U.S. District Court News

Ore. Supreme Ct. Voids State Farm ‘Anti-Stacking’ Uninsured Motorist Policy Limit

A provision in State Farm auto policies that limits payouts for uninsured motorist claims to the maximum amount allowed by a single policy cannot be enforced because it does not comply with state law, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled on …

Judge Rejects Spouse’s Wrongful Death Suit Against Airline Over Lax Covid Safety

Citing a concern over “opening the floodgates” to litigation, a federal judge has dismissed a flight attendant’s negligence lawsuit against her employer, Southwest Airlines, which she blamed for her husband’s death from Covid-19. The flight attendant, Carol Madden, claimed that …

Pork Processor Seeks To Delay Court Decision Limiting Slaughter Speeds

CHICAGO — U.S. pork processor Seaboard Foods wants to pursue a 10-1/2-month delay to a federal court decision that would force it to slow the speed of hog slaughtering at a massive Oklahoma pork plant, according to court documents. The …

Ohio Supreme and 8th Circuit Mull Whether COVID Can Cause Direct Physical Loss

Two appellate courts took steps this week toward answering a key question that may seal the fate of some 1,500 lawsuits seeking insurance coverage for COVID-19-related business-interruption losses: Does the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or people infected with it …

Judge Narrows Zoom Lawsuit Over User Privacy, ‘Zoombombing’

A U.S. judge dismissed large parts of a lawsuit accusing Zoom Video Communications Inc of violating users’ privacy rights by sharing personal information with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and letting malevolent intruders join Zoom meetings in a practice called Zoombombing. …

Insurers Chalking More Early Wins in COVID-19 Business-Interruption Suits

Insurers have succeeded in dismissing COVID-19 business-interruption lawsuits in 17 out of 23 cases heard so far, with a growing number of judges finding that some tangible alteration of a property is required to trigger coverage under commercial property policies. …

Insurer Defeats California Restaurant’s Coronavirus Business Loss Claim

A federal court in California has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles restaurant seeking business interruption losses from Travelers Indemnity due to coronavirus-related restrictions on its business. Judge Stephen Wilson of the U.S. District Court for Central California …

Exotic Dancer Involved in 2010 Crash Gets $8.6M From Insurer

WORCESTER, Mass. — A former exotic dancer seriously injured in a 2010 car crash with an off-duty Massachusetts police officer has been paid about $8.6 million by the insurance company for the strip club, according to court records. Kailee Higgins …

Russian Man Offered Worker $1M to Sow Malware in Nevada

LAS VEGAS — A Russian citizen has been arrested and charged with offering an employee of a Nevada company $1 million to sow malware for an attack to harvest company data for ransom, U.S. authorities said Tuesday. Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, …

Ralph Lauren Sues to Recoup COVID-19 Closure Losses

Fashion firm Ralph Lauren Corp. is suing its insurer to recoup what it says has been a huge drop of two-thirds of its revenues in the first quarter alone due to the pandemic. Ralph Lauren Corp. (RLC) maintains that Factory …