SHERMAN, Texas - A Texas federal magistrate judge on March 25 denied an insurer's motion to set aside an appraisal award for wind damage to its insureds' roof, but found that the insurer has raised a fact issue entitling it to a trial to decide whether there was compliance with the policy with respect to the impartiality of an appraiser (Amtrust Insurance Co. of Kansas Inc. v. Starship League City L.P., et al., No. 4:11-CV-672, E.D. Texas; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41115)....(read more)![]()
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Federal Magistrate Denies Insurer's Motion To Set Aside Appraisal Award
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Judge: Lead Plaintiff Failed To Plead Any Of Its Federal Securities Law Claims
NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on March 25 dismissed a lead plaintiff's securities class action complaint, ruling that it failed to properly plead any of its federal securities law claims (In re: Gentiva Securities Litigation, No. 10-5064, E.D. N.Y.)....(read more)![]()
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Judge: Insureds' Negligent Misrepresentation Claim Against Insurance Agent Fails
ST. LOUIS - Insureds fail to sufficiently assert third-party claims for negligent failure to procure insurance and negligent misrepresentation against their insurance agent, a Missouri federal judge held March 26, dismissing the claims (Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Terri L. Cronin, et al., No. 11-1851, E.D. Mo.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42208)....(read more)![]()
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Supreme Court Won't Review Patent Exhaustion Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A February 2012 ruling by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that patents are not exhausted as to products that are manufactured and sold in a foreign country remains intact, thanks to a March 25 denial of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court (Ninestar Technology Co. Ltd. et al. v. International Trade Commission et al., No. 12-552, U.S. Sup.)....(read more)![]()
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Magistrate Judge Declines To Stay Discovery For Insurance Guaranty Association's Case
DENVER - A stay of discovery in favor of a ruling on motions for summary judgment and dismissal filed by the ColoradoInsurance Guaranty Association (CIGA) in a reimbursement lawsuit will not resolve all issues, a Colorado federal magistrate judge held March 25, denying CIGA's motion to stay discovery (Colorado Insurance Guaranty Association v. Sunstate Equipment Company LLC, No. 12-02494, D. Colo.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42455)....(read more)![]()
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Louisiana Appeals Panel: Homeowners Not Liable For Staircase Collapse
BATON ROUGE, La. - The First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal on March 27 affirmed summary judgment for homeowners named in a personal injury case involving the collapse of newly constructed stairs, ruling that the "plaintiffs failed to produce factual support sufficient to establish that they could satisfy their evidentiary burden of proof at trial on the knowledge element of their liability claim" (Randall Billiot, et al. v. Raymond Billiot, et al., No. 2012 CA 1417, La. App., 1st Cir...(read more)![]()
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San Bernardino Sues State Of California, Alleges Violation Of Automatic Stay
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The bankrupt city of San Bernardino, Calif., on March 26 sued the State of California, contending that the state is violating the automatic stay by demanding payment from the city for services. The city also argues that the state cannot withhold revenue it owes the city from sales tax collected from various agencies (In Re: City of San Bernardino, Calif., No. 12-28006, Chapter 9, C.D. Calif. Bkcy.)....(read more)![]()
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Peregrine Trustee Seeks To Compel Financial Adviser To Produce Documents
CHICAGO - The trustee in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy of Peregrine Financial Group Inc. on March 25 moved in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois to compel Halyard Capital Advisors LLC to produce documents pursuant to a subpoena related to the embezzlement of funds from Peregrine (In Re: Peregrine Financial Group Inc., No. 12-27488, Chapter 7, N.D. Ill. Bkcy.)....(read more)![]()
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Panel: Plaintiff's Law Firm May Be Liable For Sanctions In Securities Lawsuit
CHICAGO - A law firm may be responsible for Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 sanctions in a securities class action lawsuit for its conduct regarding the use of a confidential witness who ended up recanting information he provided to the law firm's investigator once the witness' identity was revealed, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled March 26 in remanding the action to a federal court to determine whether sanctions are warranted (City of Livonia Employees' Retirement...(read more)![]()
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Judge Dismisses Claims From Former Bank Directors' Insurance-Coverage Suit
FRESNO, Calif. - A federal judge in California on March 26 dismissed the reformation and punitive damages claims from a suit in which the former directors of the failed County Bank sued Bancinsure Inc. after it denied them coverage of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suit (Thomas T. Hawker, et al. v. BancInsurance Inc., et al., No. 12-1261, E.D. Calif.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42946)....(read more)![]()
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Partial Conditional Certification Granted In Supervisor's Overtime Suit
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - An Arkansas federal judge on March 27 granted conditional certification to a class of food production supervisors seeking unpaid overtime; however, the judge declined to invoke the doctrine of equitable tolling (Evelyn Garrison, et al. v. ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods, LLC d/b/a ConAgra Foods, No. 12-737, E.D. Ark.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43405)....(read more)![]()
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Consumer Doesn't Show Liability In ATM Fee Suit, Federal Judge Finds
INDIANAPOLIS - A federal magistrate judge in Indiana on March 27 granted a consumer's motion for summary judgment with respect to certain affirmative defenses asserted by a merchant alleged to have violated the fee-notice requirement of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), but he denied the consumer's motion with respect to liability, finding that the consumer has not established that the merchant was an ATM operator or that the ATM did not display an exterior notice during the entire...(read more)![]()
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Plaintiffs Can Pursue Consumer Fraud Claim Over Loan Modification Evaluation
CHICAGO - A Chicago man and his grandmother can pursue claims that CitiMortgage Inc. violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act (ICFA) by failing to adequately evaluate their request for a loan modification, a federal judge in Illinois ruled March 26, explaining that the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) requires servicers to work with borrowers during the process (Hector Acevedo, et al. v. CitiMortgage Inc., No. 11 C 4877, N.D. Ill.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42173)....(read more)![]()
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Illinois Judge Finds Causation, Reliance Lacking In Annuity Disclosure Case
CHICAGO - An elderly widow has not shown that representations in an allegedly untimely disclosure form factored into her purchase of an annuity or decision to keep the policy past the 30-day free cancellation period, a federal judge in Illinois held March 26 in dismissing a California unfair competition law (UCL) claim (Estella Rowe, et al. v. Bankers Life and Casualty Co. and Bankers Life Insurance Co. of Illinois, No. 09-491, N.D. Ill.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42168)....(read more)![]()
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Federal Judge Dismisses Claims Against Owners Of Allegedly Moldy Hotels
GREENVILLE, Miss. - A Mississippi federal judge on March 27 granted summary judgment and a motion to dismiss filed by the franchisers of a hotel chain, dismissing an employee's claims that they were liable for mold-related injuries that he sustained while working and living in various hotels (Matthew Coombs v. Unique Refinishers Inc., et al., No. 2:12CV102, N.D. Miss.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43494)....(read more)![]()
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Judge Denies Summary Judgment On Enforceability Of Reinsurance Contract
CHICAGO - A federal judge in Illinois on March 27 denied a co-reinsurer's motion for summary judgment regarding the enforceability of an unsigned reinsurance contract, noting that the parties dispute many of the facts that support the contract's enforceability (Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company v. American Medical and Life Insurance Company, No. 10-cv-02125, N.D. Ill.)....(read more)![]()
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Magistrate Recommends Dismissal Of Man's Purported Facebook Co-Ownership Claims
BUFFALO, N.Y. - In a lengthy report and recommendation filed March 26, a New York federal magistrate judge deemed a man's purported contract with Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg to be "a recently created fabrication" and stated that "clear and convincing evidence" compelled dismissal of the man's asserted co-ownership claims of the social network (Paul D. Ceglia v. Mark Elliott Zuckerberg, et al., No. 10-cv-569, W.D. N.Y.)....(read more)![]()
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A&P Wants Claims Disallowed As Duplicative, Inconsistent With Reorganized Company
NEW YORK - Bankrupt grocer The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. (A&P) on March 27 filed a brief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York objecting to certain proofs of claim and contending that they should be disallowed (In Re: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc., No. 10-24549, Chapter 11, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.)....(read more)![]()
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Missouri Panel Upsets Order Applying Pollution Exclusion To Carbon Monoxide Deaths
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A unanimous Western District Missouri Court of Appeals panel on March 26 overturned summary judgment in favor of an insurance company in a duty to defend declaratory judgment action and ordered judgment for the plaintiffs in a residential carbon monoxide wrongful death and negligence lawsuit (American National Property & Casualty Co. v. Randall Wyatt, et al., No. WD75226, Mo. App., Western Dist.; 2013 Mo. App. LEXIS 378)....(read more)![]()
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Bankrupt Revel Casino Secures $250 Million In Post-Petition Financing
TRENTON, N.J. - The federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 11 proceeding of casino Revel AC Inc. on March 27 approved $250 million in post-petition financing, also known as debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing (In Re: Revel AC Inc., No. 13-16253, Chapter 11, D. N.J. Bkcy.)....(read more)![]()
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