Conn. Seems Open To Limits On Drug Price Cap Enforcement

By Aaron Keller

The state of Connecticut suggested Tuesday that drug sales to the state were not the same as drug sales "in this state" as defined by state law, a stance drug manufacturers promised to leverage in their efforts to block an impending drug price cap.

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Mistrial Declared In Fla. Opioid Case Against Pharmacies

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge declared a mistrial following a hung jury after two weeks of deliberations in a lawsuit brought by hospitals alleging that Walmart, Walgreens and CVS pharmacies negligently doled out painkillers and contributed to the opioid crisis. 

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4th Circ. Probes Limit Of HIV-Positive Military Hopefuls' Suit

By Abigail Harrison

A federal appellate judge on Tuesday repeatedly pressed an attorney representing people who were denied admission to the U.S. military due to an HIV diagnosis, asking him to explain why his argument wouldn't force the U.S. Department of Defense to accept anyone with a medically controlled, chronic condition.

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Analysis

Hagens Berman's Novel DOJ Referral May Have Chilling Effect

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge's unusual decision to refer prominent plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman LLP to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation over its pursuit of claims related to morning sickness drug thalidomide could have a chilling effect on lawyers' advocacy, law professors and attorneys said.

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Fla. AG Targets Pediatric Org. In Gender-Affirming Care Suit

By Hannah Albarazi

The office of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued the American Academy for Pediatrics along with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society in Florida state court Tuesday for allegedly misleading the public about the safety of gender-affirming care for minors.

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IRS Provides Guidance On Health Savings Account Expansion

By Asha Glover

The IRS provided guidance Tuesday on new tax benefits for Health Savings Account participants, including a provision making bronze and catastrophic plans available through the Affordable Care Act marketplace HSA-compatible, even if they don't meet the definition of a high-deductible health plan.

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Insurer Says Whistleblower Stole Docs In Medicare FCA Case

By Chris Villani

An insurer accused of running a kickback scheme to steer customers to its Medicare Advantage plan is seeking to question the whistleblower that sparked the False Claims Act suit, telling a Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday that he snapped unauthorized photos of company files.

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Del. Justices Uphold Contract Bar On CityMD Merger Claims

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court Tuesday affirmed the Chancery Court's dismissal of minority investors' claims tied to the 2023 merger of urgent care operator CityMD and Summit Health with Walgreens-controlled VillageMD, siding with private equity group Warburg Pincus and holding that the dispute is governed by contract rather than fiduciary-duty principles.

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Fertility Clinic Can't Nix Claims It Gave Data To Google, Meta

By Gina Kim

An Illinois fertility clinic must face a proposed class action alleging it invades patient privacy by sharing their personal information and website activities with Google and Meta without consent, after a federal judge has said the plaintiff has standing since the exposure of her private information is a concrete, particularized injury. 

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US Asks 5th Circ. To Revive ACA Employer Tax Penalties

By Kat Lucero

The IRS properly penalized a janitorial services company for failing to provide employees with healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. government said, urging the Fifth Circuit to reverse a Texas federal court ruling that voided regulations promulgating the penalties.

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Wash. Justices To Review Immunity In $2.3M Ambulance Case

By Ben Adlin

Washington's highest court on Tuesday said it will review a $2.3 million verdict over a cancer patient's death in an ambulance crash, agreeing to consider what the ambulance operator called a "double standard" in an appeals court ruling that it said would grant immunity to crews transporting patients experiencing mental health crises, but not those in need of physical care.

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USAA Says Class Action 'Impossible' In Medical Billing Suit

By Ben Adlin

Two USAA units are fighting class certification in a lawsuit accusing the insurer of underpaying auto crash-related medical bills through the use of third-party claims software, arguing the patients' healthcare claims are too dissimilar to be litigated as a group.

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NJ Hospital Calls Ex-Executive's Bias Claims Deficient

By Carla Baranauckas

A Garden State hospital is urging a state judge to toss major portions of a discrimination and retaliation suit filed by its former chief strategic integration and health equity officer, arguing that her claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination fall short as a matter of law.

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J&J Expert Tells Jury Women's Cancer Can't Be Traced To Talc

By Craig Clough

A University of San Diego gynecologic oncologist told a California jury Tuesday in a bellwether trial over claims that Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused two women's ovarian cancer that it is "impossible" to conclude why any particular person contracts the deadly disease. 

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Medical Appliance Co. Seeks Coverage For SEC Investigation

By Mark Payne

A Connecticut-based medical device technology company told a federal court that its insurer wrongfully denied coverage for an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging in a new lawsuit that the federal government's inquiry into the company's insured members triggered its directors and officers policy. 

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PE-Backed Medical Supplies Giant Medline Eyes $5B IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity-backed medical supplies behemoth Medline has outlined terms for its long-awaited initial public offering, telling U.S. regulators that it plans to raise about $5 billion in what would mark the largest IPO of 2025.

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Teleflex To Divest Multiple Units In Deals Topping $2B

By Al Barbarino

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP-advised Teleflex Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to sell several units to private equity firms Montagu and Kohlberg, and to Britain's Intersurgical Ltd., for a combined $2.03 billion in cash.

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Calif. Nonprofit Hospital Hits Ch. 11 Looking To Sell

By Vince Sullivan

California's Oroville Hospital and its parent company filed for bankruptcy Monday, listing more than $100 million of debt and saying it needs the protections of Chapter 11 to complete a value-maximizing sale of its facilities.

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How MAHA Is Taking Shape At The State Level

The national spotlight on the federal government's Make America Healthy Again movement is bolstering state-level actions regarding potential health impacts of certain food ingredients, increasing the difficulty and importance of maintaining effective compliance programs, say attorneys at Cooley.

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AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Bonus Spotlight

MoFo, Kellogg Hansen Exceed Prevailing BigLaw Bonus Scale

By Anna Sanders

Morrison Foerster LLP and boutique law firm Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC both recently unveiled above-market bonuses, according to a MoFo in-house memo and a media report. 

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Trustee Says Winston & Strawn Is Liable For $1.7B Fintech Bust

By Lynn LaRowe

The trustee of the bankrupt self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi said Winston & Strawn LLP shouldn't be allowed to escape a malpractice lawsuit over the company's $1.7 billion failure, saying the firm was a knowing participant in the allegedly unlawful activities of its then-CEO.

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Consulting Co. Says Law Firms' Malpractice Cost It $10M

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado consulting company told a state court that an Am Law 200 firm and a now-dissolved law firm committed legal malpractice that cost the company $10 million in a lending transaction. 

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Uber May Win Sanctions On Atty Who Disclosed MDL Docs

By Bonnie Eslinger and Mike Curley

A California federal judge said Tuesday it appeared an attorney for plaintiffs claiming Uber failed to protect passengers from sexual assault "acted in a cavalier manner" with a protective order in the multidistrict litigation, but didn't rule on Uber's requests for monetary sanctions nor its bid to kick the attorney off the plaintiff steering committee.

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Brief

Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

By Courtney Bublé

Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

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DOJ Says It Could Indict Comey Again

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it may once again seek charges against ex-FBI Director James Comey, asking a D.C. federal judge to dissolve a temporary restraining order that bars prosecutors from using evidence seized from Comey's former attorney.

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Analysis

FERC's Fate Uncertain As Humphrey's Executor Teeters

By Keith Goldberg

The future of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may hinge on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will remake its 90-year-old precedent that protects members of independent agencies from being fired at will by the president.

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Senate Confirms 3 Judges For La., Miss.

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed three judicial nominees Tuesday for federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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