NEW ORLEANS - An insured failed to file a statutorily required proof of loss detailing his property flood damage stemming from Hurricane Katrina and, therefore, the insured is not entitled to the $68,000 he seeks to satisfy his claim, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Dec. 8 (Thrace B. Norman; M. Lizabeth Talbott [...]

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - An antitrust defendant told the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 that it should reverse a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that an arbitration panel did not manifestly disregard the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in construing an arbitration clause in an international maritime agreement to permit class arbitration of antitrust [...]

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ST. LOUIS - A participant in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s 401(k) plan stated a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the store and its executives sufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss by alleging facts from which it could be inferred that Wal-Mart’s process for deciding which funds to offer as investments was flawed, the Eighth [...]

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INDIANAPOLIS - Because the pollution exclusions in insurers’ policies are ambiguous, the exclusions cannot be applied to bar coverage to an insured seeking coverage for costs incurred as a result of its environmental liabilities, the Indiana Court of Appeals said Dec. 3 (National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., et al. v. Standard Fusee [...]

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was well within its rights when it set aside five decisions by the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB) dismissing grievances for lack of jurisdiction after the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, Central Region (BLET) was required to show evidence that it had held a [...]

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Two major publishers of health care data filed a petition Friday at the Supreme Court, raising cutting-edge questions about whether increasingly widespread data mining that is used for commercial purposes is protected by the First Amendment. The petition is an appeal of a controversial ruling last November by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. [...]

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In a case involving an employer’s theft of e-mails from the personal account of an employee suing for sexual harassment, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a plaintiff must prove actual damages to be eligible for statutory damages under the Stored Communications Act.

Tags: actual damages, circuit court of appeals, communications act, court [...]

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A prominent Pittsburgh law firm has lost its battle to prevent one of its female partners from suing the firm for sex discrimination and sexual harassment now that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the woman cannot be forced to arbitrate her claims. In the suit, attorney Alyson J. Kirleis accuses [...]

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The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out a lower court decision that barred Proskauer Rose from withdrawing as counsel for the former chairman of Credit Bancorp even though he couldn’t pay his legal bills. The three-judge panel ruled on Tuesday that the New York-based law firm was not obligated to defend Richard [...]

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The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has removed a Missouri federal judge from a $28 million contract case based on the judge’s use of profanity and his angry dismissal of the case over testy allegations of discovery abuse. Judge Dean Whipple of the Western District of Missouri at one point commented, “I kept telling [...]

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A feisty 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday peppered lawyers for Wal-Mart and a gigantic class suing over gender discrimination, with neither side emerging as the clear victor. Playing to a packed house, lawyers for both sides ran into skepticism from the federal appeals court. The case, with hundreds of thousands of potential [...]

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An appeals court has ruled that a major Washington, D.C., law firm did not commit malpractice when it represented a client found liable for $20 million in punitive damages — and just $520 in actual damages. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals determined that intellectual property law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner’s [...]

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Friday in a split decision that the Patent and Trademark Office did not overstep its authority in adopting a set of new rules that some intellectual property lawyers say fundamentally alter patent practice and threaten innovation. Lawyers for the PTO say the four new PTO [...]

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The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has turned to the Ohio Supreme Court for guidance on a 2002 Ohio law that attempts to shield minors from obscene material, dubbed an Internet censorship regime by opponents. Ohio’s high court was asked Thursday to respond to two questions about whether the law exempts private e-mail, chat [...]

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A Denver-area oilman says he will continue his claims that energy and natural gas pipeline companies are cheating the federal government out of billions in royalties. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a Wyoming federal judge’s decision that threw out 73 lawsuits filed by Jack Grynberg, who [...]

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With numerous challenges waiting in the wings, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued the first ruling to uphold the authority of a vacancy-riddled National Labor Relations Board to make decisions by only two of its five members. An estimated 60 to 70 challenges have been filed to two-member decisions by the NLRB. [...]

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The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday upheld a Texas law that requires public school students to observe a daily minute of silence in order to pray, reflect or otherwise remain quiet. A three-judge panel affirmed a district court ruling, saying the law is constitutional because it allows any silent [...]

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Abandon all hope, ye who seek to overturn an arbitration award, because the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that manifest disregard of the law by arbitrators is no longer a ground for vacatur under the Federal Arbitration Act. The 5th Circuit’s decision in will make parties think twice — or three [...]

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Jurors shouldn’t have awarded money to a south Louisiana couple for their allegation that State Farm Fire and Casualty acted in bad faith when it denied their homeowner claim after Hurricane Katrina, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday. The ruling vacates a portion of a 2007 judgment that awarded Michael and [...]

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A defendant who is subject to a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for drug trafficking is exempt from a five-year minimum for a firearms offense if the crimes occurred together, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The circuit, rejecting the arguments of prosecutors, said the five-year minimum for guns is inapplicable where the [...]

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