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June 03, 2024
Voir Dire With No Judge Present Persists In State Courts
Data released Friday by the National Center for State Courts revealed that voir dire conducted by lawyers with no judge present in the room persists in 7% of state court trials, but has been virtually eliminated in federal courts.
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June 03, 2024
Humana Hit With Investor Suit Over Post-COVID Costs
Health insurer Humana and two executives were hit with an investor class action on Monday, claiming they misled shareholders about the cost of pent-up demand for medical treatments once the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.
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June 03, 2024
Colo. Gov Signs Compromise Bill Raising Damages Caps
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a law that will increase statutory caps on noneconomic damages for wrongful death and injury claims, as part of a deal to avoid a ballot-box fight between medical providers and personal injury lawyers.
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June 03, 2024
DC Judge Axes Ariz. Tribe's $2.6M Veteran Care Claims
A D.C. federal court judge dismissed an Arizona tribe's bid to recoup nearly $2.6 million in Native American veteran care reimbursements from the federal government, saying the tribe has not plausibly alleged that the Indian Health Services' actions in withholding the funding caused any injury.
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June 03, 2024
NY 'No-Fault' Insurance Fraudster Gets 10 Years
A federal judge on Monday sentenced the ringleader of an insurance fraud scheme to the maximum term of 10 years in prison for what prosecutors say was a bribery-fueled, 14-year, $60 million scam that exploited New York's no-fault laws.
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June 03, 2024
Surgeons Denied Early Exit From GEICO's Bogus Injury Suit
A pair of orthopedic surgeons can't escape GEICO's lawsuit claiming they conspired with a personal injury attorney to file inflated insurance claims for car accident victims based on bogus medical documents, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Monday.
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June 03, 2024
Drug Cos. Can Depose DC AG In Drug Price-Fixing Row
A Connecticut federal judge reluctantly ordered the District of Columbia Attorney General's Office to be deposed by the drug companies wrapped up in more than 40 states' claims over an alleged price-fixing conspiracy, noting that he would not have done so but for the case being remanded from a sprawling multidistrict litigation in Pennsylvania.
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June 03, 2024
DOL Fights Injunction Bid In Data-For-Insurance Fight
The U.S. Department of Labor pushed back against two companies' permanent injunction bid in a lawsuit that had challenged a now-vacated finding from the agency that a data-for-insurance health plan offering wasn't covered by federal benefits law, arguing a Texas federal court should instead end proceedings in the case.
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June 03, 2024
4 Mass. Rulings You Might Have Missed In May
Massachusetts state court judges rejected a law firm's effort to fight malpractice claims by pointing the finger at a Rhode Island judge, and ruled that an online booking platform can boot the owner of Bali vacation villas from its site, among other under-the-radar decisions handed down in May.
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June 03, 2024
Amazon, Wondery Want Out Of ICE Doc's Defamation Suit
Amazon.com LLC, Wondery LLC and Morbid: A True Crime Podcast LLC asked a Georgia federal judge on Friday to dismiss a former immigration prison doctor's lawsuit alleging he was defamed by the release of a true-crime podcast episode that accused him of performing forced hysterectomies on detainees.
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June 03, 2024
Ex-SoftBank GC Joins Foley & Lardner As Partner In SF
Foley & Lardner LLP has hired SoftBank Investment Advisers' former general counsel, who has over a decade of experience in private practice and serving as in-house counsel overseeing SoftBank's legal team, which structured and monitored more than 300 portfolio companies worth more than $130 billion.
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June 03, 2024
Jury Trials Dwindle In State Courts; Fall Started Before COVID
Jury trials have continued to "vanish" from state courts, despite seeing a slight bump following the pandemic shutdowns, with 2021 seeing fewer than half the number of jury trials as 2019 and one-third the number held in 2007, according to a new report from the National Center for State Courts.
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June 03, 2024
House COVID Panel Questions Fauci Over Pandemic Origins
Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease responsible for overseeing the pandemic response, was pressed by a U.S. House COVID-19 panel Monday about recent allegations that a senior official tried to evade open records laws regarding the origins of the pandemic.
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June 03, 2024
Ropes & Gray Guides Becton On $4.2B Edwards Unit Buy
Ropes & Gray LLP is guiding Becton Dickinson and Co. on a deal that will see the medical technology company pay $4.2 billion for Edwards Lifesciences' critical care product group, which focuses on patient monitoring using artificial intelligence, the companies said Monday.
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June 03, 2024
Senate To Vote On Right To Contraception
The Senate will vote later this week on a bill to codify a statutory right to contraception, ahead of the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.
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June 03, 2024
Nursing Home Co. LaVie Hits Ch. 11 In Ga. With $1.1B Debt
Nursing home operator LaVie Care Centers LLC hit Chapter 11 on Monday in Georgia with $1.1 billion in debt, saying it has not been able to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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June 01, 2024
Blockbuster Summer: 10 Big Issues Justices Still Must Decide
As the calendar flips over to June, the U.S. Supreme Court still has heaps of cases to decide on issues ranging from trademark registration rules to judicial deference and presidential immunity. Here, Law360 looks at 10 of the most important topics the court has yet to decide.
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May 31, 2024
Caremark Cut Loose From CVS Price-Gouging Case
A Rhode Island federal judge on Thursday dismissed Caremark from long-running litigation alleging CVS schemed with pharmacy benefit managers to overcharge insured health plans for generic drugs, finding Caremark's contracts with the funds have enforceable arbitration clauses.
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May 31, 2024
Samsung Strikes First With Smart Ring IP Suit Against Oura
Samsung has yet to announce a release date for its new Galaxy Ring brand of wearable, health-tracking devices, but it has filed an intellectual property suit in California federal court Thursday targeting a Finnish startup that makes its own line of smart rings.
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May 31, 2024
Final Defendant Gets 2 Years In Prison For DC Clinic Blockade
An anti-abortion activist was sentenced to two years incarceration in D.C. federal court Friday, the final defendant to be sentenced among nine others charged in a 2020 blockade at a reproductive health clinic.
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May 31, 2024
9th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Health Center's $8M Cigna Row
The Ninth Circuit on Friday declined to revive a suit from a holding company for a drug and alcohol treatment center claiming Cigna forced it into bankruptcy by not paying more than $8 million in authorized claims, finding the health insurer did not abuse its discretion in denying the payments.
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May 31, 2024
Judge Doubts Okla. Can Stop Title X Cut Over Abortion Stance
A Tenth Circuit judge appeared skeptical Friday that Oklahoma could prevent federal officials from stripping $4.5 million in funding over the state's refusal to provide abortion referrals, suggesting the state's claim of anti-abortion discrimination is better suited to an attack on Title X writ large.
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May 31, 2024
Judge Wonders If Wash. Social Media Ban Blocks Free Speech
A Washington appellate judge on Friday questioned the constitutionality of a state law barring injured workers from posting video of their state workers' compensation medical exams on social media, saying it could be cutting off someone's only way of communicating with the outside world.
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May 31, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Labor Battles Heat Up In June
Several cases are heating up the Third Circuit argument calendar in June, including a home care company's attempt to duck a $7 million payout to thousands of workers who claimed the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating them for travel time.
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May 31, 2024
15 States Sue To Block Biden's ACA Trans Discrimination Rule
The Biden administration was hit with a lawsuit on Friday over its rule clarifying the application of the Affordable Care Act's nondiscrimination protections to gender identity, with a group of 15 states claiming the guidance is an effort "to enshrine sweeping gender-identity mandates without congressional consent."
Expert Analysis
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FTC Theories Of Harm After Anesthesia Co. Ruling
As Federal Trade Commission litigation against U.S. Anesthesia Partners proceeds following a Texas federal court's recent decision to dismiss a private equity sponsor from the suit, the case attempts to incorporate and advance some of the commission's theories of competitive harm from the final 2023 Merger Guidelines, say attorneys at Mintz.
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9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense
The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.
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FTC Focus: Exploring The Meaning Of Orange Book Letters
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an expansion of its campaign to promote competition by targeting pharmaceutical manufacturers' improper Orange Book patent listings, but there is a question of whether and how this helps generic entrants, say Colin Kass and David Munkittrick at Proskauer.
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Investors Can Aid In The Acceptance Of Psychedelic Medicine
Psychedelic medicine is ready to have its breakthrough moment, and although it still faces political, legal and communications challenges, private equity investors can play a significant role in changing the public perception on psychedelics from taboo to acceptance, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell, Charlie Panfil at the Daschle Group and Ethan Lutz at FTI Consulting.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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3rd Circ.'s Geico Ruling May Encourage Healthcare Arbitration
The Third Circuit's recent decision in Geico v. Mount Prospect, finding that claims under New Jersey's Insurance Fraud Prevention Act can be arbitrated, strengthens arbitration as a viable alternative to litigation, even though it is not necessarily always a more favorable forum, say Khaled Klele and Jessica Osterlof at McCarter & English.
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Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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A Changing Regulatory Landscape For Weight Loss Drugs
As drugs originally approved to treat diabetes become increasingly popular for weight loss purposes, federal and state regulators and payors are increasing their focus on how these drugs are prescribed, and industry participants should pay close attention to rapidly evolving compliance requirements, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Opioid Suits Offer Case Study In Abatement Expert Testimony
Settlements in the opioid multidistrict litigation provide useful insight into leveraging expert discovery on abatement in public nuisance cases, and would not have been successful without testimony on the costs necessary to lessen the harms of the opioid crisis, says David Burnett at DiCello Levitt.
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April
Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Opinion
USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.