“WWE and a group of investors have been given approval by a judge to move forward with a $39 million settlement regarding a class action lawsuit filed by the Firefighters Pension System of the Kansas City, Missouri Trust. The group alleged that WWE executives deceived investors regarding their business in Saudi Arabia by artificially inflated their stock and that senior execs sold more than $280 million of their shares at fraud inflated prices,” reports Andrew Ravens in Wrestling News.

“The lawsuit also alleged the company did not disclose failed negotiations with the Saudi government over their TV deal as well as WWE not being able to expand in that region, despite claiming otherwise to their investors. Last November, an SEC filing by WWE revealed that the company closed on a $39 million settlement for a class action lawsuit.”

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“The Department of Defense is canceling a $10 billion cloud computing contract with Microsoft, the military announced Tuesday, ending years of legal battles after Amazon wasn’t awarded the 2019 contract. In a statement, the DOD said the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract a 10-year deal offering classified data storage and cloud computing services to the military does not meet its current needs, citing evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances,” reports Joe Walsh in Forbes.

“The military did not directly mention Amazon’s lawsuit in its statement Tuesday, but Pentagon officials have hinted for months that they’re reconsidering the JEDI contract, partly due to litigation from Amazon. Amazon told Forbes it agrees with the DOD’s decision, claiming its bid for the JEDI contract was rejected due to outside influence that has no place in government procurement.”

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“Millions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money are expected to start flowing into Wisconsin in late 2021or early 2022. Distributors of opioids are close to agreeing on a plan to pay $26 billion as part of a national lawsuit alleging the makers and sellers of opioids knowingly supercharged the opioid epidemic that has ravaged large parts of the United States. Lawsuits against manufacturers and retailers are ongoing and could result in similar sized settlements,” reports Zac Schultz in PBS Wisconsin.

“Four years ago, Wisconsin counties were some of the leaders in the country in filing the lawsuits, said Mark O’Connell, executive director of the Wisconsin Counties Association. After 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties united in filing suit, they were eventually joined by 2,400 units of government from around the nation.”

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“The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California recently ended a long, drawn-out patent infringement battle dealing with menu patents, which saw action in front of a jury, at the district court, at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), at the Federal Circuit, and even an unsuccessful petition to the Supreme Court,” reports Gene Quinn in IP Watch Dog.

“The district court awarded Domino’s $2.7 million in attorneys’ fees and costs after finding the case exceptional within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 285. Beginning in August 2011, Ameranth, Inc. brought a series of patent infringement lawsuits against Domino’s and over 30 other defendants relating to the alleged infringement of four patents for menu generation and synchronization of data for mobile devices.”

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“Detroit-based Rocket Companies was hit Tuesday with a shareholder lawsuit accusing the firm and its executives of giving misleading guidance that the suit says artificially boosted Rocket’s stock price in the weeks before founder Dan Gilbert sold $500 million in stock to finance a major philanthropic effort in the city’s neighborhoods,” reports JC Reindl in Detroit Free Press.

“The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claims that Rocket executives were extremely optimistic to the point of deception and fraud earlier this year when forecasting the anticipated “gain on sale” margin for its mortgage loans. The gain on sale margin is commonly viewed by investors as a core measure of profitability.”

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“The South Carolina Department of Corrections has received approval to offer a $6 million settlement to the victims of a deadly 2018 riot at Lee Correctional Institution. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority a five member board consisting of the governor, House and Senate budget chairmen, the comptroller general and the state treasurer voted 4-0 to approve the settlement offer. House Ways and Means Chairman Murrell Smith recused himself from voting because his law firm is involved in the litigation over the riot,” reports Emily Bohatch in The State.

“The Department of Corrections was seeking money for the settlement after facing more than 80 lawsuits following a deadly 2018 prison riot at the Lee Correctional Institution, which was named the deadliest in the United States in the last 25 years. Though the board approved a $6 million settlement option, that settlement is not yet finalized. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits could reject the offer. There was no public discussion on the settlement. Board members reviewed terms of the offer in executive session, which is not open to the public.”

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“In a significant blow to US regulators’ attempt to rein in big tech, a federal judge has dismissed lawsuits brought against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a broad coalition of state attorneys general. Markets cheered the ruling, sending Facebook shares surging by more than 4%, which pushed the social network’s market value to more than $1tn (£722bn) for the first time,” reports Kari Paul in The Guardian.

“The US government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook in December, accusing the tech company of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spin-off of the social network’s Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services.”

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“Earlier this month, investors sued Bristol Myers Squibb over a payment the company doesn’t think it needs to make. Now, one analyst says that he thinks that Bristol will settle As part of that deal, Bristol agreed to give Celgene holders a payout of $9 a share, called a contingent value right, if three Celgene treatments hit certain regulatory benchmarks,” reports Josh Nathan Kazis in Barron’s.

“This past New Year’s Day, Bristol announced that the CVR had automatically terminated. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved all three of the drugs, one of the approvals came roughly a month past the pre-set deadline after pandemic-related travel restrictions delayed an FDA inspection.”

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“Juul Labs has agreed to pay North Carolina $40 million to settle the first of a spate of lawsuits brought by states and localities claiming the e-cigarette company’s marketing practices fueled widespread addiction to nicotine among young people and created a new public health problem,” reports Sheila Kaplan in The New York Times.

“The settlement, which was announced on Monday morning, allows the company to avoid a jury trial this summer as the Food and Drug Administration is deciding whether its vaping products can stay on the market. The company had urgently sought the settlement, but the deal removes just one of numerous legal actions pending against it.”

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“Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) said on Saturday it will pay $263 million to resolve claims it fueled an opioid epidemic in New York state and two of its largest counties. The settlements remove the drugmaker from a jury trial scheduled to begin on Tuesday on Long Island, where several big opioid makers and distributors are also defendants,” reports Jonathan Stempel in Reuters.

“Johnson & Johnson did not admit liability or wrongdoing in settling with New York state, and with Nassau and Suffolk counties. The $229.9 million state settlement also calls for J&J to stop selling the painkillers nationwide.”

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“The Boy Scouts of America has signaled that it could scrap a $650 million settlement with property and casualty insurer The Hartford over sex abuse claims if victims groups keep up their opposition to the deal, which they have called inadequate According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Boy Scouts organization on Friday filed documents with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, saying it would seek the counsel of the judge presiding over its bankruptcy proceedings if it cannot get enough abuse victims to sign off on the proposal a stipulation built into the pact when it was announced,” reports Zachary Vasile in Hartford Business.

“A spokesperson for The Hartford told The Wall Street Journal that if the $650 million settlement isn’t approved by the bankruptcy court, the company is prepared to vigorously defend its position in related coverage litigation The Boy Scouts, reeling from hundreds of lawsuits alleging the organization’s negligence failed to stop widespread sexual abuse by Scout leaders, sued The Hartford in 2018 in an attempt to recover money for legal fees and settlements in connection with insurance policies it holds. The Hartford had argued that its policies, issued to the BSA in the 1970s, did not cover those claims.”

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“The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has reached an agreement in principle with insurers over a $550m compensation claim for the grounding of a containership that disrupted world trade in March. The out-of-court agreement over the grounding of the 20,388-teu Ever Given (built 2018) follows a recently increased offer from the vessel’s Japanese shipowner Shoei Kisen Kaisha,” reports Adam Corbett in TradeWinds News.

“Legal proceedings at the Ismailia Economic Court of First Instance in Egypt were put on hold to allow the parties to come to an agreement after the increased offer was made. Shoei Kisen and its insurers have been represented by marine legal consultancy Stann Marine in negotiations with the SCA. Stann is pleased to announce that, following extensive discussions with the SCA’s negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached.”

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“People targeted by a campaign robocall from former Gov. Bruce Rauner since his first campaign in 2014 will be eligible to earn a portion of a $1 million settlement agreement that was reached last month in a class-action case. The agreement would end the federal lawsuit against the former governor and his campaign entity, Citizens for Rauner, that was brought by Peter Garvey, an Illinois resident who received three prerecorded voice mails from Rauner’s campaign in 2018,” reports Sarah Mansur in Capitol News Illinois.

“The amount owed to each person has not been determined, according to the settlement notice website, because the total number of class members and the costs of settlement administration, as well as attorney’s fees, haven’t been finalized. The number of class members could exceed 35,000 people, according to Garvey’s lawsuit. As part of the settlement agreement, Rauner and his campaign deny all allegations of wrongdoing and liability made it the lawsuit.”

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“Devon Energy Production Co will pay $28 million to Texas well owners who say they were underpaid royalties after a federal court in the state granted final approval of a class action settlement and plan of allocation. The settlement is fair and reasonable considering the complexity and duration of the case, and the risks involved in establishing liability and damages, according to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The plan of allocation is also fair and reasonable to the class, the court said Wednesday,” reports Maya Earls in Bloomberg Law.

“Class counsel was awarded about $9.3 million in attorneys fees, according to the ruling. The court also approved about $612,000 in litigation expenses and $80,000 to be divided evenly among the named plaintiffs. Plaintiffs argued they were underpaid millions of dollars in royalties for processing gas extracted from wells at the Bridgeport Gas Processing Plant owned by Devon Energy’s affiliate, Devon Gas Services.”

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“The lawsuit, filed in Lake County, claims that the finger scan violates the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, which regulates how companies can use an individual’s biometric data such as a fingerprint or a scan of the hand or face geometry,” reports Sarah Mansur in Capitol News Illinois.

“The law, passed in 2008, was first the state or federal law to establish a person’s individual right to sue over biometric privacy rights. It also requires that entities must have written consent from a person before collecting and storing that person’s biometric information.”

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“A U.S. judge suggested on Wednesday that Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) include a warning label on Roundup as part of a proposed $2 billion settlement to resolve future claims that the top-selling. Bayer asked U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco to give preliminary approval for the settlement deal, which would create a framework to resolve future lawsuits over claims Roundup,” reports Tom Hals in Reuters.

“For years I’ve been wondering why Monsanto wouldn’t do that voluntarily to protect itself, said Chhabria, of a warning label. He said a label would prevent further lawsuits and free up money to create a better offer for people already exposed. He even suggested wording for a label and tweaked it as he got feedback from Bayer’s lawyer.”

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“Legislators and regulators are increasingly targeting pharmacy benefit managers, middlemen that negotiate discounts with drug suppliers and administer pharmacy networks for health plans, to drive down rising pharmaceutical costs. Many of the nation’s largest PBMs have been accused of hiding behind complex, opaque contracts with government agencies,” reports Rebecca Pifer in Healthcare Dive.

“Those concerns have only heightened as the largest PBMs merge with payers, creating what many antitrust advocates see as a conflict of interest. The three biggest PBMs in the nation CVS Caremark, OptumRx and Express Scripts control more than 70% of the multibillion-dollar marketplace, and are owned by CVS Health (which owns Aetna), UnitedHealth Group.”

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“The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and to review past scores for any potential race bias,” reports ESPN in their blog.

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“A federal judge on Tuesday questioned a $2 billion proposal by Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) that would create a framework for resolving future claims that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, casting doubt on the plan a day before a key hearing,” reports Tom Hals in Reuters.

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“With legal troubles seemingly behind the company, Block.one could set its sights on finally making a significant dent in the crypto and blockchain space,” reports OSATO AVAN-NOMAYO in Coin Telegraph

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