Some US voters sue to ensure their votes count, SCOTUS asked to weigh in on NLRB's structure, Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces six new lawsuits and more ?
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
??? Some US voters head to court before they head to the polls
For Erika Worobec of Cecil, Pennsylvania, mail-in voting is a family ritual. For a primary election in April, she researched the candidates and issues with her young son before making her selections.
"My son gets really excited when that envelope comes," said Worobec, 45, who is in technical product marketing.
Two months after that election, she learned she had inadvertently marked her ballot with an incomplete date and that hers was among the 259 mail-in ballots in her county that were not recorded because of a ballot error.
"I felt it was un-American," said Worobec, who votes by mail because she suffers from an autoimmune disease and doesn't want to risk a trip to a crowded polling place. "How could primary results be accurate if so many ballots were not cast?"
In July, Worobec joined a growing number of voters going to court to ensure that they have access to the polls and their ballots are counted in the?Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election .
There are roughly 95 election-related lawsuits filed in the seven battleground states that will decide the 2024 election, according to Democracy Docket, a website founded by Democratic lawyer Marc Elias that tracks election cases.
Those states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In general, Democrats and their allies sue to make it easier to cast a ballot, which the Republicans claim can open the door to fraudulent votes. Republicans sue to assert what they call election integrity, which critics call voter suppression.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll ?shows Democratic candidate Vice President?Kamala Harris ?and former President?Donald Trump , her Republican challenger, locked in a tight race with both parties fighting for every vote.
As a result, voters, advocacy groups and the two main political parties have filed lawsuits over everything from the location of polling places to voter registration procedures.
??? US Supreme Court asked to weigh in on challenge to NLRB's structure
An auto parts maker on Oct. 14 urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block a National Labor Relations Board administrative case from proceeding against it while the company pursues claims that the agency's structure violates the U.S. Constitution.
The?emergency application ?by Yapp USA Automotive Systems, which is accused of illegally interfering with a union election at a Michigan plant, marks what is likely the first time the high court has been asked to consider claims being made in a mounting number of lawsuits that the NLRB's in-house enforcement proceedings are illegal.
Yapp asked the Supreme Court to rule on its application by Oct. 15, when the company is scheduled to face a hearing before an NLRB administrative law judge.
The application will be handled by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who oversees requests arising from states covered by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, including Michigan. Kavanaugh could deny the application, request additional briefing or refer it to the full court for further action.
A federal judge in Michigan last month?refused to block ?the NLRB case against Yapp from proceeding, ruling that the company was unlikely to prevail on its claims that the board's administrative judges and its five members are improperly shielded from at-will removal by the president. Yapp says that because those officials wield executive power, the U.S. Constitution requires that they be held accountable to the president.
Yapp is appealing to the 6th Circuit, which on Oct. 13 denied the company's motion to stay the administrative case pending the appeal.
Nearly 20 other companies including?Amazon.com , Elon Musk's SpaceX and pipeline operator Energy Transfer have filed similar lawsuits attacking the NLRB's structure. Three judges in Texas?have temporarily blocked board cases ?from moving forward, while at least four judges in other states have refused to do so.
?? Blue Cross Blue Shield settles US health provider class action for $2.8 billion
Insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed to pay $2.8 billion to resolve antitrust class action claims by hospital systems, physicians and other health providers alleging they were underpaid for reimbursements, the plaintiffs said in an Alabama federal court filing on Oct. 14.
The settlement is the largest ever for a healthcare antitrust case, they added.
Blue Cross Blue Shield denied the allegations in a statement but said it agreed to the settlement and made operational changes to "put years of litigation behind us."
The providers' lead attorneys, Joe Whatley and Edith Kallas, said in a statement the proposed settlement would "transform" the BlueCard program through which providers submit claims.
The?agreement ?is subject to approval from U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor.
The health providers first sued in 2012, claiming Blue Cross and its affiliates divided the country into exclusive areas where they did not compete with each other. The lawsuit said the nationwide conspiracy increased the cost of insurance and drove down reimbursements.
Under the settlement, Blue Cross will create a system-wide information platform facilitating member benefits, eligibility verification and claims tracking that the attorneys said would lead to more transparency, efficiency and accountability.
The lawyers said they would ask for up to $700 million in legal fees from Blue Cross.
?? Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of sexual abuse in six new lawsuits
Sean "Diddy" Combs was confronted with six new sexual abuse lawsuits on Oct. 14, including one accusing the rap mogul of assaulting a minor.
The civil lawsuits were filed a month after Combs was?criminally charged ?for what prosecutors describe as a long-running scheme of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Combs has denied wrongdoing in other civil cases against him and pleaded?not guilty ?in his criminal case.
"In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone - adult or minor, man or woman," Combs' lawyers said in a statement on Oct. 14.
The lawsuits were filed in New York federal court by anonymous plaintiffs, including one man who accuses Combs of assaulting him when he was a minor.
"For decades, Sean Combs abused, molested, raped, assaulted, threatened and coerced women, men and minors for sexual gratification, to assert dominance, and to conceal his abhorrent conduct," said one of the lawsuits, filed by a John Doe plaintiff.
The plaintiff alleged that during a party at Combs' Hamptons mansion in 1998, the rapper directed him to drop his pants and then fondled his genitals. He said he was 16 years old at the time.
The lawsuits on Oct. 14 were filed by Houston-based lawyer Tony Buzbee, who has said he is representing 120 people who accuse Combs of abuse.
Combs was arrested in September and charged with three felony counts for racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17.
A judge denied Combs' request for bail on Oct. 10 and set a trial date of May 5, 2025.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File and have a great day!
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