Social Media Cos., Teens Spar Over Evidence Ahead Of Trials

By Rae Ann Varona

Social media companies and teens who allege the companies harmed their mental health sparred in California state court Tuesday over what evidence jurors will hear in an upcoming round of bellwether trials, including whether jurors should hear purported instances of domestic violence in the teens' home lives.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Admin Can't Use Anti-DEI, Citizenship Rules For Grants

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Rhode Island federal judge on Tuesday said the U.S. Department of Justice can't impose new conditions related to diversity, equity and inclusion activities and immigration status on domestic violence assistance grants, a ruling that sides with a coalition of states and nonprofits that challenged the restrictions.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Seek To Throw Out States' Challenge To DEI Contract EO

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration told a Maryland federal court that it should toss a lawsuit from states challenging its implementation of an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the government contracting space, arguing the order falls within well-settled law.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Hospital Escapes LGBTQ+ Bias Suit Over Fertility Benefits

By Patrick Hoff

An Atlanta-area hospital and health system defeated a lesbian nurse's lawsuit alleging she wasn't given the same access to fertility benefits as heterosexual employees, with a Georgia federal judge concluding that a magistrate misapplied the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster Bostock ruling when he recommended keeping the case in court.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DEA Judge Pauses Marijuana Rescheduling Over GAO Report

By Sam Reisman

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge on Tuesday paused consideration of a pending proposal to reclassify marijuana after opponents of cannabis reform said a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that regulators did not articulate the reasoning behind their recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EB-5 Visa Fees More Than Double For Individual Investors

By Elaine Briseño

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced increased filing fees Tuesday for the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program — more than double for individual investors — saying the higher price tag is needed to close a $48.4 million annual funding gap.

Final Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Puts FCA Target On Health Data Security Lapses

By Gianna Ferrarin

Government contractors that fail to protect personal health information are on the radar of U.S. Department of Justice officials looking to leverage the False Claims Act, attorneys told attendees at a health law conference in Washington, D.C.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fugitive Ex-Conn. Budget Official Seeks To Split Restitution

By Aaron Keller

A onetime Connecticut budget official now on the lam in Greece asked a federal judge Tuesday to postpone restitution until two admitted co-conspirators who testified against him are sentenced, arguing their plea agreements could force them to shoulder at least some of the costs of a school construction bribery scheme.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blinded Patient Wins $15.1M From Yale Hospital, Attys Say

By Brian Steele

An elderly woman who said she was blinded when an antiseptic solution dripped into her eye during brain surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital is owed $15.1 million in damages after prevailing in a Connecticut state court trial, her attorneys announced Tuesday.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lupin Strikes Deal In States' Generic Drug-Price Fixing Suit

By Gina Kim

Lupin Pharmaceuticals has reached a settlement with multiple states to resolve allegations that it conspired with G&W Laboratories Inc. to raise prices of the tuberculosis drug Ethambutol during a supply shortage years ago, according to a minute order entered in Connecticut federal court on Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cancer Patients Can't Get Class Status In Proton Beam Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Tennessee federal judge shot down a BlueCross BlueShield health plan member's bid for class certification in his suit claiming the insurer wrongfully denied coverage for a proton beam cancer treatment it deemed investigatory, stating the case would require too much individual math to assess each patient's potential damages.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

P&G Calif. Buyers Nab Class Cert. In Tampon Lead Suit

By Lauren Berg

A California federal judge Tuesday certified a class of consumers who allege that the Procter & Gamble Co. failed to disclose that its tampons contain unsafe amounts of lead.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Prejudice Question Bars Quick End To Negligence Deal Suit

By Hope Patti

A Washington federal court said it cannot definitively say whether an insurer must cover a healthcare management company's settlement with a nursing home resident, saying there is a genuine dispute about whether the carrier was prejudiced by its insured's decision to settle an underlying negligence suit without consent.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Surgical Robot Co. Says 9th Circ. 'Expands' Antitrust Law

By Bryan Koenig

Intuitive Surgical asked the full Ninth Circuit to reconsider a decision reviving a surgical repair company's claims that it blocked third parties from refurbishing components for its popular da Vinci surgery robot, arguing the panel created a whole new pathway to alleging monopolization of secondary markets.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bristol-Myers, Natco And More Can't Ditch Cancer Drug MDL

By Hailey Konnath

A New Jersey federal judge Tuesday refused to throw out sprawling antitrust multidistrict litigation over Celgene Corp.'s cancer drug Revlimid filed against Bristol-Myers Squibb, Natco Pharma, AbbVie and other pharmaceutical companies, ruling that buyers' pay-for-delay claims are plausible at this stage in the litigation.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Providence Tells Wash. Justices $230M Loss Upends CBAs

By Ben Adlin

Counsel for Providence Health & Services, Washington state's largest healthcare provider, urged the state's highest court on Tuesday to overturn workers' $230 million trial win over missed meal breaks, arguing that the judgment could put large employers at risk for complying with collective bargaining agreements.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Oura Cites Market 'Uncertainty' In Delaying Estimated $2B IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Fitness-tracking ring maker Oura on Tuesday revealed that it is delaying its planned initial public offering, citing "uncertainty in the IPO market," just a week after the company told U.S. regulators that it hoped to raise $2.1 billion in the public debut.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dallas Partner New Co-Head Of Norton Rose Healthcare Group

By Lynn LaRowe

Norton Rose Fulbright announced Tuesday that a longtime firm veteran based in Dallas has been named co-head of the firm's U.S. healthcare practice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Policy Creates New Defense For Physicians, Health Cos.

The U.S. Department of Justice's recently revised enforcement policy governing agency guidance makes clear that Medicare guidance is not the law, potentially giving healthcare organizations a stronger basis to challenge certain enforcement theories, says Jose Vela at Clark Hill.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Preparing For Broader Calif. Rules On PE Healthcare Deals

California's recent emergency regulations implementing expanded healthcare transaction review requirements, such as for private equity and hedge funds, represent a notable expansion of state oversight, including enhanced disclosures, wider definitions and new advance notice requirements, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$95M Nev. Case Provides Clues On Wound Care Enforcement

Federal prosecutors’ recent U.S. v. Dubin indictment, charging a Nevada physician with healthcare fraud over an alleged $95 million Medicare billing scheme involving amniotic wound allografts, provides a clearer picture of an increasingly data-driven enforcement strategy that follows the entire wound care transaction, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

Indictment attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Hub Hires: Mintz, Foley Hoag, Barclay Damon

By Chris Villani

Boston saw several significant moves across its legal landscape as the summer wound down, with Foley Hoag adding an experienced debt finance attorney from Goodwin Procter, a boutique white collar firm snagging a longtime federal prosecutor, and Mintz getting new leadership for the first time in nearly two decades.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Armstrong Teasdale Builds Chicago M&A Team With 2 Hires

By Tracey Read

Armstrong Teasdale LLP has expanded its corporate services group's Chicago presence with a new partner from Polsinelli PC and a counsel from McDonald Hopkins LLC, the firm announced Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Interim U. Of Fla. Law Dean Named To Permanent Role

By Madison Arnold

The University of Florida has selected its interim dean for the Levin College of Law, a former King & Spalding LLP attorney, to serve in the role on a permanent basis.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas AG Says ABA Stifling Law School Competition

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Attorney General announced an investigation into the American Bar Association relating to alleged anticompetitive conduct in the association's accreditation of law schools, claiming Wednesday that the ABA "weaponized its accreditation authority" to push "unconstitutional racial and gender preference requirements."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Atty Picked For Judgeship Probed On Fulton County Raid

By Courtney Bublé

A top U.S. Department of Justice official tapped for a federal judgeship faced questions from Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday about the department's investigation's in Fulton County, Georgia, over Trump's allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Accuses Judges Of Ethics Violations With Press Remarks

By Jack Karp

Several Minnesota federal judges ran afoul of their ethical obligations when they commented on President Donald Trump's immigration policies in a recent news article, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a judicial misconduct complaint filed Wednesday.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Leaders Of Smaller Firms Say Talent, Not Tech, Is Top Issue

By Daniel Connolly

Leaders of small to midsized law firms are expressing more concern about a longstanding problem, the cost of hiring and retaining talented attorneys, than they are about a new issue, the cost of AI and other technology, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blank Rome Seeks Time To Exit LIV Golf's Fla. Office

By Ben Zigterman

Blank Rome LLP on Wednesday filed a limited objection to LIV Golf's motion to reject its sublease at an office building in West Palm Beach, Florida, saying it didn't receive any advance notice and would like until the end of October to transition to a new office.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

The Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders: A Look At The Top Firms

Today's most prestigious firms attract top talent and marquee clients while posting record profits. Here's a look at the top 10 firms in this year's Law360 Pulse Prestige Leaders, a ranking of the firms that stand out for their prominence, power and distinction.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

3rd Circ. Calls Westlaw AI Fight 'Ordinary Copyright Case'

By Ivan Moreno

The Third Circuit said the first appellate fight over artificial intelligence training and fair use ultimately came down to an "ordinary copyright case," affirming that Ross Intelligence infringed Thomson Reuters' Westlaw headnotes when it used them to train a competing legal research platform.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »