Senators Seek Oversight Of DOL Benefits Agency Probes

By Patrick Hoff

A pair of Republican senators introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm to give Congress more information about its enforcement efforts, an action lawmakers say is necessary to ensure investigations are conducted in a timely manner.

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Meijer Escapes Most Claims In Tobacco Fee ERISA Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge significantly narrowed a proposed class action that accused Meijer Inc. of charging employees an illegal health plan fee for using tobacco, ruling Thursday that the shopping center company complied with federal benefits law by giving workers a six-month window to dodge the full charge.

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Convenience Store Co. Sets $5.1M Deal On Tobacco Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

Casey's General Stores Inc. agreed to pay $5.1 million to end a suit alleging it illegally charged workers an extra fee in their health plan for using tobacco without giving them an opportunity to escape the added cost, according to a filing in Iowa federal court.

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BJ's Ordered To Put Climate Study Pitch Before Shareholders

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered BJ's Wholesale Club to include at its June annual meeting a request to poll shareholders on whether it should conduct a climate study, in what appears to be the first such ruling since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced last fall it would no longer review most rejected proxy ballot questions.

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FTC Cuts Deal To End Anesthesia Group Rollup Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission reached an agreement Thursday to settle its case accusing U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. of monopolizing the Texas anesthesia services market by purchasing most of the competing anesthesia practices in the state.

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6th Circ. Hints Support For Superintendent's Suit Over Leave

By Anne Cullen

A Sixth Circuit panel signaled during a hearing Thursday that a trial court prematurely dismissed a school superintendent's lawsuit challenging her continued placement on leave, but the judges wondered if the school official had enough evidence to win at a later phase of litigation.

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No Class Cert. Redo In United Healthcare Breast Surgery Fight

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey federal judge said a policy change by United Healthcare was not enough to make her rethink her denial of certification to a proposed class of patients who were allegedly systematically shut out of coverage for postmastectomy breast reconstruction.

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'Cheap' Judge OKs $19.5M Snap Deal Fees But 'No Bentleys'

By Craig Clough

After warning counsel who negotiated a $65 million securities settlement with Snap that he is "notoriously cheap," and in a tentative order gave a "haircut" to their $19.5 million fee request, a California federal judge talked himself out of the trim at a hearing Thursday but quipped, "No Bentleys."

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Pa. County Joins Insulin-Pricing Suit Blitz Against CVS, PBMs

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Chester County, Pennsylvania, filed its own suit in a sprawling multidistrict litigation against CVS and multiple pharmacy benefit managers and drug companies, claiming the entities worked together to inflate the price of insulin.

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Car Parts Co.'s Acquisition Integration Failed, Investors Say

By Sydney Price

Auto parts distributor LKQ Corp. has been hit with a proposed class action in Tennessee federal court accusing it of concealing that a 2023 acquisition harmed LKQ's ability to meet its financial growth goals.

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Series

Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

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DLA Piper Clears Vote To End Verein, Unify Leadership

By Tracey Read

DLA Piper announced Friday that firm partners on both sides of the Atlantic have "overwhelmingly approved" a plan to dissolve its Swiss verein structure effective May 1.

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Commerce Department's General Counsel Departs

By Christine DeRosa

The U.S. Department of Commerce's general counsel has left the agency after just over a year, the agency confirmed on Friday.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

In what may be a first, a federal judge has ordered BJ's Wholesale Club to put an investor's climate-related proxy proposal up for a vote of the shareholders at the company's annual meeting. And a new study shows that more in-house counsel are staying in place despite pay increases slowing amid less competition for talent.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, Butler Prather LLP, Bowen Painter LLC and Cannella Snyder LLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Fluor Corp. can be held liable for a veteran's state-based injury claims stemming from a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen a Hong Kong company sue the government and a COVID-19 PPE company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone, an oligarch bring a fresh claim against a rival in a long-running feud, a rugby league club sue over a cancelled mass dance event, and Visa and Mastercard hit with legal action from H&M, Eurostar, and Bang & Olufsen. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Alleged Plea Breaches In Abuse Case Prompt New Judge Bid

By George Woolston

The defendant in a child sexual abuse case in which a federal judge ordered the trio of attorneys then leading the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office to testify about who was in charge has asked for his sentencing to be reassigned to a new judge, arguing that the federal government has repeatedly breached his plea agreement.

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