Wells Fargo Inks $84M ERISA Stock Option Suit Deal

By Kellie Mejdrich

Wells Fargo & Co. will pay $84 million to settle a proposed class action alleging the bank used dividends earned by its employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, to meet its 401(k) matching obligations, according to the proposed deal filed Wednesday in Minnesota federal court.

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Ex-Aerotech Workers Push For Class Cert. In ESOP Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

Former Aerotech Inc. employees who have accused the motion control solutions company of mismanaging its employee stock ownership plan urged a Pennsylvania federal court Wednesday to certify a class of plan beneficiaries and participants, saying they easily satisfied requirements for class certification.

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Providence Health Nears ERISA Deal Over 401(k) Admin Costs

By Ben Adlin

Providence Health & Services has reached a tentative deal to resolve a proposed class action accusing the nonprofit healthcare system of misspending millions of dollars in forfeited employer retirement contributions in violation of federal benefits law, the parties told a Seattle federal judge.

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Brief

Energy Co. Agrees To Class Status In 401(k) Fee Suit

By Patrick Hoff

NextEra Energy told a Florida federal court Wednesday that it agreed to the certification of a 20,000-member class in a lawsuit claiming the company misused forfeited 401(k) plan funds and allowed the plan's recordkeeper to charge excessive fees.

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Judge Questions Cigna Site Users' Standing In Data Suit

By Brian Steele

A Pennsylvania federal judge suggested Wednesday that she may toss a proposed class action alleging Cigna failed to safeguard private health data by tracking plan members' website usage in violation of state wiretapping and federal privacy laws, ordering the plaintiffs to demonstrate that they have standing to sue.

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Former Twitter Exec Can't Pursue State Claims During Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

Twitter's former chief marketing officer can't move forward with the state law claims in her $20 million severance suit while the company asks the Ninth Circuit to kick the allegations to arbitration, a California federal judge ruled, rejecting her argument that the company's appeal is a waste of time.

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Ex-NJ Judge Denied Benefits For Aiding Fugitive Boyfriend

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey state appeals panel on Wednesday rejected a request for disability benefits from a former state trial court judge who was disciplined for harboring her then-fugitive boyfriend in a 2013 incident.

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Judge Won't Halt Injunction Blocking Trump's Trans Care Ban

By Mark Payne

A Washington federal judge rejected the Trump administration's bid to halt a temporary injunction, saying the president took too long to request a pause in the order, which blocks federal officials from withholding federal healthcare funds to hospitals in four states that provide gender-affirming care. 

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2nd Circ. Revives Atty Fees Bid In Worker's Retaliation Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

A Vermont federal court correctly imposed a reduction in attorney fees in a retaliation case based on billed hours but should not have further reduced the fees based on the worker's overall success, the Second Circuit has ruled.

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Yellow To Get Ch. 11 Plan Ruling Next Week Amid MFN Row

By Alex Wittenberg

A Delaware bankruptcy judge announced Wednesday that he will issue a ruling on Yellow Corp.'s Chapter 11 plan next week, saying he needed time to consider arguments brought by a major shareholder that the trucking company's plan doesn't treat certain creditors better than a Chapter 7 liquidation would.

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Defeating Estoppel-Based Claims In Legal Malpractice Actions

State supreme court cases from recent years have addressed whether positions taken by attorneys in an underlying lawsuit can be used against them in a subsequent legal malpractice action, providing a foundation to defeat ex-clients’ estoppel claims, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Networking 101

Cultivating a network isn't part of the law school curriculum, but learning the soft skills needed to do so may be the key to establishing a solid professional reputation, nurturing client relationships and building business, says Sharon Crane at Practising Law Institute.

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Coalition Rips Trump Deputy AG's Claim Of 'War' With Judges

By Rose Krebs

A group of former federal judges on Thursday condemned what they called "inflammatory remarks" last week by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche detailing the U.S. Department of Justice's "war" with "rogue activist" judges.

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Interview

Ex-Judge Worries Top Court Will Be 'Timid' In Checking Trump

By Chris Villani

A Massachusetts federal judge who recently resigned to more openly speak out against the Trump administration told Law360 on Thursday he is concerned the U.S. Supreme Court will be unwilling to provide a constitutional check on presidential overreach.

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Anthropic Judge Rips Opt-Out Law Firm As 'Quick Buck' Ploy

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge on Thursday blasted Arizona law firm ClaimsHero Holdings LLC for encouraging authors to opt out of Anthropic PBC's $1.5 billion deal to end copyright infringement claims, saying it looks like the firm is "trying to trick people" for a "quick buck."

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Fired Immigration Judges Share Concerns As Cases Pile Up

By Courtney Bublé

Fired immigration judges spoke on Thursday about their "crushing" backlog of cases, a buildup exacerbated by the Trump administration's elimination of their colleagues' positions.

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Judge Halts Jackson Walker Secret Romance Settlements

By Adrian Cruz

A Texas federal judge has paused a number of settlements between Jackson Walker LLP and former clients, criticizing the firm for trying to undermine the U.S. Trustee's investigation into alleged malpractice stemming from a secret romance between a former partner and a bankruptcy judge.

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Judge Casts Doubt On Legitimacy Of Halligan's Appointment

By Jared Foretek

A federal judge in Virginia said Thursday that Attorney General Pam Bondi couldn't have reviewed the full transcript of the grand jury proceedings that netted an indictment of James Comey before ratifying the charges against the former FBI director because the U.S. Department of Justice didn't have them at the time.

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Jenner & Block Resolves $8M Fee Fight With Sierra Leone

By Gina Kim

Jenner & Block LLP and its former client Sierra Leone have resolved their fight over unpaid legal fees and allegedly fraudulent overbilling in the nation's underlying dispute with its iron ore mining concessionaire Gerald International Ltd., according to a minute order issued Thursday in D.C. federal court.

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Analysis

As Backlogged SEC Reopens, Attys Jostle To 'Get In Line'

By Jessica Corso

Thousands of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees who were sent home last month finally returned to their offices Thursday, and experts say it will likely take at least a month for them to catch up with a backlog of casework and submissions for initial public offerings.

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Rumble Cites Judge's Longtime Friendship With Google VP

By Bryan Koenig

Rumble asked a California federal judge to consider recusal should the Ninth Circuit revive its antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing a yearslong friendship with Google's top in-house litigation chief that involved the judge officiating at her wedding and their ongoing participation in a fantasy football league.

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Pipe Maker Names 2nd Firm In Asbestos RICO Suit

By Emily Field

A Los Angeles pipe manufacturer has added Massachusetts-based Sokolove Law to its civil racketeering lawsuit in Illinois federal court accusing Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and others of orchestrating a scheme to fill the law firms' coffers by bringing baseless asbestos claims, alleging the Sokolove firm acted to find the cases.

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NY Gov't Ethics Watchdog Called To Testify Against AG James

By Andrea Keckley

The federal government subpoenaed the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government on Wednesday to testify in its case against New York Attorney General Letitia A. James.

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Judge Denies NJ Lawmaker's Bid To Toss ICE Facility Charges

By Parker Quinlan

A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday refused to toss the criminal indictment filed against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., following a confrontation with federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark.

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SEC's Northeast Deputy Enforcement Head To Depart Agency

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that the deputy director of the enforcement division for the Northeast will leave the agency, following stints as the regional director of the New York office and acting deputy director of the enforcement division.

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Minn. Chief Federal Judge To Take Semi-Retired Status In July

By Courtney Bublé

Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota will take semi-retired status next summer, according to an update on Thursday from the federal judiciary.

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Del. US Atty Tapped For Acting Role After Interim Term Expires

By Jake Maher

Delaware's former interim U.S. attorney has been appointed acting U.S. attorney after the district court declined to keep her as the top federal prosecutor in the First State when her term expired.

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