Judge Questions FTC's Motive In Gender-Care Probe

By Jared Foretek

A federal judge in Washington said Tuesday he would have to balance any legitimate concerns about parents and children being misled on the issue of gender-affirming care with what appeared to be retaliatory motives behind Federal Trade Commission investigative demands to a pair of nonprofits.

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Calif. Dialysis Bill Violates 1st Amendment, 9th Circ. Says

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday struck down provisions of a California law that aims to restrict dialysis providers' ability to profit from patients receiving health insurance premium assistance from nonprofit charities, ruling in a published opinion that the provisions violated nonprofit American Kidney Fund's and dialysis providers' First Amendment rights.

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HHS Must Face States' Suit Over RFK's 'Dramatic Overhaul'

By Dorothy Atkins

A Rhode Island federal judge rejected Tuesday the government's bid to toss a group of states' lawsuit challenging Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "dramatic overhaul" of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, criticizing the government for rehashing jurisdictional arguments the court already rejected and finding the states' claims are plausible.

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Jury Awards $39.5M Over Discharged Psych Patient's Victims

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday hit a healthcare management company and a Pennsylvania hospital with a $39.5 million verdict, finding them liable for the deaths of four people who were murdered by a family member who was discharged from a psychiatric unit that failed to submit paperwork that would have prevented him from purchasing the gun he used to kill them.

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Minn. Can't Unfreeze $243M In Medicaid Funds, Judge Says

By Craig Clough

A Minnesota federal judge on Monday denied the state's preliminary injunction request to release $243 million in Medicaid funds deferred by the federal government during a fraud investigation, holding that the "unprecedented" size and scope of the deferral action doesn't mean the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services isn't legally cleared to pursue the action.

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Texas AG Says DOGE Data Led To Fraud Investigations

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas attorney general on Tuesday announced investigations into dozens of Medicaid providers across Texas, claiming that data from the Department of Government Efficiency led to the fraud allegations.

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Acadia Still On Hook For $9M Rehab Death Negligence Verdict

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a more than $9 million jury verdict against Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. in a suit stemming from the death of a patient at one of its addiction treatment centers, saying there was substantial evidence that the Marin County facility was negligently understaffed.

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Urban Hospitals Sue Over Lower Medicare 'Rural Floor'

By Crystal Owens

A slew of urban hospitals, including a dozen Indian Health Service entities, are asking a D.C. federal court to invalidate a two-year Health and Human Services wage index methodology for Medicare reimbursements, alleging it assigned lower adjustments for rural hospitals in their states.

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Mich. AG Says PBMs Can't Stall Discovery In Drug-Pricing Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

Michigan's attorney general is urging a federal court to reject a renewed bid by pharmacy benefit managers to pause discovery in an antitrust case accusing them of price-fixing reimbursement rates, claiming the companies are relying on exaggerated burden claims and an ordinary motion to dismiss that is unlikely to succeed.

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Ga. Panel Vacates $662K Interest On $2M Arbitration Award

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday vacated about $662,000 in interest that was tacked onto an arbitration award in a trade secrets dispute between two medical device companies, ruling that while the assessment of interest was justified, a trial court had miscalculated the total.

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Pa. Hospitals Accuse Aetna Of Underpaying Medicare Claims

By Hailey Konnath

Two Pennsylvania hospital operators have sued Aetna Health Inc. in federal court, alleging the insurer has been improperly denying Medicare Advantage claims for inpatient services, or underpaying, under a new policy.

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Data Breach Counsel Chided For Flouting NC Court Rules

By Abigail Harrison

Two attorneys looking to temporarily helm a series of putative data breach class actions targeting a radiology firm have failed to become interim co-lead class counsel, as a North Carolina Business Court judge chided them for not following rules and filing a procedurally deficient motion.

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NY Fertility Clinic Agrees To Settle Suit Over Destroyed Eggs

By Y. Peter Kang

Less than a month ahead of trial, a New York fertility clinic has agreed to resolve a suit accusing it of negligently allowing a woman's eggs to be destroyed due to alleged mishandling, according to documents filed in New York federal court.

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Insurer Premera Accuses Clinic Of Misusing No Surprises Act

By Ben Adlin

Premera Blue Cross sued a weight loss clinic on Monday in Washington federal court saying it abused a federal law aimed at safeguarding patients from unexpected medical bills in order to shake down the insurer for exorbitant amounts of money — as much as 10 times what Premera pays in-network providers.

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5 Firms Advise On Gilead's Up To $5B Tubulis Acquisition

By Al Barbarino

Gilead Sciences Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire German clinical-stage cancer biotechnology company Tubulis for up to $5 billion, in a deal steered by five law firms.

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DC Circ. Skeptical Ex-Steward CEO Could Skip Senate Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

A D.C. Circuit judge told the attorney for the embattled former CEO of Steward Health Care on Tuesday that she couldn't comprehend how his client could invoke his Fifth Amendment rights without showing up to his scheduled appearance before a Senate committee.

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BakerHostetler Adds Davis Wright Privacy Pro In LA

By Gina Kim

BakerHostetler announced Tuesday it has welcomed data privacy litigator Spencer Persson from Davis Wright Tremaine to its digital assets and data management practice group as partner, bringing in years of experience handling high-stakes privacy matters that will beef up the firm's privacy and digital risk class action and litigation team. 

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Senior Housing Demands A Distinct Dealmaking Playbook

An aging population and evolving state regulations underscore a critical reality that senior housing assets can undergo operational or compliance shifts during dealmaking, highlighting the need for unique contractual safeguards like expanded disclosures, anchored notice obligations, and targeted closing conditions and remedies, say attorneys at Goodwin.

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Legal Theories In Social Media Verdicts Hold Clues On Impact

Although the two verdicts in cases in New Mexico and California involving Meta and Google are being lumped together, they rest on fundamentally different legal theories, and that distinction determines how their effects may be felt in other jurisdictions, says Mark Morgan at Day Pitney.

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DLA Piper Offered Pregnant Atty 'Dignified' Exit, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former DLA Piper associate who claims she was unlawfully fired after announcing her pregnancy was offered a chance to transition out of the firm "without anyone knowing that her work was subpar," a partner told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday.

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Spencer Fane Adds 75 Attys Through Tie-Up With Okla. Firm

By Tracey Read

Missouri-headquartered Spencer Fane LLP announced Wednesday that it plans to combine with Southwest firm Conner & Winters LLP on July 1 in its largest tie-up to date and its third already in 2026.

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AEG, BigLaw Atty In Hot Seat As Live Nation Trial Nears End

By Stewart Bishop

Live Nation on Wednesday concluded its defense case with glowing testimony about it from the manager for rap star Drake, while the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the case said rival company AEG Worldwide and a Hogan Lovells lawyer may face sanctions for revealing confidential information about a witness.

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DOJ's Lead Google Attys Both Leave Agency Same Day

By Bryan Koenig

The lead attorneys on both of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division's monopolization cases against Google left the agency Wednesday or said they would be doing so.

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Mich. Federal Judge Pleads No Contest In Drunk-Driving Case

By Gina Kim

A Michigan federal judge pled no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge in Emmet County court in connection with an incident where he crashed his Cadillac and registered a 0.27% blood alcohol level, apologizing and saying he "looks forward" to continuing his judicial service.

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ABA, State Bars Blast DOJ Proposal To Block Bar Probes

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association and a chorus of state and local bar groups have come out against a proposed rule that would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to pause and review state-level ethics complaints against its attorneys, calling the proposal "unlawful and unconstitutional."

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ABA Rates Montana Judicial Pick 'Not Qualified'

By Courtney Bublé

Katie Lane, senior legal counsel at the Republican National Committee who has been tapped for a federal judgeship in Montana, is the first nominee to receive a majority "not qualified" rating by the American Bar Association in the second Trump administration.

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NY Panel Backs DLA Piper's $482K Fee Win In Malpractice Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

A New York appellate court affirmed Tuesday the dismissal of a Chinese software company's legal malpractice suit against DLA Piper, along with a $482,000 sanctions order against the company and its counsel, noting that the company's frivolous claims also drew a $635,000 sanctions ruling in "mirror" federal court litigation.

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Bondi To Skip Epstein Deposition After DOJ Cites AG Exit

By Courtney Bublé

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not sit for her scheduled deposition next week on the Epstein files now that she has left the role, and the Justice Department has asked the House Oversight Committee to withdraw its subpoena.

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Trump Asks NY's Top Court To Toss AG's 'Flawed' Fraud Case

By Lauren Berg

President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked New York's highest court to throw out New York Attorney General Letitia James' "deeply flawed" civil fraud judgment entirely after a lower appellate court tossed what it called an "excessive" $489 million penalty against the president, his sons and his real estate companies.

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