Conn. Atty Avoids Suspension Over $165K Fee Split Spat

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state court judge has reprimanded an attorney who was accused of pocketing a $165,000 fee that he was supposed to split with his former firm, and ordered him to pay unspecified restitution and take continuing legal education.

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Fired Pharma Co. VP Must Arbitrate Sex Bias Claims

By Grace Elletson

A Connecticut federal judge said a former Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals LLC vice president must arbitrate his sex bias suit claiming his female boss mistreated him and gave him a low performance rating because he is a man, ruling his case isn't covered by a law barring sex misconduct claims from out-of-court resolutions.

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Error-Filled Pro Se Recusal Bid Draws Conn. Judge's Ire

By Emily Sawicki

A Connecticut federal judge will not docket a pro se recusal request in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud action accusing a man of skimming nearly $1 million in investments designated for hotel repair work, saying in a minute order that the defendant otherwise has counsel and submitted a meritless, error-riddled bid.

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Judge Keeps Yale-Prospect Medical Sale Feud In Ch. 11 Court

By Aaron Keller

A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday paused Yale New Haven Health Services Corp.'s request to reopen a $435 million Connecticut feud over a deal to purchase three hospitals from debtor Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., saying she first wants to hear Prospect's plan to repair the troubled contract.

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State AGs Sidelined From Sandoz Price-Fixing Deal

By Jack McLoone

A group of over 40 states and territories cannot intervene in a $275 million settlement resolving generic-drug price-fixing claims against Sandoz because they only have a nominal interest in the suit that fails to confer standing, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.

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Judge Grills Feds On Upending 30-Year Noncitizen Benefits

By Britain Eakin

A Rhode Island federal judge seemed perplexed Wednesday by a government attorney's contention that for nearly 30 years, various administrations across the political spectrum have wrongly interpreted a law the Trump administration now says requires immigration status checks for additional federal benefits.

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Conn. Stylist Ends Wage, Anti-Polish Bias Suit Against Salon

By Brian Steele

After the parties reported a settlement in principle, a Connecticut federal judge has agreed to dismiss claims that a Greenwich hair salon underpaid an employee's wages, failed to pay overtime and discriminated against the worker because she is from Poland.

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17 States, DC Urge FDA To Lift Mifepristone Restrictions

By Rae Ann Varona

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia Wednesday joined four others in urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, saying that data their health departments collected overwhelmingly back the drug's safety.

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2nd Circ. Says Section 230 Can't Block EPA Defeat Device Suit

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Second Circuit on Wednesday said makers of software that allegedly enables vehicles to bypass pollution controls can't use a Communications Decency Act provision intended to protect companies from third-party use of their products to dodge a federal lawsuit.

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States Say Kidde-Fenwal Ch. 11 Disclosures Still Inadequate

By Jeff Montgomery

Attorneys for seven states and Washington, D.C., have told a Delaware bankruptcy court that firefighting foam maker Kidde-Fenwal Inc. failed to meet court-directed disclosure statement requirements for its latest, fifth-amended Chapter 11 liquidation plan and called for rejection of the document.

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Morris Manning Faces $5M Ga. RICO Suit Over Tax Strategy

By Emily Sawicki

Morris Manning & Martin LLP is facing allegations of racketeering and tax fraud in a suit brought in Georgia state court by three investors that names a number of professional services firms.

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LegalZoom Launches Patent Filing Service

By Matt Perez

Online legal services provider LegalZoom announced Tuesday the launch of a streamlined alternative to traditional patent filing through its Arizona-based law firm LZ Legal Services.

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Trump Says Fed's Cook 'Must Resign' Amid Loan Fraud Claim

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump's Federal Housing Finance Agency chief on Wednesday accused Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook of potential mortgage fraud and said he has referred the matter to federal prosecutors, prompting Trump to call for Cook's immediate resignation — a call she has rejected.

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Ga. Court Drops Greenberg Traurig Suit After Atty's Death

By Chart Riggall

The Georgia Court of Appeals said Wednesday that it will toss an appeal in a legal malpractice suit filed by a record executive against Greenberg Traurig LLP and its former music law guru Joel Katz after the parties were unable to identify a successor for Katz following his death earlier this year.

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Abrego Garcia Seeks To Toss Feds' 'Vindictive' Charges

By Britain Eakin

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the government erroneously deported to El Salvador in March, has asked a Tennessee federal judge to dismiss federal human smuggling charges he contends constitute retaliation for challenging his removal.

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NC's Cap On Med Mal Damages Is Constitutional, Panel Rules

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a state law capping compensatory damages in certain medical malpractice lawsuits at $500,000 is constitutional, handing a defeat to a woman seeking to recoup her full $7.5 million jury verdict stemming from the loss of her unborn baby.

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In Illinois, Public Defender Welcomes Sea Change In Structure

By Steven Trader

Illinois is set to receive the first overhaul of its public defense system in 75 years, and Champaign County Chief Public Defender Elisabeth Pollock is "very much looking forward" to it, she told Law360.

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