Feds Approve Minnesota's Plan To Combat Medicaid Fraud

By Mark Payne

Minnesota may soon receive the release of $243 million in deferred Medicaid funds after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the state's updated plan to combat Medicaid fraud, Minnesota state health officials told a federal court last week.

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Healthcare Co. Liable For Patient's Killings, Philly Jury Told

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A healthcare management company's failure to submit proper paperwork prohibiting a man who was committed to a hospital for psychosis allegedly enabled him to buy the shotgun he used to slay his family, counsel for their estates told a Philadelphia jury Monday.

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Md. Judge Rules Written Consent Not Needed Under TCPA

By Christopher Cole

Echoing a recent Fifth Circuit ruling, a Maryland federal judge has held that written consent to receive telemarketing calls is not required under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, reversing a decision to certify a class of consumers against a dental plan marketer.

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High Court Won't Hear Calif. Border Hospital Medicaid Fight

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would not consider a case challenging California's exclusions of hospitals in neighboring states from supplemental federal payments going to providers that serve Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

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High Court Won't Hear Mich. Newborn Blood Testing Case

By Parker Quinlan

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a petition from parents seeking to revive claims that the way newborn blood samples are collected and stored in a Michigan health screening program violates their rights to make medical decisions for their children.

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Justices Pass On Challenge To Courts' Sanctions Authority

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a dietary supplement company's request to review sanctions it was issued at trial in a false advertising dispute, in a case that could have led justices to clarify when courts may use their inherent authority to sanction parties for litigation conduct.

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Justices Won't Review Lab Owner's Kickback Conviction

By Mark Payne

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the conviction of a former California biotech president sentenced to eight years in prison for lying about the efficacy of his company's COVID-19 and allergy testing and conducting a $70 million Medicare fraud scheme. 

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FTC Stays Focused On Healthcare, Launches Task Force

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission announced it is launching a new task force with staff from across the agency to coordinate healthcare policy approaches and initiate investigations meant to help protect patients, healthcare workers and American taxpayers.

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Health Insurers Can't Force Conn. ERISA Row Into Arbitration

By Gianna Ferrarin

Elevance Inc. can't compel arbitration of a union health plan's allegations the insurer caused it to pay excessive administrative fees and medical costs, a Connecticut federal judge ruled, finding the insurer and its subsidiaries waived that right by seeking to dismiss the proposed class action.

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Nursing Home Atty Fees Axed Over Lack Of Proximate Cause

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey appellate panel has ruled that an estate can't recover attorney fees under the state statute governing nursing home residents' rights because the jury in an underlying wrongful‑death and negligence trial found no damages tied to any statutory violation.

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Roundup

Injury Law Roundup: Meta Atty Uses Jane Doe Plaintiff's Name

By Y. Peter Kang

A Meta attorney's gaffe and Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in the closely watched social media addiction bellwether trial, and an announced $7.25 billion settlement by Bayer over Roundup weedkiller claims, lead Law360's Injury Law Roundup.

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Novartis Faces Class Suit Over Patient Health Info Disclosure

By Zak Kostro

Drugmaker Novartis collected patients' personal and health information through pharmaceutical marketing websites and transmitted it to third parties including Google using "surreptitious online tracking tools" without patients' consent, a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleges.

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Progressive Escapes Workers' Tobacco, Vaccine Fee Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

Allegations that Progressive Corp. wrongly charged higher health premiums from workers who used tobacco or refused the COVID-19 vaccination failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law, an Ohio federal judge ruled as he tossed a proposed class action against the insurance giant.

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Emory Healthcare Defeats Black Nurse's Retaliation Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

Emory Healthcare has escaped a suit brought by a Black travel nurse alleging she was fired for complaining about receiving less training than white nurses, a Georgia federal judge ruled Monday, finding the nurse failed to show she engaged in protected activity. 

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AbbVie Escapes Ill. Genetic Privacy Lawsuit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge on Friday granted AbbVie summary judgment in a lawsuit claiming it violated the state's genetic privacy law, saying there was "no genuine dispute" that AbbVie conditioned the plaintiff's employment on whether he disclosed genetic information in the physical exam he was required to undergo before starting work.

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Trinity, Health Gorilla Sued Over Patient Data Breach

By Melanie Dorsey

Trinity Health Corp. and Health Gorilla Inc. were hit with a proposed class action in Michigan federal court alleging that they failed to protect the sensitive personal information of patients whose data was improperly disclosed through a health information exchange platform.

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CooperSurgical Fights Docs Request In Embryo Loss Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Fertility company CooperSurgical Inc. is pushing back against a bid to compel the release of internal financial and other records in litigation brought by a couple who claims the company negligently destroyed their embryos with its recalled culture media, calling the request overly broad.

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Stem Cell Clinic Accused Of Deceiving Patients

By Carolina Bolado

An operator of clinics offering stem cell and plasma therapies lures in desperate patients for unproven treatments marketed as guaranteed cures with no-interest payments, according to a proposed class suit filed Monday in Miami.

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Duke Health's $3.7M Pixel Privacy Deal Gets Initial OK

By Abigail Harrison

Hundreds of thousands of Duke University Health System Inc. patients are one step closer to securing a share of a $3.7 million settlement stemming from a health data tracking suit involving Meta's Pixel, after a North Carolina federal court granted preliminary approval of the class action settlement.

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Pediatric Data Breach Class Action Can Stay In NC Biz Court

By Hayley Fowler

A consolidated class action alleging a pediatric medical practice failed to protect minor patients' data from hackers can remain in the North Carolina Business Court, a judge ruled in finding the lawsuits were properly designated to the state's specialized superior court for complex business matters.

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Sidley, Kirkland Steer $1.1B Sale Of EyeSouth's Retina Biz

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity shop Olympus Partners, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Monday unveiled plans to sell the retina business of EyeSouth Partners to Sidley Austin LLP-led Cencora Inc. in a $1.1 billion deal.

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Labor & Employment Head Named Next Morgan Lewis Chair

By Tracey Read

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced Monday that the global leader of its labor and employment practice was unanimously elected as the firm's next chair to take over for Jami McKeon, who will retire at the end of the year.

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Social Media Atty Sanctioned For 'Most Shameful Moment'

By Craig Clough

A California judge on Monday sanctioned an attorney for the plaintiff in a bellwether trial alleging Meta Platforms and Google's social media platforms harm children's mental health, fining him $1,100 and keeping him off the plaintiffs' steering committee for violating court rules by twice filming inside the courthouse.

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NJ Judges Name US Atty In Apparent End To Leadership Fight

By Jake Maher

The New Jersey federal court on Monday appointed a career federal prosecutor to serve as U.S. attorney for the Garden State in what appears to end a lengthy standoff between district judges and the U.S. Department of Justice over leadership of the office.

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Immigration Judges To Challenge Their Firing At Fed. Circ.

By Britain Eakin

Attorneys for a pair of fired immigration judges said Monday they will ask the Federal Circuit to review a federal panel ruling that stripped them of civil service protections, warning of a dramatic expansion of presidential authority over the civil workforce.

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Day Pitney Fights DQ Over Ex-Justice's Time On Case He Heard

By Aaron Keller

Day Pitney LLP has apologized after former Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson, now a firm partner, billed 15.7 hours for reviewing a since-remanded case he heard years ago as a justice, but the firm said the "error" should not disqualify its other lawyers from advancing the litigation. 

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Reed Smith Pushes To Continue Atty Depo In NJ Bias Suit

By Jake Maher

Reed Smith LLP is urging a New Jersey state trial court to allow it to resume its deposition of a former attorney suing it for gender discrimination years after the last deposition date in the wake of an appeals court decision widely expanding the scope of discovery.

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Ramey IP Attys, Client Must Pay $107K Fees In Bad-Faith Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A San Francisco federal judge has ordered three sanctioned attorneys, including Texas intellectual property lawyer William Ramey III, together with their client, to cover $107,389 in attorney fees stemming from three identical patent suits the lawyers launched and withdrew in 2024, also ordering Ramey to show cause why he should not face further sanctions.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured high-stakes disputes involving major consumer brands, a reinstated video game executive, revived noncompete and compensation claims and fresh allegations of corporate misconduct in the healthcare sector.

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