Analysis

Using FCA To Go After DEI Poses Legal Hurdles For DOJ

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Trump administration's use of the False Claims Act to go after DEI policies diverges from past administrations' use of the civil fraud statute to tackle policy initiatives in key ways that may pose legal challenges to enforcement.

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FTC's Gender-Care Probe Likely Retaliatory, Judge Says

By Nadia Dreid

The Endocrine Society has convinced a D.C. federal judge that the Federal Trade Commission's motivation for targeting it with a subpoena was likely retaliation for the guidelines the nonprofit produced regarding gender-affirming care.

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Ex-NFL Player Gets 16-Plus Years For $200M Healthcare Fraud

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge sentenced a former NFL player to more than 16 years in prison for his role in a fraud conspiracy in which he and others bilked government health insurance programs out of nearly $200 million in a scheme using fake doctors' orders for orthotic braces that weren't medically necessary. 

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Judge Probes Cert. For Diverse Worker Class In No-Poach Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge considering whether to certify a class of former health care employees claiming their wages were suppressed by alleged no-poach agreements between DaVita, UnitedHealth Group's Surgical Care Affiliates and Tenet Healthcare Corp. unit United Surgical Partners International questioned Friday if the group of senior-level workers was too diverse for class treatment.

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White House Defends Pardon Process Following Dem Inquiry

By Courtney Bublé

The White House says it has a "rigorous" review process for pardons following an investigation launched by Democrats into possible corruption.

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Care Provider Says Medicare Wrongly Denied Reimbursement

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia wound care practice slapped the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with a suit in federal court challenging a reimbursement denial for a Medicare beneficiary's ulcer treatment, arguing the "skin substitute" therapy it employed was medically necessary.

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Ohio Health System Looks To Toss DOJ Antitrust Case

By Matthew Perlman

OhioHealth told a federal court Friday the antitrust case from the U.S. Department of Justice and state enforcers over the hospital system's contracts with insurers would limit competition, not restore it.

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Minnesota Foster Parents Ask Justices To Revisit ICWA Fight

By Crystal Owens

Two foster parents are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act after the Minnesota Supreme Court determined they don't have standing to take on the bedrock law on claims of constitutional equal protection rights, telling the justices that the case "cries out for certiorari."

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4th Circ. Backs Toss Of Fired Worker's Whistleblower Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal Friday of a home health salesperson's suit claiming he was fired out of retaliation for complaining about sexual comments made at a company picnic, ruling the lower court used the correct legal standard to throw out his case.

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Walgreens Loses Atty Sanctions Bid In Georgia Bias Suit

By Madison Arnold

The attorney for a former pharmacist suing Walgreens for discrimination has escaped a sanctions bid after a Georgia federal judge found the chain gave the lawyer too little time to respond to a motion to dismiss claims.

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6th Circ. Backs Ex-Fed Worker's Long COVID Benefits Denial

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Sixth Circuit backed a win for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, its long-term disability plan, and a benefit management company in a former Cleveland Fed employee's suit seeking additional benefits for long-haul COVID symptoms, holding a lower court properly applied New York state contract law in reaching its decision. 

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Tort Report: Tesla's Legal Exposure Seen As High As $14.5B

By Y. Peter Kang

A new report stating that Tesla faces billions in legal liabilities and a $140 million football brain injury verdict against the NCAA 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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Covington, Cooley Lead Drugmaker Odyssey's $279M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Venture-backed biotechnology firm Odyssey Therapeutics began trading publicly Friday after raising $279 million in its initial public offering, making it the latest biotech to hit the public markets over the last few weeks.

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Don't Miss It: Paul Hastings, V&E Steer Latest Hot Deals

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions and equity fundraising over the course of a couple weeks, and it's difficult to keep up with all the deals.

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Carbon Health Gets $11M DIP Hike As Mediation Continues

By Ben Zigterman

A Texas bankruptcy judge Friday approved $11 million in additional Chapter 11 financing for urgent care facility operator Carbon Health Technologies as talks continue between parties in the case.

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The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

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Ex-Wachtell Lipton Atty Tied To Stolen BigLaw Info Trades

By Chris Villani

A former Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz attorney who later worked for investment bank LionTree LLC is an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping alleged insider trading scheme that involved stolen information from several prominent law firms, according to a review of publicly available information.

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Legal Industry Bounces Back, Gaining 2,400 Jobs In April

By Tracey Read

The legal sector is once again on a positive trajectory, gaining 2,400 jobs last month, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Top Atty In DOJ Appeal Over Law Firm Exec Orders To Depart

By Jake Maher

The lead federal prosecutor on the Trump administration's appeal to reinstate executive orders targeting four law firms is stepping down from his government role at the end of May, he publicly announced this week.

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DLA Piper Accused Of 'Frivolous' Suit To Please Chipotle GC

By Gina Kim

DLA Piper aggressively litigated a "frivolous" computer fraud lawsuit against a nonprofit volunteer in order to appease the then-general counsel of Chipotle, a client, who referred the case to the firm, according to a malicious-prosecution complaint filed Thursday in California state court. 

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Prosecutor Faces Probe Into Withheld Immigration Case Info

By Bonnie Eslinger

The lead assistant federal prosecutor for Rhode Island's civil division is under investigation for allegedly withholding information in an immigration case, according to an order from the Ocean State's top federal judge.

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Prosecutors Oppose Move To Put Off Goldstein Sentencing

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors are claiming that SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein may have violated his pretrial release conditions when he racked up over $1.7 million in gambling income last year, telling a federal judge not to delay sentencing for the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Morrisons sued by a former logistics partner, EDF and Cripps LLP face a claim brought by a family estate near Hinkley Point C and a former BBC broadcaster file a defamation claim against a Welsh news site over articles linking her to Russian state media and conspiracy theories. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits section said agency investigations will focus on benefit plan managers' loyalty conflicts, including pursuit of socially conscious goals. Meanwhile, Dell became the latest company to consider Texas as its new legal home. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a split Seventh Circuit panel rejected the Trump administration's argument that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

By Adam LoBelia

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.

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