Articles by Jef Feeley

Investor Suit Alleges Chemours Directors Misled About Firm’s Financials, Liabilities

Chemours Co.’s directors were accused in a lawsuit of duping shareholders about its financial health and the extent of its legal liability at the time it was spun off from a predecessor of DuPont de Nemours Inc. When the former …

Investors Eye Windfall From Denied COVID-19 Insurance Claims

A growing market niche where investors profit from others’ legal troubles is getting a boost from Covid. Distressed-investing funds and litigation-finance boutiques are likely to be spoiled for choice after a landmark U.K. court ruling last month rejected pleas from …

First Coronavirus Business Interruption Trial Gets Underway

The owners of a restaurant in the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter are asking a Louisiana judge to order some Lloyd’s of London insurers to cover losses from the Covid-19 outbreak — the first of a growing number …

Insurers Winning Most, But Not All, COVID-19 Business Interruption Lawsuits

In the multibillion-dollar fight over insurance coverage for pandemic-related business losses, a Florida gynecologist succeeded where more than a dozen professional baseball teams and an iconic Hollywood restaurant failed. Since COVID-19 sparked government-ordered shutdowns in March, judges have dismissed more …

Cigna’s CEO and Board Sued for ‘Black-Ops-Style’ Tactics to Kill Merger with Anthem

Cigna Corp.’s chief executive officer and board used “black-ops-style” tactics in a covert campaign to “blow up” a $48 billion merger with rival insurer Anthem Inc., Cigna investors claim in a lawsuit. A Massachusetts-based pension fund alleges that Cigna CEO …

In Anthem-Cigna Failed Merger ‘Soap Opera,’ Judge Hands Damages to Neither

A Delaware judge rebuffed efforts by both Cigna Corp. and Anthem Inc. to collect billions over their failed merger, saying Cigna had breached its obligations but the merger was likely to have been blocked on antitrust grounds anyway. Cigna, which …

McDonald’s Alleges Ex-CEO Duped Directors, Seeks to Claw Back $37 Million Severance

McDonald’s Corp. told a judge that ex-CEO Steve Easterbrook lied about four alleged sexual relationships with subordinates to dupe directors into letting him leave with stock awards as part of his severance. The fast food company, which is seeking to …

Anbang, Andy Bang, $1 Trillion in Claims. Ritz-Carlton Mystery Gets Its Day in Court.

When a 26-year-old Uber driver walked into a California deeds office two years ago, it was the real-estate equivalent of a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a tsunami half a world away. Hired by an elderly Chinese passenger to …

Court Revives Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder Lawsuits

A New Jersey appeals court’s decision to revive two lawsuits accusing Johnson & Johnson’s iconic Baby Powder of causing cancer may lead to the reinstatement of about 1,000 suits targeting the talc-based product. A three-judge panel of the New Jersey …

Chemical Firm BASF and Its Law Firm to Pay $72.5M to Close Talcum-Asbestos Claims

BASF SE, the world’s biggest chemical maker, and a law firm agreed to pay a combined $72.5 million to resolve claims they hid evidence that certain talc products contained asbestos in an effort to scuttle thousands of lawsuits. Executives of …