Wash. Justices Say Privacy Act Doesn't Bar Hospital Pixel Use

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday the state's privacy act does not prohibit Seattle Children's Hospital from using web analytics tool Meta Pixel on its public-facing website, rejecting a group of parents' allegations that their browsing and search activity was illegally intercepted and sent to the Facebook parent company.

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

FDA Expects Mifepristone Safety Review Results By March

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration anticipates finishing its safety evaluation of mifepristone by March 2027, suggesting a longer horizon for its review of regulations allowing the abortion drug to be dispensed remotely, according to a report filed by the agency in Louisiana federal court.

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

Analysis

New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

By Phillip Bantz

The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Spikes Yale Health Workers' Vax Mandate Challenge

By Grace Elletson

The Second Circuit shut down a suit Thursday from workers who claimed Yale New Haven Health violated their rights by subjecting them to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying their constitutional claims were doomed by a lack of state involvement.

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

Taro Pharma Says MDL Deal Bars States' Duplicative Claims

By Lauren Berg

Taro Pharmaceuticals USA asked a Connecticut federal judge to toss generic-drug price-fixing claims brought by a coalition of states on behalf of consumers that are duplicative of claims the consumers have already resolved through settlements in separate multidistrict litigation.

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

2 More Sentenced In $11M Amtrak Health Fraud Scheme

By George Woolston

A former Amtrak employee and a New York podiatrist have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme that prosecutors claim defrauded the rail carrier out of $11 million in health benefits, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Clinics Settle False COVID-19 Billing Claims For $20M

By Spencer Brewer

Two Texas clinics under the same ownership have agreed to pay the government $20 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that they lied about COVID-19 billing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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

Mayne, Ascend Cut $1M Generic Price-Fixing Deal With States

By Gina Kim

Ascend Laboratories, Mayne Pharma and Citron Pharma asked a Connecticut federal judge Thursday to sign off on a settlement with a coalition of states resolving claims the companies were involved in an illegal conspiracy to fix prices and suppress competition for generic drugs in the United States. 

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

High Court Urged To Keep Prison Trans Care Ban Blocked

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court should decline the Trump administration's request to disturb a district court order barring the Federal Bureau of Prisons from enforcing a gender dysphoria care ban, a group of transgender individuals incarcerated in BOP facilities argued Thursday.

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

$13.4M Conn. Insurance Fight Won't Resume Amid Appeal

By Danielle Ferguson

A Connecticut judge won't lift a stay on a mother's lawsuit seeking to enforce a $13.4 million trial judgment over her son's death in a group home because the group home still has time to appeal a decision affirming the judgment.

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

Pa. Justices Urged To Toss $207M UPenn Med Mal Verdict

By Y. Peter Kang

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has pressed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed a record $207 million medical malpractice verdict, saying because no individual hospital employee was found negligent, the case improperly expands vicarious liability into an unprecedented "team liability" doctrine.

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

Humana Brass Face Derivative Suit Alleging Illegal Kickbacks

By Jarek Rutz

A Humana Inc. shareholder is suing 12 current and former company leaders in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they allowed the health insurer to pay more than $100 million in illegal broker kickbacks, to conceal worsening medical costs and Medicare Advantage plan quality, and to waste more than $1.5 billion buying back company stock at inflated prices.

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

Benefits Co. Wants Sanctions For 'Frivolous' TCPA Suit

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Florida-based dental insurance carrier has asked a Michigan federal judge to sanction a dental practice and its attorneys at Bock Hatch & Oppenheim LLC and Shenkan Injury Lawyers, saying they pursued a baseless junk fax class action for years that resulted in millions of dollars in defense costs.

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

Blinded Yale Patient Wants $6.6M On Top Of $15.1M Verdict

By Brian Steele

The conservator of an elderly woman who won a $15.1 million verdict from Yale New Haven Hospital after she was blinded during brain surgery has asked a Connecticut state court judge to add $6.6 million in interest because the defense rejected a settlement offer years before the trial.

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

Flint Hospital Accused Of Race Bias In Nurse Promotion

By Melanie Dorsey

A Black registered nurse has sued a Flint, Michigan, hospital and one of its administrators alleging she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a less-qualified white candidate after an administrator manipulated the interview process and predetermined who would receive the position.

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

Mich. Says Blue Cross Monopoly Ups Costs And Cuts Care

By Lauren Berg

The state of Michigan accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Co. in federal court Thursday of amassing an illegal health insurance monopoly in the state, allegedly driving up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for state businesses and patients.

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

Viatris To Buy Pacira BioSciences For $1.65B

By Al Barbarino

Viatris has agreed to acquire non-opioid pain treatment maker Pacira BioSciences for $1.65 billion, with Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP advising Viatris and Ashurst Perkins Coie representing Pacira, the companies said Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kirkland-Led Aphias Wraps Inaugural Fund At $1.05B

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Aphias Capital on Thursday revealed that it closed its inaugural fund with $1.05 billion in tow.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Genesis Healthcare Gets OK For Amended $1B Asset Sale

By Rick Archer

A Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday approved the sale of Genesis Healthcare's 175 care facilities after being told that the debtor had reached an amended deal with the buyer that will add $15 million in cash to the $1 billion Genesis was already slated to receive.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

IDScan Data Breach Puts Spotlight On Vendor Oversight

A recently reported breach that exposed millions of identification documents held by IDScan.net highlights the liability risks for businesses that contract with third-party identity processors, and emphasizes the importance of auditing vendors' data retention practices, say attorneys at Tucker Ellis.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Squire Patton, Holland & Knight Report Data Breaches

By Jake Maher

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Holland & Knight LLP were hit with cyberattacks exposing sensitive information, according to disclosures filed this week.

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

Up Next At High Court: Criminal Sentences & Video Privacy

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will close out its October sitting by hearing oral arguments in two cases that ask what level of deference federal district courts should give to commentary interpreting the federal sentencing guidelines, and what purchases are protected under a video consumer privacy statute.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Aims To 'Attack Fraud From All Angles' Via New Division

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division has issued fresh guidance on its prosecution methodology, with the division's head directing prosecutors to seize assets before indictments and pursue upward variances in sentencing guidelines in some cases as part of a stated push to use the division's "full arsenal of criminal statutes" in combating fraud.

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

Ill. Judge Lays Out Doc Demands For DOJ Misconduct Probe

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge asked the government Friday to turn over six months of communications and certain other records as she investigates in-court inaccuracies Chicago prosecutors offered while prosecuting six anti-immigration protesters, rejecting its request to seal a filing in the process.

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

Atty With False AI Citation Filings Ordered To Pay $39K

By Bonnie Eslinger

A New York federal judge who imposed case-terminating sanctions on an attorney who submitted filings with false citations generated by artificial intelligence ordered him on Friday to pay nearly $39,000 to lawyers who uncovered the problematic AI use, noting he had given them the "runaround" when they tried to collect directly.

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

Grassley Attacks Dems' Claims Of Rule-Breaking Over Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, clapped back at Democrats for their accusations that Republicans broke Senate rules during a hearing last week at which former special counsel Jack Smith appeared.

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

Calif. Jurists' Atty Tips: 'Emulate Lincoln,' 'Don't Be Boring'

By Bonnie Eslinger

Three current and former Northern California federal judges and one Morrison Foerster LLP partner during a Federal Bar Association panel discussion Thursday gave attorneys tips on "courtroom persuasion," including knowing the judges, keeping things interesting and, like the nation's 16th president, getting quickly to the winning point.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Legal Services NYC Gets $2.5M To Build Novel Resource Hub

By Tracey Read

Legal Services NYC announced Friday that it has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the New York State Interest on Lawyer Account Fund to create a first-of-its-kind statewide knowledge-sharing platform to help legal advocates spend more time seeking justice for low-income clients.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

The new federal fraud division is threatening faster action and broader targets under a new enforcement policy announced recently. And the SEC warned shareholder advocacy groups that join forces could face legal scrutiny in the future. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Alston & Bird LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Sixth Circuit overturned a pivotal decision in multidistrict opioid litigation that had dramatically expanded claims against the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen PrivatBank sue its former oligarch owner, building materials provider Kingspan face a €100 million ($112 million) claim over Grenfell Tower cladding and energy giants VaroPreem and Viaro Energy become embroiled in an intellectual property row.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »