2nd Circ. Questions Experts' Rejection In Tylenol Autism Suits

By Dan McKay

A Second Circuit panel on Monday appeared skeptical of a lower-court order that barred every expert witness set to testify for families who allege that patients taking Tylenol while pregnant can cause autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in their children.

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9th Circ. Strikes Down Trans Patients' Win In ACA Bias Case

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Ninth Circuit upended a win Monday for patients who challenged Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois' administration of their employer-provided health plans containing gender-affirming care exclusions, ordering a lower court to reexamine the case in light of intervening authority from the U.S. Supreme Court.

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2 Execs Found Guilty In $233M ACA Fraud Scheme

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal jury returned a guilty verdict on Monday against a marketing company CEO and insurance brokerage executive who were accused of submitting fraudulent enrollments to fully subsidized Affordable Care Act insurance plans to get millions in commission payments from insurers.

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Medtronic Can't Nix FCA Claims Despite 1st Circ. Precedent

By Rae Ann Varona

A Massachusetts federal judge reconsidered reviving Medtronic's bid to defeat claims it violated the False Claims Act in light of new First Circuit precedent on a causation standard, but ruled that a whistleblower's evidence warranted keeping the claims alive for now.

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Texas Court Says Hospital Sex Assault Isn't Medical Claim

By Mike Curley

A Texas appeals court has found that allegations that a hospital staffer sexually assaulted a minor patient do not constitute medical liability claims, saying the family of the patient do not need an expert report to continue the case under state law.

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MVP: Ropes & Gray's Adrianne Ortega

By Jack Rodgers

Ropes & Gray LLP's Adrianne Ortega represented Walgreens Boots Alliance in a take-private action valued at up to $23.7 billion, and her work this year leading several healthcare clients through transformative transactions and helping them understand related complex regulatory issues has earned her a spot among the 2025 Law360 Healthcare MVPs.

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B. Braun Unit Inks $38.5M Deal To End FCA Knee Implant Case

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced a $38.5 million False Claims Act settlement with a subsidiary of German medical device giant B. Braun Melsungen AG resolving accusations it sold a knee replacement implant allegedly known to fail prematurely after surgery.

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Mich. Doctor Gets 18 Months For $16M Drug Resale Scheme

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan doctor was sentenced Monday to spend a year and a half in prison for his role in a scheme to purchase $16 million worth of cancer drugs and resell them at a profit, with a federal judge saying white collar sentences can "deter more" than other criminal sentences.

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Mass. Justices Say Panel Overstepped In Sepsis Death Suit

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Monday reinstated medical malpractice claims against a nurse practitioner over a patient's sepsis death, saying a tribunal had stepped beyond its role in vetting an offer of proof by the man's widow.

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No High Court Review For FDA Fast-Track Denial

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it would not consider whether federal drug regulators went astray in denying fast-track review for a digestive disorder medication being developed by Vanda Pharmaceuticals.

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NC Hospital Data Sharing Class Gets $2.45M Deal, $750K Fee

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina Business Court judge gave final approval Monday to a $2.45 million class action settlement for almost half a million patients who accused a health system of sharing sensitive information with Meta Platforms Inc., with class counsel securing $750,000 in attorney fees.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court and Delaware Supreme Court last week had a dense slate of fiduciary duty battles, merger-process challenges, post-bankruptcy fights and a series of cases probing the limits of fraud pleading, credible-basis inspections and board-level disclosure duties.

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Roundup

Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Skill Games Top Nov. Lineup

By Matthew Santoni

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's November session will tackle the legality of the "Pennsylvania Skill" games that have popped up in gas stations and convenience stores, answering the long-simmering question of whether they should be regulated like slot machines. Here are some of the cases the state supreme court will hear during its three-day session in Harrisburg.

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Georgia Hospital System Says Judge DQ Bid Arrived Too Late

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia healthcare provider said a Florida couple waited too late in moving to have a Georgia federal judge disqualify herself from presiding over their medical malpractice case, accusing them of "judge shopping."

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Telehealth Co. Hims Sued Over College Student's Suicide

By Emily Field

The family of a Washington State University student who died by suicide have sued telehealth company Hims & Hers Health Inc. in Washington state court, alleging their son was negligently prescribed an antidepressant known to carry a risk of suicide in adolescents despite his history of self-harm.

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Corporate Pilot Fired For Flagging Safety Concerns, Suit Says

By Hayley Fowler

The former head of aviation for an oral surgery management services company in North Carolina says he was canned because of his age and hearing disability and for allegedly reporting flight scheduling practices that he said flouted federal safety laws.

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Porzio Bromberg Wants Doctor's Malpractice Suit Tossed

By Adrian Cruz

Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC has asked the New Jersey federal court to dismiss a Louisiana doctor's lawsuit accusing the firm and one of its attorneys of legal malpractice, arguing the physician lacks standing to pursue individual claims on a bankruptcy-related matter.

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Patients Net $2.55M Deal To End Plasma Co. Data Breach Case

By Hayley Fowler

A group of patients is seeking a final seal of approval from a North Carolina federal judge on their $2.55 million settlement with a plasma collection company accused of failing to safeguard their personal data from hackers in an April 2024 data breach.

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DC Circ. Mulls If Gov't Can Say No To 340B Rebate Program

By Nadia Dreid

The D.C. Circuit is set to decide "who's the decision-maker" in a fight brought by drugmakers over the federal government's efforts to reshape the way they do drug rebates after spending more than an hour and a half Monday morning hearing out all sides.

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Cravath, Goodwin Advise On J&J's $3B Cancer Drug Play

By Al Barbarino

Cravath-advised Johnson & Johnson said Monday it has agreed to pay $3.05 billion in cash for Goodwin-led Halda Therapeutics, a biotech developing a clinical-stage therapy for prostate cancer.

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Willkie-Led Rockland Clinches 5th Fund With $1.2B In Tow

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP-advised private equity shop Rockland Capital announced Monday that it wrapped fundraising for its fifth fund after securing $1.2 billion in investor commitments.

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UConn Health Poised To Buy Hospital In $35M Ch. 11 Deal

By Aaron Keller

Bankrupt for-profit hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. on Monday sought approval for the $35 million sale of Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut to two UConn Health units under a stalking horse bid package filed in early November.

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Akin Adds 'Luminary' False Claims Attorney From DOJ In DC

By Jack Rodgers

With a record number of whistleblower qui tam cases filed last year, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is the latest Washington, D.C., firm to boost its False Claims Act bench, hiring a former assistant director from the Commercial Litigation Branch of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division.

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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Analysis

UK Firms Drive Transatlantic Appetite For M&A Dealmaking

By Aebra Coe and Chris Villani

The merger announced Monday between British legal giant Ashurst LLP and American law firm Perkins Coie LLP is the latest in a spate of deals driven, in part, by an appetite among global firms to gain a strong presence in the U.S.

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'Astounding' Holland & Knight Conduct Drives Liability Ruling

By Ryan Boysen

Holland & Knight LLP has forfeited a malpractice lawsuit in Alaska by refusing to turn over information to a Native American tribal corporation, with a state judge entering a default judgment as a sanction and calling the firm's conduct "a head scratcher" and "astounding."

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Brief

ABA Decries Lawmaker Calls For Impeachments Of Judges

By Courtney Bublé

The American Bar Association said on Monday it's "alarmed" by lawmakers' interest in impeaching judges just because they don't like their rulings.

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Judge Orders Grand Jury Docs Released In Comey Case

By Brandon Lowrey

A Virginia federal magistrate judge Monday ordered the disclosure of all grand jury materials related to the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, saying government misconduct may have tainted the grand jury proceedings.

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DOJ Backs White House's Military Lawyer Transfers

By Courtney Bublé

A newly released legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice says the Trump administration is allowed to detail military lawyers to serve as immigration judges and special assistant U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia.

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Senator Slams Trump For 'Blowing Up' Wis. US Atty Process

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., accused President Donald Trump on Monday of skirting the process to nominate U.S. attorneys in Wisconsin with his pick of a failed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate for the office that covers Milwaukee.

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Law School Admission Council Pushes To Toss Antitrust Suit

By Andrea Keckley

The Law School Admission Council is continuing its push to toss a proposed class action accusing it of fixing application fees with its member schools, saying in a Pennsylvania federal court filing last week that the applicant's opposition to its dismissal motion "entirely fails to engage with the incoherence at the core of his case."

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Holyoak Leaves FTC For Interim US Atty In Utah

By Bryan Koenig

Melissa Holyoak left the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to become Utah's interim U.S. attorney, leaving the FTC down to two commissioners, both Republicans, in the Trump administration's latest use of interim U.S. attorney appointments.

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