HHS Narrows Health Benefits Available To Noncitizens

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced that immigrants living in the country without legal authorization and other noncitizens will no longer be eligible for benefits under Head Start and a host of other federal healthcare programs, based on the agency's reinterpretation of a 1996 social welfare law.

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AbbVie Pays Up To $2B For Oncology Licensing Agreement

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie Inc. on Thursday announced an up to $2 billion exclusive licensing agreement with Covington & Burling LLP-advised IGI Therapeutics SA for rights to its lead oncology and autoimmune diseases investigational asset.

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Genesis Healthcare Hits Ch. 11 With DIP Deal, Sale Plans

By Hilary Russ

Genesis Healthcare Inc., a holding company for rehabilitation centers and nursing homes in 18 states, and nearly 300 of its affiliates and subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 protection with at least $2 billion of liabilities, after the cost of litigation, tax back payments, a cyberattack and several other factors squeezed its cash flow.

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Penn Hospital Can't Escape Record $207M Med Mal Judgment

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday affirmed a record $187 million verdict and subsequent $207 million judgment in a suit accusing the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of causing a newborn's catastrophic birth injuries, saying the award did not "shock the conscience" given the evidence presented at trial.

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Chhabria's Privacy Ruling An 'Outlier,' Judge Tells Tech Giants

By Bonnie Eslinger

Google and Meta urged U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on Thursday to toss putative class claims alleging the companies unlawfully collected information from website users buying erectile dysfunction medication, pointing in part to a ruling on intent from her Northern District colleague, which the judge called an "outlier."

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Analysis

5 Employee Benefits Takeaways On The GOP Tax Bill

By Kellie Mejdrich

Congressional Republicans' sweeping tax and policy bill, which President Donald Trump sought and then signed, contains multiple provisions that caught the attention of employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including new changes to high-deductible health plans and an employer-side deduction limit affecting highly compensated employees. Here are five takeaways from employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys on what's in — and out of — the GOP megabill.

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Pa. Sens. Unveil Bipartisan Plan To Legalize Marijuana

By Sam Reisman

Pennsylvania lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a new bipartisan legislative proposal to legalize and regulate the sale of recreational marijuana in the Keystone State, after a previous proposal to legalize the sale of pot through state-run stores failed in the state Senate.

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Conn. Hospital Hit With $20M Wrongful Death Verdict

By Jonathan Capriel

A Connecticut state jury on Wednesday slapped an anesthesiologist group and Middlesex Hospital with a $20 million verdict, finding that they negligently ignored multiple signs that a patient was bleeding during and after a routine abdominal surgery.

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Brookdale's $1.9M Deal Ends Investor Suit On Understaffing

By Emilie Ruscoe

An investor in retirement home operator Brookdale Senior Living Inc. has gotten a final nod for a deal settling her understaffing claims against the company's executives and directors in exchange for corporate reforms and fees and expenses totaling $1.9 million for her legal team.

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DuPont Reaches $27M Settlement In NY PFAS Case

By Jonathan Capriel

The members of a proposed class of hundreds of residents whose drinking water was tainted by "forever chemicals" have told a New York federal judge that they've reached a $27 million deal with DuPont, ending claims that it is responsible for the contamination, putting the total settlements achieved at $92 million.

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Vax Refuser Tells Jury Red Cross Mandate Was 'Unsettling'

By Danielle Ferguson

A former nurse for the American Red Cross said the organization's requirement that employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine was "unsettling" to her and led to physical manifestations of stress, as she testified before a federal jury on Thursday that she believed receiving the injection went against her religious beliefs.

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Nursing Home Operator Faces Meal Break Suit In Pa.

By Irene Spezzamonte

A rehabilitation and nursing home operator automatically deducted 30-minute unpaid meal breaks from workers' time even though they were unable to take the breaks in full, a former employee for the company said in a proposed class action in Pennsylvania state court.

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Brief

Dentsply Investors Win Class Cert. Over Pandemic Issues

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge on Thursday certified a class of Dentsply Sirona Inc. investors who claim the dental health products supplier misled them about the extent of its pandemic-era woes.

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Brief

Ex-Executive Of Cannabis Co. Ascend Alleges Wrongful Firing

By Jonathan Capriel

A former executive at New York cannabis company Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. claims the company cheated him out of $400,000 in unpaid wages, stock payouts, and medical and dental coverage owed to him after it unceremoniously fired him, according to a lawsuit.

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Spotlight On Medicare Marketing Practices Enforcement Trend

Recent U.S. Department of Justice actions, including its recent Medicare kickback allegations in Shea v. eHealth, demonstrate increasing enforcement scrutiny on Medicare Advantage marketing practices, say Ellen London at London & Naor, Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz and Erica Hitchings at the Whistleblower Law Collaborative.

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Series

Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

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VC Giant Andreessen Rips Del. Courts, Plans Move To Nev.

By Rae Ann Varona

Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz on Wednesday announced plans to reincorporate in Nevada, saying that it was no longer a "no-brainer" to launch a company and incorporate in the historically corporate-friendly state of Delaware.

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Dems Say 3rd Circ. Nominee Urged DOJ To Ignore Courts

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee on Thursday unveiled 150 pages of documents, which they say substantiate whistleblower allegations against Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove and raise concerns about his conduct during his tenure at the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Another Atty Sanctioned For Allegedly Hallucinated Case Law

By Andrea Keckley

A Florida judge on Wednesday issued a blistering order against an attorney who became the latest of many to face sanctions over filings with case law suspected of being hallucinated by generative artificial intelligence, ordering him to take AI ethics courses and repay opposing counsel's fees.

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'Admonition' But No More Amazon Penalty For Hidden Docs

By Bryan Koenig

A federal judge in Washington state took Amazon.com to task Thursday for "bad faith" material review that labeled tens of thousands of documents as covered by attorney-client privilege despite involving no legal advice, but the judge, who is presiding over the Federal Trade Commission's Prime subscriptions case against the company, opted against further punishment.

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Trump Taps Holland & Hart Partner For Montana Bench

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump announced on social media Thursday he has chosen a Holland & Hart LLP partner and veteran government attorney to serve on the federal bench in Montana.

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Senate Tees Up 6th Circ. Nom Vote As 1st Of 2nd Trump Term

By Courtney Bublé

The first judicial confirmation of the second Trump administration was readied on Thursday, with the U.S. Senate voting 51-43 to end debate on the nomination of Whitney Hermandorfer to the Sixth Circuit.

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Judge Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Nationwide

By Britain Eakin

A New Hampshire federal judge on Thursday issued a nationwide block of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, and granted certification to a nationwide class that will cover all affected children born in the U.S.

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