First | Judiciary.org

You first! Pay‑to-be-paid clauses upheld in marine liability insurance policies in UK: South African lessons

In November 2025 the UK Court of Appeal confirmed that a “pay-first” clause in a marine liability policy is valid when it accordingly prevents direct recovery by a third party from the insurer when the insured is unable to discharge its underlying liability.

Because the insured was insolvent, the court refused a direct claim by a third party under the UK Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010. The ruling matters for South African charterers, brokers and claimants because many local … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Judiciary Releases First Annual Report on the Workplace

All federal courts have put in place an effective dispute resolution plan giving employees multiple pathways to report and address workplace concerns, and an increasing number of them are opting to use the new processes.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Judiciary Releases First Annual Report on the Workplace

Supreme Court

Court schedules first cases for 2024-25 term

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Biden administration’s efforts to regulate so-called “ghost guns” in the first week of the 2024-25 term in October, followed the next day by an unusual death-penalty case – in which the state’s attorney general supports the condemned man’s efforts to overturn his conviction and sentence. Garland v. VanDerStok and Glossip v. Oklahoma headline the Supreme Court’s October argument calendar, which was released on Friday morning.

The November argument calendar, released … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices appoint former clerk to argue First Step Act cases

The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon appointed a former clerk to Justice Samuel Alito (who also served as a clerk to then-Judge Neil Gorsuch on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit) to defend a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a pair of cases involving the interpretation of the First Step Act, a 2018 law that — among other things – reduced the mandatory minimum sentences for some drug and … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Major Second and First Amendment cases headline November sitting

With just over a year to go until the 2024 presidential elections, the shadow of former President Donald Trump – who is once again the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination – hovers over three of the seven cases in the court’s November argument session, which begins on Oct. 30. Trump once asked the justices to take up the same question that they will now consider in two cases on Oct. 31, involving liability for public officials who block … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

Cecilia Altonaga: First Female Cuban American Federal Judge

Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga is still humbled by her appointment in 2003, becoming the first female Cuban American federal judge. In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, a new video profile explores Altonaga’s Cuban heritage, her pursuit of a career in law, and her family’s defection from Cuba.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Civil Law

No Breach Too Small: OFSI Reports First Breach of UK’s Russian Sanctions Regulations

On 31 August 2023 the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) issued a “Disclosure” against Wise Payments Limited, a UK-registered company, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, for breaching Regulation 12 of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 by making funds available to a company owned or controlled by a designated person.

Continue reading the full GT Alert.

LexBlog… Read the rest