Meta Makes $17B Deal With States Over Child Harms

By Matthew Santoni

Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and enact reforms to Facebook and Instagram to resolve sprawling social media addiction claims, in the midst of a high-stakes bellwether trial over whether the company hid or downplayed its platforms' allegedly harmful impact on minors, state enforcers say.

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

2nd Circ. Says Shield Law Covers Doctor In COVID Death Suit

By Brian Steele

The Second Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the dismissal of a Connecticut estate's malpractice suit alleging a doctor negligently prescribed high doses of prednisone to an elderly COVID-19 patient who subsequently died of organ failure, finding the suit is barred under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.

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

7th Circ. Holds High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, backing a lower court's holding that the rule was in line with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

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

NJ Can't Force Access To ICE Detention Center, Feds Say

By Madeline Lyskawa

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has pressed a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Garden State's health commissioner seeking access to a Newark immigration detention center, saying whether state officials can inspect the facility is up to the federal government.

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

Anderson Cooper Can't Get Doctor's Suit Tossed

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge on Wednesday denied CNN's Anderson Cooper another bid to toss a pediatric doctor's lawsuit alleging defamation over stories on infant mortality rates at his hospital, saying a jury must decide whether Cooper played a significant role in the reporting. 

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

Feds Aim To Give Employers Clarity On Wellness Programs

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies on Wednesday issued guidance on employer wellness programs that permit fees on workers' health premiums for things like tobacco use, which the agencies said was in response to legal questions raised by numerous recently filed class action federal benefits lawsuits.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Officials Rebuff Challenge To Vape Ban

By Jonathan Capriel

There's no chance smoke shops and retailers will come out on top in a lawsuit seeking to undo a Massachusetts ban on certain tobacco products, the state said when urging a federal judge to reject calls to block enforcement, saying too many appeals courts have sided with similarly situated states.

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

Bankrupt Villages Health System Agrees To $541.5M FCA Deal

By Hailey Konnath

Florida-based The Villages Health System has agreed to shell out more than $541.5 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false diagnosis codes to get more money from Medicare, conduct that it disclosed itself, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.

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

Humana Keeps Conspiracy Claims Against Mylan, Lannett

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A federal judge refused to grant Mylan and Lannett summary judgment on claims in Humana's suit alleging a conspiracy to fix the prices of generic drugs ahead of its bellwether trial, calling it premature and noting that the other parties did not join the motion.

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

Idaho Abortion Ban Relief Narrowed To 1 Doctor

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Idaho federal judge walked back his recent order barring the state from enforcing its near-total abortion ban in certain health-related circumstances, finding that precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court supported a narrower injunction.

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

Healthcare Cos. Must Face Whistleblower's PPP Fraud Suit

By Sarah Jarvis

A New York federal judge has dismissed a bid to toss a compliance consultant's whistleblower suit against a trio of home healthcare companies for alleged fraud under the government's Paycheck Protection Program, rejecting the companies' arguments that her claims should be barred because she is not an original source of information.

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

Group Says HHS Can't Cut Certain Immigrants' Medicaid

By Ganesh Setty

A Seattle-based community organization accused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of misinterpreting the 2025 federal budget bill, telling a Washington federal court it cannot strip Medicaid benefits away from noncitizens receiving Supplemental Security Income.

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

Fla. Panel Lets Law Firm Appeal Bid For Doc's Income Files

By Madison Arnold

Florida's Third District Court of Appeal on Wednesday granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Law Offices of Adorno-Cunill & Damas PL in a malpractice case brought against it resulting from a divorce proceeding.

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

Judge Punts $9.9M Lien Fight In 'Take Care Of Maya' Row

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida judge said Wednesday he would take up the breach of fiduciary duty claims filed by Maya Kowalski, the subject of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya," against her former counsel before addressing the attorney's $9.9 million charging lien for the work he did representing her at trial.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Eton's Galzin TM And False Ad Suit Survives Dismissal Bid

By Ivan Moreno

Eton Pharmaceuticals can proceed with trademark infringement and false advertising claims accusing Extreme V of marketing a dietary supplement as a Wilson disease treatment, with a Michigan federal judge finding that Extreme V's defenses and factual challenges could not dispose of the case at the pleading stage.

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

Target's ERISA Win Doesn't Ax Tobacco Surcharge Questions

Though a Minnesota federal court's recent dismissal of a putative class action challenging Target's tobacco surcharge wellness program offers employers a defense road map, courts' differing conclusions about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act versus U.S. Department of Labor requirements leave the legal landscape unsettled, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

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

Youth Center Investigation Shows Rising Governance Scrutiny

A recent New Hampshire attorney general report following its investigation into the state's Sununu Youth Services Center shows how organizations serving vulnerable populations can face scrutiny of their governance, safety practices and preparedness, even when investigators find no abuse, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Exclusive

Inside The $150M Immigration Contract That Wasn't

By Daniel Connolly

The leader of a small Houston-based law firm says she was "blindsided" by an announcement from the federal government that her 24-attorney shop had won a $150 million no-bid contract to represent thousands of immigrant children in deportation proceedings.

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

ABA Faces Uphill Battle To Remain As Law School Accreditor

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council responsible for accrediting law schools is fighting on multiple fronts to retain its status as a nationwide accreditor, fending off challenges at both the federal and state levels.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

By Courtney Bublé

With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

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

Google Users' Atty Fee To Be In 'Realm' Of $147M, Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't give the full $147 million in fees sought by lawyers who won a $425 million class action verdict against Google for unlawfully collecting user information, but he said their "really excellent lawyering" deserves an amount "within that realm."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Womble Bond Asks To Drop Dutch Software Client Over Rift

By Hayley Fowler

Womble Bond Dickinson is looking to pull its representation of a Dutch software company after five years of a bitter trademark battle, citing a "fundamental disagreement" that has allegedly made it impossible for the firm to move forward as counsel of record.

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