4th Circ. Backs W.Va.'s Trans Care Coverage Exclusion

By Grace Elletson

The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday that West Virginia's Medicaid coverage exclusion for gender-affirming care passes constitutional muster and does not discriminate based on sex, basing its conclusion on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

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CVS Can't 'Relitigate' Price-Gouging Class Cert.

By Bryan Koenig

A Rhode Island federal judge refused to narrow the certified classes of health plans alleging CVS schemed with pharmacy benefit managers to overcharge insured health plans for generic drugs, finding that PBM Express Scripts' refusal to produce its contracts changes nothing about how the classes will be assessed.

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Lab's Aetna Payment Suit Survives, But With Deep Cuts

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Connecticut federal judge ruled Aetna and its parent company, CVS Health Corp., must face a pared down lawsuit from a medical laboratory alleging it is owed $20.6 million in unpaid invoices.

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AFSCME Sues Trump Admin Over $600M Health Funding Cuts

By Katherine Smith

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is seeking to block a federal government directive to cancel more than $600 million in public health grants administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alleging that the directive was issued to target Democratic-led states.

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FDA To Consider Coffee, 'Spice' E-Cig Flavors

By Emily Field

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday indicated that it would be willing to consider e-cigarette flavors shown to be less attractive to youth, like coffee or spices, a move that's come under fire from public health advocates.

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Wash. To Set Its Own Vaccine Schedule Under New State Law

By Dan McKay

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed legislation that requires health plans to cover vaccines and other preventive care recommended by the state rather than the federal government, joining a movement toward states setting their own recommendations.

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Former Conn. Prosecutor Can Stay On Generic-Drug Case

By Matthew Santoni

Connecticut's former assistant attorney general can continue to represent insurers Humana and Molina Healthcare Inc. in multidistrict litigation over alleged price-fixing of generic drugs, after the Pennsylvania federal judge overseeing the case agreed Monday with a report that the attorney has no information that had not already been shared.

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Liberty Mutual Says Mich. Clinics Ran RICO Billing Scheme

By Melanie Dorsey

Liberty Mutual has sued a group of Michigan medical providers, a physician and related businesses, claiming the collective ran a coordinated no-fault billing scheme that steered auto accident patients through affiliated providers to generate unnecessary medical bills.

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2nd Circ. Revives Geico's Suit Over Acupuncture Referrals

By Mark Payne

A lower court erred in granting summary judgment to Geico after the insurer sued over reimbursements to an acupuncturist involved in what Geico said was a kickback scheme, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, finding the district court misinterpreted a state law detailing requirements for referrals and no-fault payments. 

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Wash. Justices Seem Open To Palestinian's Racial Bias Claim

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court appeared somewhat receptive on Tuesday to a Palestinian patient's argument that an unfavorable jury verdict in her medical malpractice trial was tainted by racism, with several justices concerned that the defense had described the accused doctor as "from this part of the world" during openings.

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UnitedHealth Must Reveal Nitty-Gritty In Claim Denial AI Case

By Hannah Albarazi

A Minnesota federal judge has ordered UnitedHealth Group to hand over discovery on the secretive algorithm it uses to manage Medicare Advantage claims, ruling Monday that the insurer must disclose internal records detailing whether the technology was designed to override the clinical judgment of doctors.

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Sanofi Says Judge Botched Insulin Device Patent Listings

By Bryan Koenig

Sanofi-Aventis sparred with drug wholesalers over a Massachusetts federal magistrate judge's pronouncements that the parties should go to trial on claims the pharmaceutical giant used improper insulin device patent listings to anticompetitively protect the blockbuster Lantus insulin pen from competition.

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Medtronic Expands Vascular Device Line With $550M Deal

By Al Barbarino

Medtronic said Tuesday it will acquire privately held Scientia Vascular for about $550 million, strengthening its portfolio of devices used to treat stroke and other neurovascular conditions.

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Judge Urges Resolution In NY Nursing Home Ch. 11

By Ben Zigterman

A New York bankruptcy court Tuesday pushed back the disclosure statement hearing in the Chapter 11 case of Long Island nursing home operator Cold Spring Acquisition, after the debtor said it is continuing to negotiate with its official committee of unsecured creditors over the administration of its liquidation plan.

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Opinion

Fed. Circ. Must Bury Design Patent Doctrinal Zombies

After recently finding noninfringement in Range of Motion Products v. Armaid, the Federal Circuit must rehear the case to confront two troublesome doctrines of design patent law claim construction — feature filtration and claim verbalization — that have lingered for decades and intensified in recent years, say attorneys at McAndrews Held.

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Drug Wholesaler's DPA Shows Imperfect Efforts Still Count

Atlantic Biologicals’ recent deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors for allegedly distributing controlled substances to pill mill pharmacies demonstrates that even subpar cooperation, when combined with genuine remediation and strategic advocacy, can yield outcomes that protect a company's long-term interests, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

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H-1B Registration Tips For New Wage-Weighted Selection

Practitioners participating in this year’s H-1B visa registration, currently underway, must understand that under the new wage-weighted selection process that replaced the random lottery, the crucial first step is choosing the correct standard occupational classification, says Jimmy Lai at Lai & Turner.

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Lessons From Justices' Split On Major Questions Doctrine

The justices' varied opinions in Learning Resources v. Trump, which held the International Emergency Economy Powers Act did not confer the power to impose tariffs, offer a meaningful window into the U.S. Supreme Court's perspective on the major questions doctrine that will likely shape lower courts' approach to executive action challenges, say attorneys at Venable.

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Military Attys In DOJ 'Erodes Democratic Norms,' Ex-JAGs Say

By Lauren Berg

Nearly a dozen former military lawyers raised the alarm about the Trump administration appointing judge advocate officers to U.S. attorneys' offices, urging a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to bar an Army lawyer from prosecuting a case that accuses a civilian of assaulting federal immigration enforcement agents.

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DOJ Official Faces Ethics Case Over Georgetown DEI Letters

By Alison Knezevich

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin has been hit with disciplinary charges in the nation's capital over threatening letters he sent to Georgetown University Law Center last year while he was interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

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Dems Confront Roberts At Wide-Ranging Judiciary Gathering

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top administrator voiced "serious and urgent concerns" Tuesday regarding threats of retribution against judges, a warning that coincided with a judicial gathering where Democrats discussed security fears and controversial U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

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Prosecutor Resigns, Judge Shows Slide Deck On AI Errors

By Abigail Harrison

A federal prosecutor told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that he was separating from the office after admitting in open court to using artificial intelligence to help draft a response brief, which he called "the worst decision I've ever made in my 30-year career."

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Calif. Atty Gets Over 11 Years For Solar $1B Ponzi Scheme

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has sentenced a corporate attorney to 11 years and five months behind bars after he pled guilty to nearly two dozen charges for his role in DC Solar's $912 million Ponzi scheme, which duped major investors including Berkshire Hathaway, Progressive and SunTrust Equipment Finance & Leasing.

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Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Admits Tax Crimes, Will Pay $2.8M

By Aaron Keller

A former Moses & Singer LLP partner admitted to practice in New York and North Carolina courts has pled guilty to three counts of failing to file personal income tax returns and will pay $2.8 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Monday.

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Judiciary Approves Supreme Court Public Defender Office

By Katie Buehler

The federal judiciary approved a new office Tuesday aimed at improving the quality of representation for indigent defendants with cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

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Judge Fumes As Live Nation Antitrust Trial Remains In Limbo

By Stewart Bishop

The status of Live Nation Entertainment's antitrust trial and proposed settlement over federal and state government claims of anticompetitive conduct remained up in the air Tuesday amid pushback by several states, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case upbraided the parties for keeping him out of the loop about negotiations.

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DOJ Unveils Superseding Policy For Corporate Criminal Cases

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released its first-ever, department-wide, corporate enforcement policy for criminal matters, outlining how it will decline to prosecute companies that voluntarily disclose misconduct, cooperate with investigators and remediate wrongdoing.

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DLA Piper Can't Rep Itself At Bias Trial, Fired Atty Says

By Pete Brush

DLA Piper should not be permitted to represent itself at trial in a pregnancy discrimination case brought by a senior associate who was fired in 2022, lawyers for the plaintiff told a Manhattan federal judge.

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Judge Nixed Over MAGA Op-Ed Seeks Reinstatement

By Emily Sawicki

A retired Illinois state trial court judge pursuing First Amendment claims against the state Supreme Court after his right-wing opinion column resulted in his removal from a temporary judgeship has moved for immediate reinstatement to the Cook County Circuit Court.

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Wisconsin Judges Decline To Extend Interim US Atty's Term

By Courtney Bublé

A majority of judges in the Eastern District of Wisconsin have declined to extend the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, according to an announcement Tuesday.

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J&J Opposes Beasley Allen Reinstatement Bid In NJ Talc Fight

By Emily Sawicki

Johnson & Johnson is urging the New Jersey Supreme Court to not take the "extraordinary step" of intervening in an appellate panel ruling that disqualified Beasley Allen from representing hundreds of women in product liability litigation against the pharmaceutical giant after the Georgia-based firm "knowingly collaborated" with a former Johnson & Johnson outside counsel.

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