Albertsons, Safeway Owe Wash. $900M Over Opioid Diversion

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary must pay $900 million for helping fuel Washington state's overdose crisis by failing for years to prevent the diversion of opioid drugs, a Seattle judge ruled Thursday, finding that the pharmacy chains regularly failed to follow their own policies aimed at ensuring prescriptions were legitimate.

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Analysis

Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government before whistleblowers do, which could backfire in some cases, according to experts.

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Judge Pauses Ban On New ACA Insurance Brokers

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge on Thursday paused a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule barring new insurance agents and brokers from signing up to sell plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2027, holding that HHS likely had to solicit public comment before issuing the rule.

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Anthem Seeks $160M For Alleged Autism Therapy Scheme

By Rae Ann Varona

Elevance Health and its Anthem-affiliated entities are seeking at least $160 million in damages from in-network autism-therapy provider Perfect Child, alleging in New York state court that Perfect Child fraudulently steered Anthem members toward out-of-network shell companies and "bullied" parents out of questioning the alleged bait-and-switch scheme.

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MVP: Sidley's Jaime Jones

By Mark Payne

Jaime L.M. Jones of Sidley Austin LLP helped Novo Nordisk land an unprecedented unanimous jury verdict in a $1 billion False Claims Act case over an alleged kickback scheme, earning her a spot as one of the 2026 Law360 Healthcare MVPs. 

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11th Circ. Backs Order Requiring Clearer Fla. Medicaid Notices

By Carolina Bolado

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that Florida's notices to residents cutting their Medicaid coverage were so confusing that they violated the enrollees' due process rights by depriving them of a chance to challenge the decision.

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Federal Workers Seek To Halt Gender-Affirming Benefits Ban

By Patrick Hoff

Two federal employees urged a D.C. federal court to block President Donald Trump's administration from eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care from their 2027 health benefits, arguing thousands of people will be harmed unless the court steps in before open enrollment ends.

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HHS Seeks To End Suit Over Aid Recipient Data Sharing

By Yeji Jesse Lee

The Department of Health and Human Services is asking a New York federal judge to either rule in its favor or otherwise throw out a suit focused on whether HHS is allowed to share personal information with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies.

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Aetna Loses Arb. Bid In Hospitals' Inpatient Pay Policy Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

Aetna Health Inc. can't force two hospital operators to arbitrate their challenge to its inpatient reimbursement policy, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding the suit seeks equitable relief and thus falls under an exemption in the insurer's arbitration agreements.

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Ex-Sales Leader Violated 'Secrecy' Pact, J&J Ortho Unit Says

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson's orthopedic device unit DePuy Synthes alleged in New Jersey federal court that a former national sales leader's move to a rival violates several of his employment agreements, asking the court to order expedited discovery and block him from contacting any of its customers.

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Invitae Privacy Suit Must Get OK From NJ Bankruptcy Judge

By Rick Archer

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge said Thursday he will need to see more evidence to resolve an "ambiguity" over whether class action privacy claims against genetic testing company Invitae Corp. belong in his court.

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Ill. Firm Accused Of Pushing Workers' Comp Deal On Client

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois woman who says she suffered permanent spinal injuries while working in healthcare has sued Chicago law firm Gordon Gordon & Centracchio, alleging it pressured her into accepting an inadequate workers' compensation settlement rather than pursuing permanent total disability benefits and failed to investigate potential medical malpractice claims.

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Brief

Wash. To Pay $73K In Fees Under Pretrial-Exam-Delay Deal

By Ganesh Setty

Washington state must pay plaintiffs' counsel roughly $73,000 in attorney fees and costs in a long-running case over its treatment of pretrial detainees in criminal proceedings, a Washington federal judge has ruled.

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Brief

$12.9M Deal Ends Anthem Mental Health Coverage Suit

By Grace Elletson

A New York federal judge gave his blessing Thursday to a $12.9 million deal Anthem struck to resolve a suit claiming the insurance company violated federal benefits law by denying coverage for residential behavioral health treatment it deemed medically unnecessary.

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Health Plan Sponsors Must Inspect 3rd-Party Admin Payments

A newly filed class action against Cigna spotlights issues surrounding how self-funded group health plan fiduciaries pay their third-party administrators, and the outcome could shape what plan sponsors are expected to know about such compensation structures, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Alston & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Goodwin Procter Real Estate Pros

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added two real estate attorneys previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Friday.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Japan's Anderson Mori Plans 2-Office Spring Launch In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Japan's Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is planning to enter the U.S. market next year with offices in Dallas and Houston, citing the Lone Star State's status as a business hub and client demand from global and Japanese businesses as factors driving the expansion.

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WilmerHale Rehires Treasury Official, Former Counsel In DC

By Jack Rodgers

A former Treasury Department official who worked as the agency's undersecretary for domestic finance has rejoined WilmerHale's financial institutions group as a partner, the firm announced Friday.

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Brief

Goldberg Segalla Adds Retail And Hospitality Partner In NJ

By Matt Perez

Goldberg Segalla LLP announced it has hired a former Reilly McDevitt & Henrich PC attorney to be a partner in its retail and hospitality practice group.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Blank Rome Partner, Hotel Founder Disputes $15.6M Tax Bill

By Zak Kostro

A Blank Rome LLP partner who founded a luxury boutique hotel in Italy told the U.S. Tax Court the IRS improperly determined he owes roughly $15.6 million in taxes and penalties, disputing the agency's assertion that his hotel operations didn't qualify as a business for purposes of claiming expenses.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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Judge Kewalramani Warns Against Taking Sanctions Lightly

By Dani Kass

Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Shashi Kewalramani on Friday cautioned patent attorneys to be extremely discerning when filing sanctions motions, comparing it to crying "fire" in a crowded room.

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