9th Circ. Panel Largely Upholds Block On Feds' Grant Terms

By Rachel Riley

A divided Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday mostly upheld an injunction blocking the Trump administration from imposing new grant restrictions on transportation and housing funding for dozens of local governments, concluding federal agencies likely overstepped their authority by barring the money from being used to promote "gender ideology" or "illegal immigration."

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AIDS Org 'Had Its Chance' To Sue Express Scripts, Judge Says

By Bryan Koenig

Express Scripts convinced a Missouri federal judge Tuesday to dismiss an AIDS Healthcare Foundation antitrust suit the judge said was precluded by a rejected earlier case in the same district raising the "same facts and circumstances" accusing the pharmacy benefit manager of imposing lower reimbursement rates on specialty pharmacies.

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Judge Allows Hospital Groups To Fight AbbVie 340B Suit

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge will allow hospitals and health center groups to intervene on the side of the government as it fights AbbVie's challenge to the definition of "patient" in the 340B drug discount program, ruling that the providers would suffer concrete financial harm if the pharmaceutical company's interpretation prevails.

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23andMe, Calif. Spar Over Data Claims In Bankruptcy Court

By Alex Wittenberg

The bankruptcy trust for DNA testing company 23andMe and the state of California locked horns Tuesday over the debtor's plan to trim the size of claims that the state has asserted over a data breach in 2023.

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Marijuana Rescheduling Critics Assail Government's Standard

By Sam Reisman

An attorney with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told an administrative law judge that opponents to cannabis rescheduling could not use agency hearings to challenge federal health regulators' adoption of a new standard for assessing marijuana's medical use.

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Ed Dept. Must Turn Over Records In Mental Health Grants Row

By Danielle Ferguson

A Washington federal judge Monday partly granted a group of states' bid for expedited discovery in their suit over the Trump administration's attempt to cut nearly $1 billion in funding for K-12 mental health grants, finding the information could assist the court before a hearing for a preliminary injunction.

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Drugstores Beat Sun Pharma's $10M Racketeering Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge threw out Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc.'s suit against a group of pharmacies alleging they engaged in a criminal, years-long racketeering scheme that resulted in it paying more than $10 million in refunds for short-dated pharmaceutical products, ruling that the pharmacies were improperly joined together.

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Geico Says NJ Top Court Upends 3rd Circ. Arbitration Ruling

By Danielle Ferguson

Geico urged a New Jersey federal court to reject medical clinics' bid to dismiss remaining claims in a lawsuit alleging they fraudulently billed no-fault patients, saying that a recent state supreme court ruling bolsters the insurer's argument that complex insurance fraud claims do not belong in arbitration.

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Pharmacy Asks Court To Toss Novo Nordisk Semaglutide Suit

By Spencer Brewer

A pharmacy asked a Texas federal judge to toss claims brought by Novo Nordisk Inc. accusing the pharmacy of illicitly compounding a lucrative weight-loss drug called semaglutide, saying Novo Nordisk's complaint amounts to a grievance list against the compounding industry.

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Target Says Wash. Law Blocks Baby Formula Botulism Claims

By Mike Curley

Target Corp. is asking a Washington federal court to throw out claims against it by parents who say their infant child developed infant botulism after eating baby formula purchased at the store, saying the Washington Product Liability Act protects retail sellers from such claims.

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Asbestos Firm Objects To Connecticut's New Suit Filing Plan

By James Boyle

A Connecticut plaintiffs firm specializing in mesothelioma litigation has asked a Superior Court administrative panel to reconsider a decision to move all asbestos cases to the Complex Litigation Docket in Hartford.

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6th Circ. Urged To Affirm Tobacco Fee Suit Toss

By Kellie Mejdrich

A trade group representing large employee benefit plan administrators wrote in support of insurance giant Progressive at the Sixth Circuit, asking the appellate court to back dismissal of a proposed class action alleging the insurer wrongfully charged workers more for healthcare who used tobacco and refused COVID-19 vaccination. 

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Tort Report: Mass. Jury Delivers Record Amazon Crash Verdict

By Y. Peter Kang

A record personal injury verdict against Amazon in a crash case and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's upcoming sex abuse trial lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Steward Plan Trust Sues Insurers Over D&O Coverage Denial

By Emlyn Cameron

One of two trusts established under Steward Health Care's Chapter 11 plan has sued a gaggle of insurers in an offshoot lawsuit, saying the insurers were withholding half the coverage due to former directors and officers in another adversary case.

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Ex-Taro Exec Slips Some Generics Price-Fixing Claims

By Carla Baranauckas

A Connecticut federal judge gave a former Taro Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. marketing executive a partial victory in generic drug price-fixing litigation, tossing several claims by state attorneys general but allowing others to proceed after finding that a jury could conclude he joined certain conspiracies.

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7-Eleven Reaches Deal To End Worker's Tobacco Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

7-Eleven struck a deal to settle a proposed class action claiming it didn't give workers who used tobacco but agreed to quit an adequate chance to avoid paying a $720 annual health plan fee, according to a filing in Texas federal court.

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Health Exec Says CFO, Atty Knew Wage Claim Was Wrong

By MJ Koo

A former corporate officer has sued his ex-colleague and the colleague's attorney in Connecticut state court, alleging they named him as a personal defendant in a federal wage lawsuit without any factual basis and with the intent to pressure his company into settling claims it disputed.

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McKesson Snags Precision Medicine Group In $2.25B Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Healthcare services provider McKesson Corp., advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, on Tuesday unveiled plans to acquire clinical research and biopharmaceutical commercialization services business Precision Medicine Group for roughly $2.25 billion.

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Court OKs New England Medical Network's $850K ERISA Deal

By Emily Brill

A New Hampshire federal judge has signed off on an $850,000 settlement to claims that a New England medical center network violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, bringing an end to a class action filed in 2022.

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Genesis Says Ex-Brass Used Trade Secrets To Build Rival

By Emily Lever

Genesis Healthcare on Tuesday filed an adversary complaint against a former executive of Genesis subsidiary LTC ACO LLC accusing her of stealing company documents and trade secrets to form a rival company.

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Cooley Life Sciences Atty Joins Foley & Lardner In San Diego

By Adrian Cruz

Foley & Lardner LLP announced that a life sciences attorney with over 30 years of experience has jumped to the firm's San Diego office as a partner from Cooley LLP.

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Vedder Adds Benefits And Exec Comp Pro From Winston Taylor

By Kellie Mejdrich

Vedder has added a seasoned employee benefits and executive compensation partner from Winston Taylor LLP to join its practice as a new shareholder in Chicago, where she will advise clients on a wide range of retirement, health and welfare benefits issues, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Ex-DOJ Fraud Attys Switch To Civil Focus At Boutique Firm

By Phillip Bantz

Criminal fraud prosecutors commonly pursue careers as white collar defense lawyers after exiting the U.S. Department of Justice, but a group of ex-DOJ lawyers who have recently joined national litigation boutique AXS Law Group are embarking on a path less traveled.

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How 'Most Favored Nation' Regime Affects Biopharma Deals

As M&A activity surges in the biopharma space, companies will need to account for the Trump administration's most-favored-nation pricing proposals — durable in concept, if unsettled in detail — when drafting deals, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

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Where DOJ's Fraud Priorities Memo May Actually Matter

The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently released memo outlining priorities for its newly created fraud division will shape how cases are identified, staffed and sequenced, meaning white collar defense work must begin earlier, say David Tarras at Tarras Defense and Trevor Jones at Dynamis.

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What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Pillsbury Settles Ex-Recruiting Director's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has settled a Black former director's suit claiming the law firm fired her weeks after she shared that she was pregnant and would need accommodations, according to a Tennessee federal court filing.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Prosecutors Say Goldstein Must Stay Behind Bars

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to keep convicted Supreme Court attorney Thomas Goldstein behind bars while he appeals his conviction, arguing that he remains a serious flight risk with wealthy overseas connections and "an ongoing danger" whose tax crimes continued "even after conviction."

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Arizona Atty Reprimanded For Series Of AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Arizona federal judge has formally reprimanded a lawyer who admitted to filing four briefs that contained errors including false quotes and a faulty case summary generated with artificial intelligence amid an employment discrimination suit, noting the lawyer previously faced sanctions on two separate occasions for violating court rules.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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