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July 05, 2024
4 Benefits Policy Moves To Watch In 2024's 2nd Half
The U.S. Department of Labor and other agencies are expected to issue a final rule implementing a mental health parity-in-coverage statute, and DOL regulations expanding who qualifies as a fiduciary under federal benefits law are set to take effect in the fall. Here are four policy developments benefits attorneys are watching out for in the second half of 2024.
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July 03, 2024
Ind. Panel OKs Coverage For Taiwanese Chemical Co. Owners
An Indiana appeals court ruled that a Taiwanese company's owners were additional insureds and that an insurer could not stack various policies' deductibles and retentions to reduce the coverage it owed for defense costs of a chemical exposure class action.
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July 03, 2024
Red States Get ACA Trans Discrimination Rule Blocked
Federal judges in Mississippi and Texas granted conservatives states' requests Wednesday to freeze a new rule protecting access to healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community, with both judges ruling that states are likely to succeed in showing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped when it created the regulations.
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July 03, 2024
California Tribe Sues Over 'Princeology' RICO Scheme
A California tribe is suing its former council chairwoman and two members of her nonprofit's board of directors, alleging they devised a scheme to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and insurance costs to cover her Prince memorabilia collection and continue to "squat" on its property to block its sale.
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July 03, 2024
Geico To Pay Policyholders $2M To Settle Underpayment Suit
Geico policyholders asked a New Jersey federal judge for preliminary approval of a $1.9 million settlement resolving claims the insurer breached their policies by failing to pay title or registration transfer fees upon the total loss of an insured vehicle.
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July 03, 2024
Hartford Unit Says Software Co. Not Covered For BIPA Claims
A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court that a software company isn't owed coverage for two underlying class actions alleging that its software was used by two different restaurant chains to collect customers' biometric information, arguing that the alleged Biometric Information Privacy Act violations aren't covered under its policies.
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July 03, 2024
Morgan Lewis Benefit Plan Exits Atty's ERISA Suit
An attorney at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP agreed to drop claims against her employee benefit plan in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit in Pennsylvania federal court alleging her long-term disability benefits were abruptly terminated after applying criteria irrelevant to her work.
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July 03, 2024
Markel Drops Suit Over Law Firm's Malpractice Coverage
A Markel unit told a New York federal court it is dropping its suit against Harris Sliwoski LLP over coverage for malpractice claims lodged against the Seattle-based firm by Haiti after a $31 million judgment entered against the Caribbean country.
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July 03, 2024
After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.
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July 02, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Rethink Hospitality Co.'s Virus Coverage Suit
The Ninth Circuit said Tuesday it would not rehear an international restaurant and nightclub operator's COVID-19 property insurance coverage appeal against a Liberty Mutual unit.
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July 02, 2024
Travelers Says No Coverage For Energy Co.'s Enviro Dispute
A Travelers unit said it has no coverage obligations to an energy company in a now-settled Louisiana state court suit over environmental damage, telling a Texas federal court that the company's failure to notify the insurer of the suit for more than eight years violated the policies.
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July 02, 2024
Calif. School District Says Chubb Must Cover Sex Abuse Suits
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the country, accused several Chubb units of wrongfully denying coverage for 61 underlying sexual abuse claims, telling a state court that the underlying allegations create at least a potential for coverage under its policies.
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July 02, 2024
DOL Sends Final Rule On Mental Health Parity To White House
The U.S. Department of Labor transmitted a final rule to the White House for review designed to boost employer health plans' compliance with a law requiring equal coverage of mental health and substance use disorder treatments compared to physical care, according to a regulatory filing posted online.
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July 02, 2024
Blank Rome Taps California Insurance Recovery Pros
Two lawyers from Northern California insurance specialty boutique Weinstein & Numbers LLP, including one of the firm's founders who represented the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco and other dioceses, are joining Blank Rome.
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July 02, 2024
Progressive, NY Drivers Set $48M Deal To End Car Value Fight
A class of drivers has asked a New York federal court to tentatively sign off on a $48 million settlement with Progressive insurers over allegations that the carriers undervalued and underpaid policyholders' claims for totaled vehicles, saying the agreement is an "excellent result" for the classes.
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July 01, 2024
W.Va. Homeowner's Depreciation Suit Survives Dismissal
A West Virginia federal court declined to toss a homeowner's lawsuit accusing an insurer, broker and loss adjuster of unlawfully depreciating the value of his home after a flood, determining that the homeowner met the pleading standards to defeat dismissal.
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July 01, 2024
Gas Co. Not Covered For Pollution MDL, NY Court Rules
A petroleum company is not owed coverage for an underlying multidistrict litigation over remediation for groundwater contamination that the suit alleges was caused by a gasoline additive, a New York state appeals court said, holding that pollution exclusions in multiple of its policies applied to the contamination.
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July 01, 2024
House Republicans Call For ACA Enrollment Probe
Three House Republican committee chairs are asking government watchdogs to investigate Affordable Care Act enrollments after a third-party report alleged a significant number of Americans are fraudulently accessing low-income healthcare subsidies.
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July 01, 2024
Aldi Unit, Warehouse Settle Suit Over Rodent-Ravaged Sweets
A New Jersey federal court has permanently tossed a suit brought by an Aldi branch and its insurer seeking payback from a warehouse operator after rodents feasted on hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of chocolate stored there, signing off on a settlement.
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July 01, 2024
Delta Dental Wants Antitrust Claims Standard Decided Now
Delta Dental has asked an Illinois federal judge to decide now — prior to ruling on a class certification bid — on the standard of review applicable in a case launched by service providers alleging the dental insurance system and its members are violating antitrust law through a $13 billion scheme to restrict competition.
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July 01, 2024
Top Personal Injury, Med Mal News: 2024 Midyear Report
A high court ruling over whether bump stocks can be considered machine guns under a federal agency's rule banning the devices and a huge railroad settlement over a Norfolk Southern derailment disaster are among Law360's top personal injury and medical malpractice cases for the first six months of 2024.
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July 01, 2024
Colo. Restaurant Says Insurer Must Cover Plumbing Damage
A Denver restaurant said it is owed coverage for its property losses and a neighbor's demand for reimbursement after a sewage leak allegedly caused by defective plumbing work damaged a commercial condominium complex, telling a Colorado state court its insurer unreasonably denied or delayed coverage.
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June 28, 2024
Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes
By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.
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June 28, 2024
In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.
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June 28, 2024
Insurer Says Auto Co.'s COVID Coverage Suit Is Time-Barred
An auto parts manufacturer's lawsuit seeking $50 million in coverage for COVID-19-related losses is time-barred, an insurer told a North Carolina federal court Friday, arguing that the manufacturer filed suit a year after the policy's three-year limitation period.
Expert Analysis
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Top 10 Whistleblowing And Retaliation Events Of 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal and state courts made 2023 another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and retaliation developments, including the SEC’s massive whistleblower awards, which are likely to continue into 2024 and further incentivize individuals to submit tips, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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5 Trends To Watch In Property And Casualty Class Actions
In 2023, class action decisions have altered the landscape for five major types of claims affecting property and casualty insurers — total loss vehicle valuation, labor depreciation, other structural loss estimating theories, total loss vehicle tax and regulatory fees, and New Mexico's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage sale requirements, say Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.
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Series
Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.
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Why Courts Are Nixing Insurer Defense Recoupment Claims
Following a recent trend, the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision in St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. Bodell Construction Co. provides a concise explanation of the argument that an insurer generally may not recoup costs for defending claims, based on three considerations, says Bradley Nash at Hoguet Newman.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Del. Insurance Co. Liquidation Reveals Recovery Strategies
Arrowood's recent liquidation in the Delaware Chancery Court offers a positive development for policyholders and claimants, providing access to guaranty association protections amid the company's demise, say Timothy Law and Ann Kramer at Reed Smith.
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Insurer's '600-Lb. Life' Win Shows Why Fraud Suits Don't Stick
A Texas federal court’s recent ruling that Philadelphia Indemnity Co. did not fraudulently induce Megalomedia, the production company behind reality show “My 600-Lb. Life,” into purchasing insurance, demonstrates why a policyholder’s fraudulent inducement claim against an insurer will rarely succeed, says Robert Tugander at Rivkin Radler.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Singapore
Singapore is keen to establish itself as a leading international financial center and a key player in the sustainable finance ecosystem, and key initiatives led by its government and other regulatory bodies have helped the Asian nation progress from its initially guarded attitude toward ESG investment and reporting, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape
The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.
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The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications
Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks
Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Series
Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.
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Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct
The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.
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AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers
As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.