'Substantially Impaired' Main Topic Of Medicaid Rule Hearing

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge pressed the Trump administration Thursday on its argument that Congress intentionally left it with the task of defining who is considered too medically frail to comply with Medicaid work requirements set to take effect in January.

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Gilead Reaches $45M Settlement To End Kickback Claims

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Office of the Attorney General on Thursday announced that pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc. signed off on a $45 million settlement to end claims that the company ran an illegal kickback scheme in order to get prescribers to favor its medications.

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DOJ Tackles Largest-Ever Sham Drug Treatment, Other Frauds

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced criminal charges against 15 people in several alleged healthcare fraud schemes in the Los Angeles area, including what prosecutors called the largest substance abuse treatment fraud ever prosecuted by the federal government.

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NJ Panel Lets Nursing Home Arbitrate Resident Death Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New Jersey state appeals court on Thursday declined to disturb an order forcing a widow to arbitrate medical negligence and wrongful death claims against a nursing home, agreeing it didn't waive its right to arbitration by participating in litigation for over a year.

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DEA Judge Will Not Reopen Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing

By Jonathan Capriel

The coalition fighting marijuana legalization won a partial victory after a Drug Enforcement Administration's administrative law judge on Thursday allowed into the record a U.S. Government Accountability Office report the group championed but denied new testimony on it, saying the report "speaks for itself."

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J&J Says Justices' Denial Backs Tossing Fee Suit At 3rd Circ.

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson told the Third Circuit Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision not to take up a group of executives' federal benefits dispute backed its position in an appeal from J&J workers who alleged their health plans were saddled with excessive prescription drug fees.

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CMS Hit With Another Broker Suit Over ACA Registration Bar

By Gianna Ferrarin

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has been hit with another suit by health insurance brokers alleging the agency is unlawfully blocking them from registering to help individuals find Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage for plan year 2027.

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Mylan Settles Connecticut's EpiPen Price Claims For $8M

By Brian Steele

Mylan Pharmaceuticals has struck another deal to resolve claims that it illegally inflated prices for EpiPens, this time settling Connecticut state enforcers' allegations of antitrust and consumer protection law violations for $8 million.

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Hospital Tells DC Circ. Talks Tainted Nurses Union Election

By Braden Campbell

A hospital urged the D.C. Circuit to reverse a National Labor Relations Board decision affirming its obligation to bargain with the Oregon Nurses Association, saying the board misapplied precedent when it excused the union's campaigning immediately before a representation election.

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Judge Says BCBS' Evidence Ask In Ford Case Too Late

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal judge on Thursday denied Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's motion to compel Ford Motor Company to produce emails from a senior director, ruling that the health insurer waited too long to make the request in the antitrust suit.

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Full 9th Circ. Won't Review Surgical Robot Antitrust Fight

By Gina Kim

The full Ninth Circuit declined to reconsider an appellate panel's recent decision reviving a surgical repair company's antitrust suit alleging Intuitive Surgical blocked third parties from supplying parts for its popular da Vinci surgery robot, according to an order issued Thursday.

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Zimmer Biomet Can't Slip Sales Rep Kickback Claims

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge has ruled that Zimmer Biomet can't avoid a whistleblower's claims that commissions it paid to independent contractors to sell orthopedic products to surgeons were unlawful kickbacks.

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Series

Being In The Peace Corps Made Me A Better Lawyer

When I served in the Peace Corps, the people of the West African village where I was stationed helped me acclimate to my new surroundings and enabled me to develop problem-solving, teamwork and empathy skills that have bolstered my legal practice far beyond the ability to offer technical advice, says Brian Bewley at McGuireWoods.

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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'Grave Errors': 5th Circ. Boots Judge After AI 'Botch Job'

By Jeff Overley

A Mississippi federal judge's careless use of artificial intelligence tools led to "sloppy edicts" riddled with "falsehoods and fabrications," the Fifth Circuit held in a Thursday night opinion removing the judge from litigation over an anti-DEI law in the Magnolia State because of his "extraordinarily grave errors."

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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