Albertsons Had Duty To Curb Opioid Diversion, Judge Rules

By Ben Adlin

As providers of controlled substances, pharmacy giants Albertsons and Safeway had legal duties to prevent the diversion of opioid drugs, a Washington state judge ruled on Monday, though whether the companies failed to fulfill those duties will be determined at trial.

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DC Circ. Says Military Trans Ban Flouts Constitutional Rights

By Bonnie Eslinger

A divided D.C. Circuit panel Monday said the Trump administration illegally banned transgender individuals from military service, then narrowed a preliminary injunction to prevent the government's exclusion of transgender people presently serving in the military but not those desiring to enlist.

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DOJ Says Ohio Health System Can't Duck Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

The U.S. Department of Justice defended its antitrust case accusing OhioHealth Corp. of blocking competition through its contracts with insurers, telling an Ohio federal court the health system is depriving consumers of lower-cost health plans.

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Plaintiffs' Counsel In Tylenol MDL Agree To $50K Donation

By Gianna Ferrarin

A plaintiffs' attorney and law firm sanctioned in multidistrict litigation alleging prenatal exposure to acetaminophen can cause autism agreed to donate $50,000 to maternal health organization March of Dimes in lieu of paying attorney fees, according to a letter filed Monday in New York federal court. 

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NFL Benefit Plans Vow To Reset 'Race Norming' Test Scores

By Alex Lawson

The NFL's disability and retirement plans have agreed to reassess former players' cognitive health to settle a sweeping class action accusing the plans of muting the results based on race.

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High Court Turns Away Health Workers' Vaccine Mandate Case

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Supreme Court declined a bid for review Monday from workers who said a nonprofit healthcare system and Washington state violated their rights by issuing COVID-19 vaccination mandates, leaving in place a Ninth Circuit ruling that said their case didn't pass muster.

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Justices Skip CareDx's Bid To Revive $45M False Ad Award

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a challenge to a Third Circuit decision that wiped out a nearly $45 million false advertising award against Natera Inc., preserving a ruling that said proof of actual consumer deception is required to support damages.

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La. Sends Psychedelic Therapy Research Bill To Governor

By Sam Reisman

Louisiana lawmakers have given final approval to a bill to establish a psychedelic-assisted therapy program under the state's health department.

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Conn. Alters Pot Tax, Gives Cities Aid To Cut Property Taxes

By Jaqueline McCool

Connecticut will change its cannabis tax structure, provide funding to local governments for property tax reductions and make other tax changes under a 2027 budget bill signed by the governor.

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TriZetto, Infosys Fight Each Side's CEO Deposition Bids

By Ivan Moreno

Cognizant TriZetto Software Group and Infosys Ltd. have filed dueling motions to block depositions of each other's top executives in a trade secret lawsuit over allegations that Infosys misused confidential access to TriZetto's healthcare software to build competing products.

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Insurer Says No Coverage For Va. Medicaid Billing Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Argo Group unit told a Virginia federal court it isn't on the hook for two suits alleging a provider of therapeutic services for children and adolescents cheated Medicaid out of millions of dollars and transferred assets to avoid paying creditors.

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Roundup

NC Biz Court Bulletin: Referee Tapped, CEO To Be Deposed

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court rounded out May by appointing a discovery referee in a healthcare antitrust class action and ordering the deposition of a top executive in a trade secrets battle, in addition to fielding a new complaint alleging unpaid capital contributions for a captive insurance company.

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Judge Trims Dental Patent Case, But Keeps Patent Alive

By Adam Lidgett

A Delaware federal judge has refused to invalidate a pair of dental patents that medical technology companies Align Technology and Medit Corp. were accused of infringing, but did agree to narrow the case.

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11th Circ. Won't Stop Joint Hearing In Depo-Provera MDL

By Carolina Bolado

A group of Delaware plaintiffs who say Pfizer's hormonal contraceptive Depo-Provera causes brain tumors can't block a joint evidentiary hearing with a Florida federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation over the same claims after the Eleventh Circuit denied their petition Monday.

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Abbott Labs Spinal Cord Device Causes Shocks, Suit Claims

By Emily Field

A New Jersey man said in a suit filed in Garden State federal court on Friday that Abbott Laboratories' spinal cord stimulator system was manufactured with defects that were never truly resolved because of Abbott's mischaracterization of the issue, which caused him painful electric shocks.

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Brief

Abortion Protester Denied 2nd Shot At Jury Trial In 4th Circ.

By Parker Quinlan

The Fourth Circuit has decided not to rehear an appeal over whether a South Carolina abortion protestor should be given a new trial after the court previously affirmed his conviction for blocking the doors of a clinic.

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Epstein Becker Adds 6 Manatt Phelps Litigators

By Kevin Penton

Epstein Becker Green has added six litigators experienced in commercial and healthcare matters who previously worked for Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP in its Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., offices, the firm announced Monday.

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Jones Day Adds Former SDNY Civil Frauds Unit Co-Chief

By Hailey Konnath

Jacob Bergman, the former co-chief of the Southern District of New York's Civil Frauds Unit, has joined Jones Day as a partner in the firm's healthcare and life sciences practice group in New York, according to a Monday announcement.

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Calif. Ruling Lowers Bar For Health Data Breach Claims

The California Supreme Court's ruling in J.M. v. Illuminate Education offers protection for non-healthcare companies that maintain health-related data but also adopts a new and more plaintiff-favorable standard for breach of confidentiality that companies maintaining any health-related data should address, say attorneys at Cooley.

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30-Year Foreign Service Leader Joins Squire Patton In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Squire Patton Boggs LLP has hired the State Department's former acting assistant secretary for Near East Affairs, who was also the first U.S. special envoy for Yemen and throughout his more-than-30-year career with the agency held posts in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and other countries.

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Brief

Holland & Knight Taps Real Estate Partner To Lead Portland

By Tracey Read

Holland & Knight LLP has elevated a real estate and business attorney who helped launch the firm's Seattle location to executive partner of its Portland, Oregon, office.

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Milbank Raises Associate Pay Scale, Topping Out At $455K

By Kevin Penton

Milbank LLP is increasing associate pay by $10,000 to $20,000 annually, with new salary floors of $235,000 and pay reaching as high as $455,000 for more experienced attorneys, according to the firm.

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Dentons Brings On K&L Gates Litigation Duo In Miami

By Madison Arnold

Dentons US LLP has expanded its commercial litigation capabilities in Miami with a duo from K&L Gates LLP.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Arias Sanguinetti's Mike Arias

By Joyce Hanson

When she was team captain with a track and field scholarship at the University of Southern California in the 1990s, Nicole Haynes was in good health and rarely had to see a doctor. So when she got a bad stomachache and her friends encouraged her to visit the USC health center, Haynes said she didn't have the right words to explain why her experience with Dr. George Tyndall had felt so invasive and wrong.

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Bipartisan Bill Would Modernize Court Records Systems

By Matt Perez

U.S. Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday jointly introduced the Open Courts Act, which they said would modernize the court records systems PACER and CM/ECF.

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BigLaw Could Tap PE Money For Advantage In Talent Wars

By Ryan Boysen

BigLaw firms may soon partner with private equity to gain an edge in the talent wars, potentially reshaping the U.S. legal industry despite fears that the shift could corrode firms' cultures.

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Senate Confirms Montana, Kansas Judges

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate confirmed judges Tuesday for Montana and Kansas, one of whom was the first judicial nominee of the second Trump administration to receive a "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association.

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Dem AGs Slam Climate Science Removal From Judicial Guide

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary's decision to strike a chapter on climate change from its guide to scientific evidence is misguided, partisan and "will impede the judiciary's ability to pursue truth," according to a Tuesday letter from nearly two dozen Democratic state attorneys general.

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Exclusive

Cooley Launches Global Hearings Practice As Scrutiny Rises

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Cooley LLP has established a global hearings and inquiries practice to help companies prepare comprehensive strategies as they face increased regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions, the firm exclusively told Law360 on Tuesday.

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DOJ Won't Move Forward With $1.8B Fund, Blanche Confirms

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday, "we're not moving forward" with the controversial $1.8 billion settlement fund.

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NC Dem. Lawmakers Introduce Gov't Transparency Bills

By Emily Sawicki

Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina on Tuesday introduced a trio of bills focused on governmental transparency, including a proposal to reform an "increasingly partisan and secretive" judicial standards commission and another to reinforce separation of powers, blocking the state's general assembly from infringing on the governor's authority.

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