Calif. Justices Seem Divided On Gilead HIV Negligence Claim

By Mark Payne

The California Supreme Court appeared split Wednesday over whether Gilead should face a negligence claim for allegedly withholding a safer HIV drug from the market to maximize profits from an older drug with more harmful side effects. 

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Judge Questions OMB Justification For Voiding Grants

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday pushed back on arguments by the Trump administration that federal agency grants are subject to termination at any time based solely on a change in priorities — a situation, she suggested, that would essentially render any contracts with the government "illusory."

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Full 11th Circ. Denies Medical Act Remedy In Discharge Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

The full Eleventh Circuit concluded that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act does not provide a remedy for a woman's claims that she was improperly discharged from a Florida hospital without being treated for malnutrition.

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Fla. Court Asked To Lift Freeze In $91M Fake Health Plans Suit

By David Minsky

Two siblings asked a Florida federal court Wednesday to lift an asset freeze in the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit alleging they sold $91 million of fake health benefits on the Affordable Care Act exchange, arguing they need money to pay their attorneys. 

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9th Circ. Won't Revive Hospital Workers' Vaccine Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Ninth Circuit refused Wednesday to reopen a religious bias lawsuit accusing a Washington hospital of unlawfully denying employees' requests to avoid a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, finding that the medical center demonstrated that exemptions would've been too burdensome under a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

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Judge Won't Certify Minn. Fraud Question In Cancer Drug MDL

By Danielle Ferguson

A New Jersey federal judge won't ask the Supreme Court of Minnesota to weigh in on whether an insurer can pursue claims using a state law typically reserved for the attorney general in litigation alleging drugmaker Celgene used charitable donations to manipulate the price of cancer drugs.

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Nursing Home Co. Can't Stave Off EEOC Harassment Trial

By Grace Elletson

A nursing facility operator can't dodge a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it fired an employee for complaining that her boss sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling a jury needs to assess whether the business acted out of retaliation.

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Pot Patients Defend Claims In Dispensary Data Privacy Suit

By Mike Curley

A group of medical cannabis patients are pushing back on a bid from a technology company to dismiss their claims that it shares their medical information with outside vendors, saying they have sufficiently pled their allegations that they did not consent to such sharing and they were injured by the disclosure.

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Pharmacy Axed Worker For Joining Army Reserve, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

An Atlanta-area pharmacy unlawfully fired an employee because she joined the U.S. Army Reserve, the former worker alleged in a complaint filed in Georgia federal court, saying the owner said she "needed someone that was going to be at work."

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Colo. Appeals Court Mulls POA's Authority On Arbitration

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado state appeals court considered Wednesday a nursing home's request for the court to find that a person holding a medical power of attorney could agree to arbitration, focusing counsel on the relationship between an arbitration agreement and healthcare.

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CellCentric Closes Latest Funding Round With $220M In Tow

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Clinical-stage biotechnology company CellCentric on Wednesday revealed that it closed its oversubscribed Series D financing round after securing $220 million from investors.

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Prospect Medical Captive Insurer Files Ch. 15 In Texas

By Emily Lever

Connecticut Healthcare Insurance Company, a Cayman Islands insurance company indirectly owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, has filed a Chapter 15 petition in Texas bankruptcy court seeking recognition of its Cayman winding-up proceedings that involve a $26 million payment to Prospect.

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Documenting Business Purpose After IRS' 10th Circ. Win

Following the Tenth Circuit’s recent Liberty Global v. U.S. decision, which held the economic substance doctrine does not require a threshold relevancy determination, taxpayers can prepare for potential audits by maintaining contemporaneous documentation and taking other steps that demonstrate the business purpose of transactions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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SEC Fines Ex-BigLaw Atty For Insider Trades On Apollo Deal

By Hailey Konnath

A former Buchalter PC shareholder has agreed to pay $71,625 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations he purchased stock ahead of Apollo Global Management's $1.5 billion acquisition of Bridge Investment, which the commission said he was representing in an unrelated matter at the time.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

By Jeff Overley

Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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