Health

May 28, 2025
Feds Urge Supreme Court To Let 10th Circ. PBM Ruling Stand

The federal government urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up the state of Oklahoma's challenge to a Tenth Circuit decision that found parts of a law regulating pharmacy benefit managers were preempted by federal benefits and healthcare laws, arguing the case doesn't warrant further review from the justices.
May 28, 2025
Colorado, Feds Clash Over $6.7M From Collapsed Insurer

A Colorado federal judge pressed the state Wednesday on how its bid to pay out $6.7 million from a defunct health insurer to a Denver Health plan doesn't conflict with the federal government's interests, noting the disbursement would result in less money to a federal risk program.
May 28, 2025
DOJ Says Justices' Ruling Backs Nursing Exec's Conviction

The U.S. Department of Justice is pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster its fight against a new trial being sought by a convicted Nevada nursing home executive, saying that the new high court decision establishes that economic loss isn't needed to prove wire fraud.
May 28, 2025
Mallinckrodt Investors Get Initial OK For $5.5M Settlement

Investors of drugmaker Mallinckrodt received preliminary approval of their $5.5 million settlement with two executives and a director of the company Wednesday, ending the investors' claims they were misled into believing Mallinckrodt had recovered from bankruptcy and would make a $200 million payment to opioid claimants.
May 28, 2025
Fla. Ambulance Co. Must Make Missed Payments In OT Deal

An ambulance service will have to shell out the remaining $42,500 it owes to a group of emergency medical technicians and paramedics to settle their overtime after having missed payment deadlines several times, a Florida federal court ordered Wednesday.
May 28, 2025
Va. Tribe's Medicaid Suspension Fight Faces State Pushback

Virginia is fighting a bid by the Nansemond Indian Tribe to strike a state declaration supporting a notice that its Medicaid payments are suspended, telling the court nothing is improper about the document, and the tribe's accusations of fraud are unfounded.
May 28, 2025
Singapore's Quadria Closes $1B-Plus Healthcare Fund

Singapore-based private equity firm Quadria Capital has closed its third healthcare fund at $1.07 billion, surpassing its $800 million target as it targets companies across Asia.
May 28, 2025
Vt. Judge To Order Release Of Harvard Researcher

A Vermont federal judge on Wednesday said a Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States is entitled to release from immigration custody while she challenges her detention.
May 28, 2025
Anesthesiology Co. Urges Dismissal Of Antitrust Class Action

U.S. Anesthesia Partners told a Houston judge that a patient leading a proposed class action accusing it of monopolizing the Texas anesthesia market doesn't have a valid claim because his insurance company chose how much he paid for services.
May 28, 2025
Insurer Fights Coverage Of Patent Suit Against Dental Co.

An insurer told a Michigan federal court it is not obligated to defend or indemnify a dental products company in an underlying patent infringement case, arguing that the claims fall outside the scope of the commercial liability coverage.
May 28, 2025
In Volatile World, PE Attys Guide Complex Take-Private Deals

As rising geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty continue to rattle dealmaking markets, attorneys are guiding private equity firms and potential take-private targets through increasingly complex negotiations.
May 28, 2025
China Can't Duck PPE Hoarding Claims By Fla. Medical Pros

A Florida federal judge won't fully dismiss claims from a group of medical professionals alleging that China, through a New Jersey company, hoarded personal protective equipment to create a monopoly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, finding the allegations fall within the commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity.
May 28, 2025
Morris Manning Healthcare Duo Joins Bradley Arant In Atlanta

A little more than a month after hiring a 12-attorney intellectual property team from Morris Manning & Martin LLP in Atlanta, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on Wednesday announced the hires of an experienced healthcare partner duo from the same firm.
May 28, 2025
Cooley Adds Ex-FDA Attorney To DC Life Sciences Group

Cooley LLP has hired a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration attorney, who for the majority of her public service career worked as an associate chief counsel, trying civil actions and criminal prosecutions against those accused of violating regulations for a range of products.
May 27, 2025
Musk, DOGE Fail To Nix States' Suit Against 'Limitless' Power

Fourteen states can proceed in their lawsuit challenging Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's influence in the federal government after a D.C. federal judge Tuesday refused to toss their suit, rejecting the government's contention that Musk wasn't subject to the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause.
May 27, 2025
Philly Children's Hospital Can't Undo $11.6M Med Mal Award

A Pennsylvania appeals court panel on Tuesday affirmed an $11.6 million award in a suit accusing the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia of partially causing the death of a 4-year-old boy, saying there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.
May 27, 2025
Bluebird Bio Beats Investor Suit Over FDA Cancer Warning

Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Bluebird Bio Inc. has beaten a shareholder suit accusing it of misleading investors about the likelihood of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision requiring a "black box warning" on one of its products due to the cancer risk it posed.
May 27, 2025
CMS Heightens Medicaid Oversight For Immigrant Care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday said it is ramping up its financial oversight of states to detect misuse of federal Medicaid dollars, telling states it will seek to recoup federal funds spent on nonemergent care for "illegal aliens."
May 27, 2025
NC Justices Say Doc Is Employee, Not Official With Immunity

The North Carolina Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision that a University of North Carolina professor had public-official immunity in a defamation suit over an investigation into a colleague's going-away party, holding he is an employee of a public agency, not a public official entitled to immunity.
May 27, 2025
Pharma Co. Says Chubb Failed To Pay Covered Defense Costs

A New Jersey pharmaceutical company said Chubb owes nearly $6.5 million in outstanding defense costs related to a multibillion-dollar arbitration dispute over the manufacture of an antiviral drug, according to a suit removed to federal court Tuesday.
May 27, 2025
Judge Says Kaiser, UFCW Staffing Fight Belongs In Arbitration

A United Food and Commercial Workers local and a Colorado healthcare group affiliated with Kaiser Permanente must resolve their understaffing dispute in arbitration, a Colorado federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying the evidence presented at a six-day bench trial revealed that the fight is arbitrable.
May 27, 2025
Bankrupt 23andMe To Delist Stock After Regeneron Deal

Bankrupt genetic testing provider 23andMe Inc. said Tuesday it will delist its stock from the Nasdaq exchange, following Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s agreement last week to buy the defunct company.
May 27, 2025
Feds No Longer Advise COVID Shot For Kids, Pregnant Adults

The nation's public health agency on Tuesday pulled the COVID-19 vaccine from the list of recommended shots for healthy children and pregnant adults, a move that experts say could reduce demand for the vaccine and make it more expensive for some families.
May 27, 2025
Fla. Judge Pauses Suit Over Baseball Player's Death

A Florida state court judge on Tuesday ordered a temporary halt to a lawsuit alleging medical malpractive against a Minnesota Twins physician over the death of a minor league baseball player, pausing the case while an order denying immunity for the doctor is appealed.
May 27, 2025
Paris VC Firm Cathay Closes $1B AI Venture Capital Fund

Paris venture capital firm Cathay Innovation said Tuesday that it has closed a $1 billion fund focused on artificial intelligence investments.

Expert Analysis

Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
Courts Must Stick To The Science On Digital Addiction Claims

A number of pending personal injury and product liability lawsuits allege that plaintiffs have developed behavioral addictions to the use of social media and video games — but this is not yet recognized by relevant authorities as an addiction, so courts must carefully scrutinize such claims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
2024 Was A Significant Year For HIPAA Compliance

The Office of Civil Rights' high level of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act activity in 2024 and press releases about its specific focus on certain cybersecurity issues make it abundantly clear that the OCR is not going to tolerate widespread compliance complacency, says Nathan Kottkamp at Williams Mullen.
5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests

A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.
Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
Liability Risk For AI In Medical Devices Demands Greater Care

As regulators push for legal reform surrounding artificial intelligence and cases implicating product liability for AI in medical technology continue to rise, manufacturers must adapt and implement new strategies to accommodate evolving risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Top 10 Noncompete Developments Of 2024

Following an eventful year in noncompete law at both state and federal levels, employers can no longer rely on a court's willingness to blue-pencil overbroad agreements and are proceeding at their own peril if they do not thoughtfully review and carefully enforce such agreements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.