More Insurance Coverage
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August 16, 2024
Humana To Pay $90M To End 8-Year Medicare Drug FCA Battle
Humana Inc. has agreed to pay the federal government $90 million to settle long-running False Claims Act allegations it submitted fraudulent bids for Medicare prescription drug deals, Phillips & Cohen LLP said Friday in announcing the "first case of its kind" to resolve allegations of fraud in the Medicare Part D contracting process.
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August 14, 2024
SC Justices Agree To Hear Murdaugh's Jury Tampering Claim
South Carolina's Supreme Court has agreed to hear disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh's appeal claiming a clerk of court tampered with the jury that convicted him of murder, invoking a rule that bypasses intermediate appeals when "significant public interest or a legal principle of major importance" hangs in the balance.
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August 13, 2024
10th Circ. Says Mine Can't Undo Worker's Black Lung Benefits
A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected a coal mining company's attempt to prevent a retired Utah miner from getting benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, finding the miner's time working in above-ground facilities did not remove the law's presumption in his favor.
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August 13, 2024
Tort Report: Disney Blasted For 'Absurd' Arbitration Bid
A Disney unit's unconventional bid to arbitrate a wrongful death suit and a hefty crash suit verdict out of California lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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August 13, 2024
Contractors Owe $7M For Iron Plant Fire, Insurer Says
An insurer for one of the world's largest steel producers told a Texas federal court that five companies it said were responsible for the design, manufacture, sale and installation of a failed component at an iron plant must foot the bill for a fire that cost the producer nearly $7 million.
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August 12, 2024
NC Court Won't Stop 'Ultimate Relief' In Mogul's $524M Case
The North Carolina Court of Appeals refused on Monday to issue an immediate halt to a court-ordered receiver being appointed to manage the assets of convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, saying it would consider blocking the appointment after further court proceedings.
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August 12, 2024
Lewis Brisbois Litigation Duo Jumps To Hinshaw In LA
A pair of former Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP litigators jumped to Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP to serve as insurance industry group partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Monday.
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August 09, 2024
Jury's $1M Paralysis Verdict Against Insurer Overturned
A Texas federal judge overturned a jury's verdict and decided an insurer didn't have to cover a $1 million settlement between a former high school gymnast who became quadriplegic after taking LSD and the owners of the home where he ingested the drugs.
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August 09, 2024
NC Insurance Mogul Must Pay Dutch Insurer's $166M Award
Insurance mogul Greg Lindberg and his companies must pay a $166 million arbitral award issued to defunct Dutch life insurer Conservatrix, a North Carolina federal court ruled, saying the award has been upheld by Dutch courts and there is nothing to indicate that the proceedings were not conducted fairly.
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August 07, 2024
BP Malpractice Deal Needs Work, 5th Circ. Says
The Fifth Circuit scrapped a legal malpractice settlement in a consolidated lawsuit alleging attorneys were negligent in representing plaintiffs seeking compensation following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with a panel finding the terms were not mutually agreed upon.
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August 06, 2024
Motorola, Phone Biz Denied $1.5M From Defunct Co.'s Insurer
Cellphone maker Motorola and a phone and internet provider cannot get coverage for more than $1.5 million in judgments they won against a defunct marketing services company from that company's insurer, a Minnesota appeals court ruled, finding separate professional services and illegal profit exclusions apply.
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August 06, 2024
UnitedHealth Unlawfully Denies Device Coverage, Suit Says
A medical equipment maker accused UnitedHealth Group Inc. of creating a "soft denial system" to unlawfully deny payments for glucose monitoring devices, telling a Michigan federal court that thousands of claims worth more than $1 million have gone unpaid.
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August 02, 2024
Adviser Wants Fraud Settlement Nixed, Says Fla. Broke Deal
A retirement financial adviser is urging a Florida state court to overturn a settlement with the state's Office of Financial Regulation in an unregistered-securities lawsuit, saying the agency breached the confidential agreement by disclosing why a receiver demanded nearly $800,000 in clawbacks over alleged fraudulent transfers.
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August 02, 2024
Allstate Plan Participants Want $70M ERISA Case Kept In Play
Claims by a proposed class of current and former Allstate workers that the insurer cost them nearly $70 million by keeping poor-performing funds in their retirement plan should head to trial, the workers argued Friday while urging an Illinois federal court not to toss the suit.
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August 02, 2024
St. Louis Attys Can't Get Acquittal In $4M Tax Avoidance Case
Two Missouri-based attorneys, a father and daughter duo found guilty of participating in a $4 million tax avoidance scheme, will not be granted a new trial or an acquittal, despite their assertions that a number of errors tainted their trial, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Friday.
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August 02, 2024
Data Breach Victims Seek $1.5M Settlement Approval
Three individuals suing a construction industry insurer over a data breach asked a North Carolina federal court to approve a nearly $1.5 million settlement to end their proposed class action accusing the insurer of failing to protect the information of policyholders, employees and stakeholders.
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July 31, 2024
Mich. Justices Ask, Again, If Auto Reforms Cover Old Policies
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday asked parties in a crash insurance dispute to address a question on which it had already heard arguments earlier this year: whether no-fault reforms enacted in 2019 apply to preexisting policies or just to those issued after the reforms took effect.
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July 31, 2024
CVS Appeal Blocked In Whistleblower Suit Over Drug Prices
A Pennsylvania federal judge has barred CVS Health Co. from making an interlocutory appeal over his interpretation of regulations in a whistleblower's lawsuit claiming the company's prescription entities falsely reported drug prices to the government. The judge recommended that a trial date be set in the decade-long litigation instead.
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July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Cohen Ziffer's Orrie Levy
Orrie A. Levy of Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna beat insurers' attempts to avoid defending Walmart in opioid lawsuits and secured a rare ruling setting aside a Delaware jury's verdict favoring an AIG unit in an insurance coverage trial, earning him a spot among insurance law attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 30, 2024
Ex-Allied World Insurance Exec. Admits To $1.5M Fraud
A former Allied World Insurance Co. executive pleaded guilty Tuesday to running a scheme that tricked the company into paying nearly $1.5 million for phony construction work and collecting undisclosed kickbacks from its vendors.
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July 30, 2024
Insurer Says No Coverage For Florida Sex Assault Claims
A trust facing a negligence claim after a minor said she was sexually assaulted while staying at the trust's vacation rental isn't owed any coverage for the lawsuit, its insurer told a Florida federal court Tuesday, citing a sexual molestation exclusion.
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July 29, 2024
Insurer Must Cover Driver's PIP Claim, Split Mich. Panel Says
An auto insurer must provide personal injury protection benefits to a policyholder's son who was injured in an out-of-state tractor-trailer crash, a split Michigan state appeals court ruled, finding that the man was not an owner or registrant of the tractor for purposes of the state's no-fault law.
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July 26, 2024
'Worthless' Insurance Scam Gets Telemarketing CEO 25 Years
An Illinois federal judge has sentenced the owner of a telemarketing company to 25 years in federal prison for scheming with another former executive to sell consumers health insurance plans with low coverage caps.
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July 26, 2024
Feds Want Mogul To Forfeit $1.5M In NC Bribery Case
Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg should forfeit nearly $1.5 million he allegedly used to bribe North Carolina's insurance regulation chief in exchange for more friendly oversight of his companies, the U.S. government told a North Carolina federal court Friday.
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July 26, 2024
Tyco Inks Deal With Insurer Over Foam MDL Coverage
Firefighting foam maker Tyco Fire Products LP told a South Carolina federal judge Friday that it reached a tentative settlement with one of several of its insurers to resolve its fight to score coverage in sprawling multidistrict litigation over pollution from so-called forever chemicals.
Expert Analysis
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements
Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Unpacking NY's Revised Hospital Cybersecurity Rule Proposal
The New York State Department of Health's recently revised hospital cybersecurity rule proposal highlights increased expectations and scrutiny around cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, while adapting to both recent industry developments and public comments, say Christine Moundas and Gideon Zvi Palte at Ropes & Gray.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.