9th Circ. Says ERISA Preempts UnitedHealth Claims Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday backed a California federal court's decision to toss a medical collector's allegations of underpaid claims and state contract law violations by a UnitedHealth Group unit, agreeing that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempted the collector's suit.

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Former Live Nation Workers See 401(k) Fee Suit Tossed

By Kellie Mejdrich

A California federal judge tossed a suit from two Live Nation ex-workers alleging excessive fees in their employee 401(k) plan, following the Ninth Circuit in August saying the workers hadn't specifically appealed the lower court's holding that the ticket sales company could enforce a class action waiver.

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Brief

$1M AAA Club Settlement Gets Final Nod In COBRA Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge granted final approval Thursday to a $1 million settlement an American Automobile Association club brokered with a class of workers to resolve their suit claiming they weren't notified on time that they could extend their health insurance after their benefits ended.

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Snap Investors' $65M Deal OK'd, But Attys Face 'Cheap' Judge

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge said Thursday he will grant preliminary approval of a $65 million deal to resolve a proposed securities class action against Snapchat, but warned the plaintiffs' side they will "have to see" about the request for 30% of the settlement in attorney fees because he is "notoriously cheap."

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Lawmakers Debate Higher Pay, Health Benefits For Boxers

By Alex Lawson

An effort to revamp American boxing got underway on Capitol Hill on Thursday as lawmakers deliberated over legislation to provide better pay and workplace protections for fighters, with Democrats expressing concern over the potential for corruption to flourish in the sport.

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Brief

Mortgage Insurer Inks $650K Deal To End ERISA Suit

By Grace Elletson

A mortgage insurance company has agreed to pay $650,000 to close a worker's proposed class action filed in North Carolina federal court claiming its mismanagement of an employee retirement profit sharing plan caused a $1.3 million loss.

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11th Circ. Won't Rehear NCR Corp. Compensation Fight

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit denied on Wednesday software company NCR Corp.'s request to rehear a case in which the court ruled that the company cannot issue lump-sum payments to deferred compensation plan participants as alternatives to promised life annuities.

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Pond Lehocky Plans 8th Pa. Office, Adds Workers' Comp Atty

By James Boyle

Workers' compensation firm Pond Lehocky Giordano is preparing to expand its Pennsylvania footprint with the launch of an office in York, with the addition of an attorney who moved her practice from defense firm Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele.

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11th Circ.'s 6-Step Review May Be Ripe For Insurer Challenge

In its recent decision in Johnson v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance, the Eleventh Circuit utilized an unwieldy six-step approach to abuse-of-discretion review to find coverage in a disability benefits suit, a standard that creates subtle cognitive bias and that insurers should seek to overturn, says Scott Garosshen at Robinson & Cole.

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Series

Preaching Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Becoming a Gospel preacher has enhanced my success as a trial lawyer by teaching me the importance of credibility, relatability, persuasiveness and thorough preparation for my congregants, the same skills needed with judges and juries in the courtroom, says Reginald Harris at Stinson.

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Bonus Spotlight

Katten Exceeds Market Bonus Scale, Orrick Matches

By Tracey Read

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has joined a select few law firms that have gone beyond the BigLaw norm for year-end and special bonuses.

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Immigration Lawyers Battle Burnout Amid Deportation Surge

By Daniel Connolly

As the Trump administration carries out a mass deportation campaign across the country, immigration attorneys faced with heavy demand and changing norms are feeling the impact of burnout and stress on their practices and emotions, they told Law360.

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Judges Beat Ethics Suits For Dropping Retirement Post-Trump

By Jake Maher

A Fourth Circuit judge and two district court judges have defeated ethics complaints from a conservative legal organization alleging they improperly reversed their decisions to take senior status after President Donald Trump was elected.

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Rosen Law Firm Sanctioned Over 'Frivolous' Investor Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

A Wisconsin federal judge has sanctioned The Rosen Law Firm PA for failing to conduct an adequate investigation before filing a "frivolous" securities complaint against an airline holding company.

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Utah Atty Avoids Monetary Sanction For 'Hallucinated' Cases

By Matt Perez

A Utah federal judge handling a trademark infringement matter has sanctioned an attorney for filing court documents with "hallucinated" cases, but instead of issuing a fine, the lawyer was ordered to read all the cases and authorities cited in the opinion and file a summary statement within 30 days.

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Supreme Court Halts Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Fourth Circuit decision reviving a free speech suit from an immigration judges union challenging a policy barring them from speaking publicly about immigration without approval.

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Feature

For NY Inmate, Jamaica's Violence Waits Outside Prison Walls

By Rachel Rippetoe

Jamaican-born Eric Tolliver is nearing the end of his 33-year prison sentence in New York, but what waits for him on the other side might be worse: deportation to his home country, where many want him dead.

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Fla. Court Upholds Atty Disqualification In $1M Estate Dispute

By David Minsky

A Florida state appellate court on Friday affirmed the disqualification of an attorney who abandoned his client and began representing his client's adversaries in a $1 million probate case, finding that he likely violated ethics rules regarding conflicts of interest.

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Fla. Judge OKs Release Of Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts

By Rae Ann Varona

A Florida federal judge on Friday ordered the release of grand jury transcripts from an investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, citing a newly enacted law that the government said overrides a prohibition on disclosing the documents to the public.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

An SEC panel has asked the agency to adopt regulations that could standardize the way publicly traded companies report details about AI use. Meanwhile, the FCC approved AT&T's $1 billion UScellular deal after AT&T became the latest of the big three mobile carriers to agree to do away with diversity, equity and inclusion policies. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Gupta Wessler LLP and Block & Leviton LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Eleventh Circuit revived a proposed class action against NextEra Energy Inc. that seeks to hold the energy company liable for a share price drop that followed political interference allegations involving a subsidiary.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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