TOPEKA, KAN. - A Topeka man was sentenced Monday to 57 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud charges in connection with a plan to build an apartment complex in Junction City, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.


John Wyatt Duncan, Jr., 53, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of makin... More...   $0 (10-06-2014 - KS)

The Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) governs employee benefit plans. 29
U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. Among other things, the statute permits
beneficiaries to go to court to challenge their plan's decision to
deny or cut off their benefits. Id. § 1132(a)(1)(B). Before
filing suit, however, beneficiaries must first use -- or, as it is
often put, "exhaust" --... More...   $0 (10-06-2014 - MA)

This appeal from an award of attorneys’ fees marks the end of protracted litigation between the parties. In 2008, the plaintiff class sued Bemis Company, Inc., for elimi-nating certain health-care benefits that they believed they were owed under a 1985 plant-closing agreement with Be-mis’s predecessor in interest. We reversed the district court’s initial grant of summary judgment to the defe... More...   $0 (08-06-2014 - WI)

Joseph Moyer, an ERISA plan participant, appeals the district
court’s dismissal for untimeliness of his action against the plan’s claim administrator,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), seeking recovery of unpaid ERISA plan
benefits. Because MetLife failed to include notice of the time limits for judicial review in its
adverse benefit determination letter, we REVERS... More...   $0 (08-07-2014 - MI)

Richard Salzer sued SSM Health Care of Oklahoma, Inc. (“SSM”), alleging
breach of contract and other state law claims based on SSM’s attempt to collect payment
for medical care from Salzer instead of his health insurance company. SSM removed the
case to federal district court. Salzer challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to
remand based on its determination t... More...   $0 (08-06-2014 - OK)

In this consolidated interlocutory appeal and petition for writ of mandamus, Appellant/Relator, Western Dairy Transport, LLC, challenges the trial court's order denying its motion to compel arbitration in the suit filed by Appellee/Real Party in Interest, Marcial Felipe Vasquez. We conclude that we lack jurisdiction over the petition for writ of mandamus. In the interlocutory appeal, we conclude t... More...   $0 (07-30-2014 - TX)

Appellant Wendy Jeanelle Hennig appeals from a judgment entered in favor of appellee Michael “Miro” Didyk, individually and as independent administrator of the estate of Matthew Michael Didyk, deceased, appellant’s former husband, following a nonjury trial. In three issues, appellant argues the trial court erred by (1) failing to give effect to the decedent’s designation of appellant as th... More...   $0 (07-28-2014 - TX)

This appeals presents a challenge to General Atomics' employment practice of requiring exempt employees to use their annual leave hours when they are absent from
2
work for portions of a day. Although Conley v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 260, 263 (Conley) established that California law does not prohibit an employer "from following the established federal policy perm... More...   $0 (07-21-2014 - CA)

Marc Kutten sued Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, alleging that Sun
Life improperly denied him long-term disability benefits under a disability plan
governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Sun
Life and Kutten filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court denied
Sun Life’s motion for summary judgment and granted Kutten’s motio... More...   $0 (07-22-2014 - MO)

Vista Quality Markets (“Vista”) appeals the trial court’s order denying its motion to compel arbitration. We reverse and remand to the trial court with instructions to enter an order compelling arbitration.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Vista is engaged in the business of operating grocery stores in El Paso, Texas, and is a non-subscriber to workers’ compensation. In Febr... More...   $0 (06-08-2014 - )

In this Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") case, Tamica Shaw appeals from the district court's grant 1 of summary judgment in favor of The Prudential Insurance Company of America ("Prudential"). We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On March 4, 2006, Tamica's husband, Carl Shaw, was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Springfield, Missouri. According to an investigative report, ... More...   $0 (06-03-2014 - MO)

This case asks us to decide whether a settlement agreement reached before class certification between Plaintiffs and Defendants is fair, reasonable, and adequate. We agree with the district court that the settlement merits approval, and we affirm.

I

Coverall North America, Inc. (“Coverall”) is a janitorial franchising company operating in California. Plaintiffs brought a class ac... More...   $0 (06-03-2014 - CA)

The Copyright Act (Act) protects copyrighted works published before1978 for an initial period of 28 years, renewable for a period of up to 67 years. 17 U. S. C. §304(a). The author’s heirs inherit the renewal rights. See §304(a)(1)(C)(ii)–(iv). When an author who has assignedher rights away “dies before the renewal period, . . . the assignee maycontinue to use the original work only if the... More...   $0 (05-19-2014 - DC)

Dr. Armand Santoro appeals the district court’s order granting the motion by Accenture Federal Services, LLC (Accenture) to compel arbitration. Because we agree with the district court that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank) does not invalidate the arbitration agreement between Accenture and Santoro, we affirm.

I.

Santoro began hi... More...   $0 (05-05-2014 - VA)

Plaintiff and appellant Gregory Saffer worked for Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu) between May 2007 and January 2008. In September 2008, WaMu failed. In short order, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as receiver for the bank, and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMC) purchased some of WaMu’s assets and liabilities. The FDIC published notices informing creditors that claims ... More...   $0 (04-29-2014 - CA)

In this action filed by Kevin Grupp and Robert Moll (Relators) on behalf of the State of California (State) pursuant to the California False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) (the State Act), the question presented is whether an action alleging DHL Express (USA), Inc., DHL Worldwide Express, Inc. and DPWN Holdings (USA), Inc. (collectively DHL) overcharged and fraudulently billed the State ... More...   $0 (04-11-2014 - CA)

Brent Middleton and others—all Utah citizens—brought several federal-law claims against J. Hoyt Stephenson in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Stephenson fought back with state-law counterclaims and a third-party complaint asserting state-law claims against multiple third-party defendants—also all Utah citizens.

But the district court dismissed those counterc... More...   $0 (04-24-2014 - UT)

In this action filed by Kevin Grupp and Robert Moll (Relators) on behalf of the State of California (State) pursuant to the California False Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 12650 et seq.) (the State Act), the question presented is whether an action alleging DHL Express (USA), Inc., DHL Worldwide Express, Inc. and DPWN Holdings (USA), Inc. (collectively DHL) overcharged and fraudulently billed the State ... More...   $0 (04-11-2014 - CA)

Newell Window Furnishings, an employer that lost a court case in the Western District of Michigan involving retirement benefits, appeals an order of the district court awarding attorney’s fees and costs to the plaintiff-retirees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B). The district court awarded No. 12-2059 Bender, et al. v. Newell Window Fur... More...   $0 (03-17-2014 - MI)

[¶1] Appellant Don Birch sought reimbursement for travel expenses related to chiropractic treatment he received at the Utah Spine and Disc Clinic in Murray, Utah from the Wyoming Division of Workers’ Compensation (Division). Mr. Birch lived in Daniel, Wyoming. The Division denied his request for reimbursement because traditional types of chiropractic care, manipulation and traction could have b... More...   $0 (03-13-2014 - )

In this appeal, we write primarily to clarify the scope of a
district court’s discretion in deciding whether to award attorneys’
fees to a prevailing plaintiff under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq., and the
proper standard to be applied in exercising that discretion. We
consider whether the United States Distric... More...   $0 (03-11-2014 - NY)

In 2012, plaintiff Robert Riley filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., against defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. ("MetLife"), arguing that MetLife had been underpaying his monthly benefits since its 2005 denial of his assertion that he was entitled to a larger payment calculation under his long-term disability insurance p... More...   $0 (03-04-2014 - MA)

In 2012, plaintiff Robert Riley filed suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., against defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. ("MetLife"), arguing that MetLife had been underpaying his monthly benefits since its 2005 denial of his assertion that he was entitled to a larger payment calculation under his long-term disability insurance pl... More...   $0 (03-04-2014 - MA)

This is an appeal by defendant Principal Life Insurance Company (Principal) from the district court’s orders that reversed Principal’s decision to deny plaintiff Patrick Garrett’s claim for medical benefits and awarded Mr. Garrett the full amount of his claim. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

- 2 -

Background

Mr. Garrett has been insured since 199... More...   $0 (02-18-2014 - OK)

Jacqueline Barnhardt appeals the district court’s1 entry of summary judgment in favor of Open Harvest Cooperative (“Open Harvest”) on her claim alleging a

1The Honorable Warren K. Urbom, United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska.

violation of § 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1140. For the reasons discussed... More...   $0 (02-07-2014 - NE)