Tesla Auto Insurer Accused Of Underpaying Arizona Insureds

By Hope Patti

Tesla auto insurance policyholders told an Arizona federal court that the insurer has underpaid millions of dollars in claims by failing to comply with statutory requirements governing uninsured and underinsured motorist, or UM/UIM, coverage.

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2nd Circ. Revives Suit Against Broker Over Lead Paint Notice

By Ganesh Setty

The owner and manager of a New York City residential property can continue to pursue their negligence claim against their insurance broker after they said the broker failed to provide notice to their insurer about lead paint at the property, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday.

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Mich. Justices Probe Nationwide's Combined Tax Filing Win

By Paul Williams

Two Michigan Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether the state's tax statutes governing insurance companies exclude key phrases that would allow Nationwide entities to file as a unitary group that can share credits among its members.

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NJ Panel Unsure Businessman's Threats Broke Law

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appellate panel on Wednesday appeared skeptical that the sprawling racketeering indictment against Garden State businessman George E. Norcross was improperly dismissed, asking the state in its bid to revive the case how the power broker's alleged threats outlined in its 111-page indictment were unlawful.

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4 Firms Fueling Website Tracking Claims, Cyber Insurer Says

By Allison Grande

A quartet of California-headquartered consumer law firms were behind nearly three-quarters of the website tracking and data privacy claims that both large and small businesses have reported to cyber insurer Coalition Inc. in recent years, according to a new report released Wednesday. 

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6th Circ. Says Asbestos Reinsurance Fight Can't Be Rehashed

By Hope Patti

An Amerisure unit can't seek reimbursement from reinsurer Swiss Re for defense costs paid in underlying asbestos litigation against a building material manufacturer, the Sixth Circuit affirmed, saying the issue has already been decided in arbitration proceedings with another reinsurer.

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Firepit's Lithium-Ion Battery Caused Blaze, Suit Says

By Mike Curley

A combination speaker and outdoor firepit's lithium-ion battery catastrophically failed and caused a fire that damaged its owner's property, according to an amended complaint filed Wednesday in Ohio federal court by the owner's insurer.

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Insurer Says Ad Firm Only Paid Part Of $2M Fraud Settlement

By Ganesh Setty

An auto insurer told an Ohio federal court that an advertising firm it had accused of engaging in a "brazen and sophisticated scheme" to defraud it of over $9.9 million has failed to abide by their $2 million settlement, saying it has only received partial payment.

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Husch Blackwell Brings On Morris Manning Insurance Pro

By Emily Johnson

Husch Blackwell LLP has brought on a Morris Manning & Martin LLP attorney in its Atlanta office, strengthening the firm with an attorney experienced in handling complex insurance coverage litigation and commercial litigation, the firm announced Wednesday.

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Opinion

Punitive Damages Awards Should Be Limited To 1st Instance

Recent verdicts in different cases against Johnson & Johnson and Monsanto showcase a trend of multiple punitive damages being awarded to different plaintiffs for the same course of conduct by a single defendant, a practice that should be deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Jacob Mihm at Polales Horton.

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AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

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Mamdani Taps Ex-FTC Chief Lina Khan For NYC Transition

By Lauren Berg

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday named an all-woman transition team, including former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, who attracted the ire of tech giants and corporations by spearheading the Biden administration's aggressive antitrust enforcement.

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Fired E-Biz Execs Sue Jackson Walker Over Judge's Romance

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of former executives at e-commerce company Volusion LLC have hit Jackson Walker LLP with the latest in a series of suits accusing the firm of legal malpractice stemming from the undisclosed romance between a former partner and a Texas bankruptcy judge.

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Senate Confirms Jones Day Partner To 9th Circ. Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 52-45 on Wednesday to confirm Eric Tung, a partner at Jones Day, as a judge on the Ninth Circuit.

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Judge Slams DOJ's 'Indict First' Strategy In Comey Case

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors were given just over 24 hours to hand over all of the grand jury materials and anything seized under years-old warrants in the James Comey case when a Virginia federal judge said Wednesday that the government appeared to be pursuing an "indict first, investigate last" strategy.

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Robbins Geller's 'Eye-Watering' $28M Fee Bid Cut To $10.4M

By Katryna Perera

A California federal judge has rejected a $28 million attorney fee request from Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd as part of a $150 million investor settlement with Zoom, calling it an "eye-watering figure," and saying the firm can collect about $10.4 million instead.

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Fed. Judiciary Tackles Design, Need For AI Evidence Rules

By Jack Karp

Federal judiciary members wrestled Wednesday with the appropriate parameters of a proposed rule that would govern machine-generated evidence, while questioning the need for another proposed rule dealing with so-called deepfake evidence.

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After Spending Blitz, Pa. Judicial Election Turnout Booms

By James Boyle

Months of focused campaigning and an unprecedented blitz of spending on television ads helped serve to double the number of Pennsylvania voters who turned out on Tuesday to cast ballots over whether to grant new 10-year terms to three Democratic members of the state's Supreme Court.

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Mass. Justices Consider Raises To Address Counsel Shortage

By Julie Manganis

Justices on Massachusetts' highest court grappled at a hearing Wednesday with its ability to address an ongoing shortage of attorneys willing to represent indigent defendants, after lawyers in two of the state's busiest counties stopped taking cases in May in protest over the low pay compared with other states.

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