More Insurance Coverage
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August 19, 2024
Former Chubb VP Joins Derrevere Stevens In Florida
The vice president of the recovery, subrogation and salvage department at insurance company Chubb North America will now serve as an of counsel at Derrevere Stevens Black & Cozad, the firm announced Monday.
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August 19, 2024
Biotech Consultant Sues Ex-Partner To Force $2.5M Share Buy
Life sciences consulting firm BioPoint is asking a Massachusetts judge to order a former partner to sell back $2.5 million worth of shares in the closely held company following his ouster, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Unpacking HHS' Opinion On Cell Therapy Refund Programs
A recent advisory opinion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, determining that a biopharma company's refund program for its cell therapy will not be penalized, indicates an encouraging willingness to engage, but the regulator's assumptions about the program's limited term warrant a closer look, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.