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Health
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July 18, 2025
Stewart Issues Discretion Decisions For 56 More Petitions
Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart issued 25 more orders on requests for discretionary denial, deciding a total of 56 cases, while the results of earlier proceedings she let move forward have started to roll out.
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July 18, 2025
4th Circ. Remands Insurance Award Feud Over FAA Confusion
In a published decision that refers to the Federal Arbitration Act as "not a triumph of legislative draftsmanship," the Fourth Circuit on Friday overturned the enforcement of an arbitral award favoring health insurance service providers that is being challenged over an arbitrator's alleged conflict of interest.
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July 18, 2025
Judge Questions Basis For Planned Parenthood Funding Cuts
A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday pressed the government for any plausible rationale, besides retaliation, for a provision in Congress' budget reconciliation that will prevent Planned Parenthood and its affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements if any one of them offers abortion services.
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July 18, 2025
Nurses Seek Class Cert. In Colo. Holiday Wage Suit
A group of nurses asked a Colorado federal court Thursday to certify the proposed class in their suit alleging a healthcare company didn't properly pay holiday overtime wages.
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July 18, 2025
'Lost Services' Damages OK In Child Death Suits, Court Rules
A mother can pursue damages against a Detroit hospital for the loss of household services she would have received if her infant son had lived to adulthood, even after a recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling narrowed the available recovery, an appellate panel held.
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July 18, 2025
Supply Co. Looks To Spur New Judge Amid NC Staff Shortage
A medical supply procurement company on Friday sought to hasten the assignment of a new judge to its contract suit against a pharmaceutical middleman after the previous judge retired, acknowledging there are staffing issues in the Western District of North Carolina but saying the "serious case" needs attention to stay on track.
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July 18, 2025
Cannabis And The Courts: A Midyear Litigation Review
In the first half of 2025, lawsuits taking aim at state hemp restrictions, putative residency criteria in cannabis licensure programs and the federal policy that keeps users and convicted sellers of pot from lawfully owning guns were all briefed in multiple appellate courts across the country.
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July 18, 2025
4th Circ. Backs $9M Classification Ruling Against Staffing Co.
A split Fourth Circuit panel will not scrap a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company that the U.S. Department of Labor won in a suit alleging the company misclassified more than 1,000 nurses.
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July 18, 2025
Pillsbury Atty Fights Sanctions In Nurse Wage-Fixing Case
A partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP told a Nevada federal court he should not be sanctioned for using a poor choice of words when communicating with the government about the availability of an expert witness during a wage-fixing and wire fraud trial.
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July 18, 2025
Venture-Backed Medical Tech Biz Heartflow Plans $100M IPO
Private equity and venture-backed medical technology company Heartflow has unveiled plans to raise up to $100 million in its initial public offering, with law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP advising the company and Cooley LLP advising the underwriters.
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July 17, 2025
21 States Fight ACA Rule They Say Guts Health Coverage
A 21-state coalition led by the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts and New Jersey sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday, challenging a new Trump administration rule they say unlawfully undermines access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.
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July 17, 2025
FDA Signs Off On Juul E-Cig Products After 5-Year Review
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday gave Juul the green light to market five e-cigarette products, although the FDA noted that the long-awaited authorization "does not mean these tobacco products are safe, nor are they FDA-approved."
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July 17, 2025
SEC Fraud Suit Against Ex-Online Pharmacy Execs Advances
A New York federal judge has declined to dismiss a majority of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's claims against former executives of a now-defunct online pharmacy called Medly, finding the agency adequately pleaded that the executives made false statements or acted recklessly, among other misconduct.
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July 17, 2025
Accolade Faces $4.8M Suit Over Pre-Merger Profit Claims
Personalized healthcare solutions company Accolade Inc. was hit with an investor suit Thursday accusing it and its CEO of making false statements about its profitability to prop up share prices before announcing its plan to go private via a merger with healthcare company Transcarent Inc.
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July 17, 2025
11th Circ. Says Ex-Quest Diagnostics Worker's FCA Suit Fails
The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a former Quest Diagnostics Inc. compliance officer's False Claims Act suit against the lab testing company, ruling she had failed to allege a specific claim of medical billing fraud after some 15 years of litigation.
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July 17, 2025
Stanford Trims Roche IP Suit, But Others Face Most Claims
Stanford University was let out of all but one claim brought by subsidiaries of F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG over alleged trade secret theft, but a California federal judge allowed most claims to move forward against several Stanford professors and a startup they founded.
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July 17, 2025
UMich Dental School Defeats Professor's PPE Retaliation Suit
A federal judge on Thursday tossed a former dentistry professor's lawsuit claiming he was fired for complaining about overheating from gowns faculty and staff were required to wear in University of Michigan's dental clinic as a COVID-19 precaution.
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July 17, 2025
Class Claims Target Anthem's 'Ghost' Provider Networks
Anthem Health Plans Inc. and its parent Elevance Health Inc. should be held liable for maintaining inaccurate directories of mental health providers that send patients on a "wild-goose chase" to find care, according to a putative class action in Connecticut state court that targets "ghost" networks.
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July 17, 2025
Senators Float 'Patent Thicket' Bill To Limit Generic Litigation
A bill floated in the U.S. Senate would limit the use of so-called patent thickets that are asserted by major pharmaceutical companies in litigation to restrict generic competition.
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July 17, 2025
Steward Health Says Ex-Execs Oversaw Fraudulent Transfers
Insolvent hospital operator Steward Health has sued former leaders of the business — including a surgeon who stepped down as CEO last year — in connection to its Chapter 11, alleging they executed a series of transactions that plundered the company's coffers when it was financially troubled.
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July 17, 2025
Insurer, Urology Practices Beat Puerto Rico Antitrust Suit
A Puerto Rico federal judge threw out an antitrust lawsuit accusing insurer Triple-S Salud and two urology firms of colluding to exclude rival practices from the commonwealth's government-run healthcare program, finding that the selection of a defendant practice through a competitive process means there was no anticompetitive harm.
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July 17, 2025
Nursing Home Suit Is Med Mal, Tossed For Lack Of Expert
A Texas appellate court on Thursday dismissed a man's suit against a nursing home claiming its negligence led to his mother's death after she fell and hit her head, finding his suit is a medical malpractice claim, so he needed an expert report to support his allegations.
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July 17, 2025
Fla. AG, Sandoz Clash With Other Enforcers Over 'Done' Deal
Sandoz and Florida's attorney general pressed a Connecticut federal judge Wednesday to let them settle out of sweeping price-fixing litigation against generic-drug makers, contending that federal civil procedure rules give no room for objections from other state enforcers worried the Sunshine State deal interferes with their own ability to negotiate settlements.
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July 17, 2025
4th Circ. Orders New Trial After Doc Acquitted In Fraud Case
A Fourth Circuit panel ordered a new trial for a doctor who received a judge's acquittal after a jury found him guilty of alleged healthcare fraud, finding that the jury had sufficient evidence to convict, but the case was "close," and the district court was correct in hedging and allowing another shot at the case.
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July 17, 2025
PE Firm Is Denied FDA Docs For Defense In Deal Challenge
An Illinois federal court on Wednesday denied a request from private equity firm GTCR BC Holdings LLC to force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce more than a decade's worth of medical device approval applications as the firm fights a merger challenge from enforcers.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths
Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing
Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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How Ore. Law Puts New Confines On Corp. Health Ownership
A newly enacted law in Oregon strengthens the state’s restrictions on corporate ownership of healthcare practices, with new limitations on overlapping control, permissible services, restrictive covenants and more making it necessary for practices to review decades-old physician practice arrangements, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Handling Revenue Cycle Management Disputes In The AI Age
As healthcare providers and revenue cycle management vendors face an increasing use of artificial intelligence in claims adjudication, it's important for providers and their general counsel to plan in advance for potential disagreements with vendors and investigate the root causes behind any underperformance that arises, say consultants at AlixPartners.
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9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard
District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Trump Antitrust Shift Eases Pressure On Private Equity Deals
Enforcement actions and statements by Trump administration antitrust officials forecast a shift away from specifically targeting private equity activity, which should be welcome news to dealmakers, but firms shouldn't expect to escape traditional antitrust scrutiny, says Nathaniel Bronstein at Fried Frank.
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Series
Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.
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Prepare For Increased FDA Inspections Of Foreign Facilities
In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently announced plans to expand use of unannounced inspections of foreign drug manufacturing factories, foreign firms should implement best practices in anticipation of an imminent increase in enforcement activity, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech
New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
Legacy Of 3 Justices Should Guide Transgender Rights Ruling
Three Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices — Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter — gave rise to a jurisprudence of personal liberty that courts today invoke to protect gender-affirming care, and with the court now poised to decide U.S. v. Skrmetti, it must follow the path that they set, says Greg Fosheim at McDermott.
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How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication
As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.
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When Legal Advocacy Crosses The Line Into Incivility
As judges issue sanctions for courtroom incivility, and state bars advance formal discipline rules, trial lawyers must understand that the difference between zealous advocacy and unprofessionalism is not just a matter of tone; it's a marker of skill, credibility and potentially disciplinary exposure, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
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How Medical Practices Can Improve Privacy Compliance
In light of recent high-profile patient privacy violations, health practices — especially in California — should better position themselves to comply with medical privacy laws by shoring up strategies ranging from mapping electronic protected health information to building a better compliance culture, says Suzanne Natbony at Aliant Law.
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Recent Reports Shed Light On Section 340B's Effectiveness
Recent analyses of the Section 340B program's effectiveness in helping patients afford drugs in Minnesota reinforce concerns about the program's lack of transparency and underscore the need for further evaluation of whether legislative reform should be enacted, say William A. Sarraille at the University of Maryland, and Andrée-Anne Fournier and Molly Frean at Analysis Group.
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Series
Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.