From The Jury

CHICAGO - A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 23 reversed summary judgment in a Paxil suicide case, saying that under the U.S. Supreme Court's drug preemption ruling last year, defendant GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) did not show that the Food and Drug Administration would have rejected a stronger suicide warning for the antidepressant (Bonnie J. Mason, et al. v. SmithKline Beecham Corporation, et al., No. 08-2265, 7th Cir.; See 12/15/09, Page 5). Full story on lexis.com

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Underlying claims stemming from a wrongful arrest and conviction against a community college insured and its police officers arose from the rendering of or failure to render "professional services," and, therefore, coverage is precluded by a not-for-profit individual and organization insurance policy's professional services exclusion, a Michigan federal judge held March 1, granting the insurer's motion for summary judgment (Lansing Community College, et al. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., No. 1:09-CV-111, W.D. Mich., Southern, Div.; 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17696). Full story on lexis.com

AUSTIN, Texas - Claims that Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. improperly charged its business customers certain municipal fees are not suitable for class certification, a divided Texas Supreme Court ruled Feb. 19 (Southwestern Bell Telephone Company v. Marketing On Hold Inc. d/b/a Southwest Tariff Analyst, No. 05-0748, Texas Sup.; 2010 Tex. LEXIS 159). Full story on lexis.com

NEW ORLEANS - Oral arguments are scheduled for April 7 in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the defense appeal of a $2.4 million judgment for a welder and his wife who prevailed in a March 2008 trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; notice of the calendar date was entered into the docket Feb. 26 (Robert E. Jowers, et uxor v. Air-Gas Gulf States Inc., et al., No. 09-60396, 5th Cir.; See December 2009, Page 8). Full story on lexis.com

SAN FRANCISCO - Material misrepresentations on an employment practices liability policy application entitle the insurer to rescind the policy, a California federal judge ruled Feb. 17 (Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. v. RDD Inc., et al., No. C 09-00856, N.D. Calif.; 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13633). Full story on lexis.com

CHICAGO - A $14.6 million settlement was reached Feb. 24 in an Illinois circuit court, bringing to a close an action involving a student who broke his neck and was rendered quadriplegic while using a mini trampoline during an extracurricular tumbling class more than 17 years ago (Ryan Murray, et al. v. Chicago Youth Center, et al., No. 2007 L 3832, Ill. Cir., Cook Co.). Full story on lexis.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on March 8 affirmed an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that attorneys are debt relief agencies when they provide qualifying services but reversed the appellate court's ruling that a portion of the federal bankruptcy abuse act governing what advice such relief agencies can give to clients is unconstitutionally overbroad and violates the First Amendment rights of attorneys (United States of America v. Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, et al., No. 08-1225; Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, et al. v. United States of America, No. 08-1119, U.S. Sup.). Full story on lexis.com

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Denying a reinsurer's motion to disqualify an arbitration umpire because the umpire serves as the reinsurer's adversary's party-appointed arbitrator in other unrelated disputes, a federal judge in Connecticut on Feb. 22 noted that because these arbitrators are experienced, they will often have relationships with the parties (Arrowood Indemnity Company v. Trustmark Insurance Company, No. 03-cv-01000, D. Conn.; See 2/5/10, Page 5). Full story on lexis.com

NEW YORK - The New York federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the Bernard L. Madoff proceedings on March 1 granted approval to the court-appointed trustee's "Net Investment Method" for determining net equity for individual claimants (In Re: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, No. 08-01789, S.D. N.Y. Bkcy.; 2010 Bankr. LEXIS 495; See February 2010, Page 7). Full story on lexis.com

JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Feb. 11 that the term "occurrence" in a commercial general liability insurance policy cannot be construed to preclude coverage for unexpected or unintended "property damage" resulting from a subcontractor's negligent acts or conduct (Architex Association Inc. v. Scottsdale Insurance Co., No. 2008-CA-01353-SCT, Miss. Sup.; 2010 Miss. LEXIS 71). Full story on lexis.com