plead Guilty

By Gina Kim

A criminal defendant who joined a pending bid to disqualify assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and escalated a constitutional challenge to its leadership structure told a federal judge Saturday he plans to plead guilty in his drug case. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

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