1st Circ. Sees Gaps In Order Halting RFK's Vaccine Advisers

By Carolyn Muyskens

A First Circuit panel on Tuesday puzzled over aspects of a lower court's order staying Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointments to a vaccine policy committee, with one judge saying he can't tell what authority the order was based on.

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AstraZeneca Takes Drug-Pricing Law Challenge To 4th Circ.

By Hailey Konnath

AstraZeneca on Monday asked the Fourth Circuit to resurrect its suit challenging how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines which drugs are subject to the landmark drug-pricing program, arguing that CMS is dodging limits on how many drugs can be selected by grouping some together.

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Dentists Can't Avoid Delta Dental MDL

By Bryan Koenig

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation held that dentists pursuing five new lawsuits against Delta Dental and its network cannot avoid the Illinois federal court MDL accusing the insurance giant of anticompetitively carving up markets and driving down reimbursements.

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FDA Accuses 10 Retailers Of Selling Unapproved STI Meds

By Dan McKay

Federal regulators have accused Amazon, Walmart and other online retailers of selling unapproved drugs to treat herpes and other sexually transmitted infections, according to warning letters disclosed to the public Tuesday.

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Justices Won't Hear Ex-Theranos Exec's Conviction Challenge

By Emily Field

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former executive of the blood-testing startup Theranos, of his criminal fraud conviction and nearly 13-year prison sentence,

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7th Circ. Judge Hints Precedent Dooms Worker's Vax Fight

By Anne Cullen

A Seventh Circuit judge appeared disinclined Tuesday to restart a religious discrimination suit brought by a hospital pharmacy technician who was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, emphasizing that the same employer's recent win in a similar appeal is "binding authority."

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Texas Justices To Review Law Firms' Paxil Fees Fight

By Lynn LaRowe

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to wade into a battle between two law firms over fees generated from litigation involving the antidepressant Paxil, with the dispute centering on application of the personal injury exemption in the state's anti-SLAPP statute.

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Neurosurgeon Group Says It Fixed Anthem Unit Antitrust Suit

By Bryan Koenig

A Long Island neurosurgery practice told a New York federal judge that it has provided all the details the court found missing when it tossed a previous complaint accusing an Anthem unit of anticompetitively driving down reimbursement rates.

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Anthem BCBS Accused Of Failing To Reimburse 7 Hospitals

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is facing claims in Georgia federal court filed by acute care hospitals in six states alleging the insurer failed to cover claims at agreed-upon rates and denied claims for reasons not allowed by their contracts.

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Pharma Sales Rep. Says Taking Cancer Leave Got Him Fired

By David Aaro

A former sales representative has filed a disability bias suit against a pharmaceutical company in Georgia federal court, claiming he was unlawfully fired after a kidney cancer diagnosis made him take leave and delayed a product launch.

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Roundup

NC Biz Court Bulletin: Monopoly Suit Setback, Historic Deal

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court rounded the corner into fall with a setback for residents in an antitrust class action, a historic settlement in "forever chemical" contamination litigation and a raft of new restrictive covenant complaints.

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Brief

CVS Can't Get Second Shot At Tossing Investors' AI Use Suit

By Jessica Corso

A New York federal judge on Tuesday declined to give CVS another opportunity to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of inflating its revenues through the use of artificial intelligence. 

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Brief

Colo. Hospital Employee Asks For Class Cert. In OT Suit

By Zach Dupont

An employee of a Colorado hospital is seeking class certification in her proposed collective action accusing the hospital of shorting employees' pay by deducting 30-minute meal breaks from paychecks despite allegedly requiring employees to work through the breaks. 

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4 Firms Advise On $5.8B Option Care Health Take-Private Deal

By Al Barbarino

Private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice and healthcare company McKesson Corp. said Tuesday they have agreed to acquire Option Care Health for $5.8 billion, taking the largest U.S. independent provider of home and alternate-site infusion services private.

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Contact Lens Rule's Evolution Steers FTC Guidance Program

The history of the Federal Trade Commission's Contact Lens Rule illustrates the goals of the FTC's recently announced guidance program, which aims to strengthen consumer protection and safeguard competition, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

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AG Watch: Texas Takes A Lone State Stand Against Tech Cos.

A look at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent actions against Meta Platforms and Amazon.com illustrates how Texas is distancing itself from multistate coordination, offering practitioners a crucial perspective on navigating individual state actions amid coordinated attorney general litigation, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

By Courtney Bublé

A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

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3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

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Cornell Hires Ex-Deputy AG Yates To Lead Internal Review

By Christine DeRosa

Following widespread public outrage over how a former student's rape allegations were handled, Cornell University has hired former deputy U.S. attorney general and King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates to lead an internal review of its policies and procedures.

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Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

By Dani Kass

Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

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Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

By Spencer Brewer

Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

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DOJ Says 12-Juror Rule Would Cause Unwarranted 'Upheaval'

By Brandon Lowrey

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to uphold precedent allowing states to use juries of fewer than 12 people in serious criminal cases, saying overruling it could unsettle thousands of convictions and force many states to change their criminal procedure laws.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Panter On Mediating Vs. Judging

By Cara Bayles and Kelley Marcano

When attorneys come before retired Judge Michael Panter, a former circuit court judge in Cook County, Illinois, they sometimes forget that he is not there to decide their cases, but to resolve them.

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UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

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