Local New York governments can't keep dozens of suits alleging two of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers contributed to the opioid epidemic in state court, a Second Circuit panel held Wednesday, finding the litigation alleges "indivisible" federal and non-federal conduct by the PBMs.
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

2nd Circ. Says PBM Opioid Crisis Suits Belong In Fed. Court

By Gianna Ferrarin

Local New York governments can't keep dozens of suits alleging two of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers contributed to the opioid epidemic in state court, a Second Circuit panel held Wednesday, finding the litigation alleges "indivisible" federal and non-federal conduct by the PBMs.

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States Sue To Block Medicaid Ban On Youth Gender Care

By Dan McKay

Twenty state attorneys general on Wednesday challenged the Trump administration's plan to halt Medicaid funding for minors' gender-affirming care, alleging the move would violate federal law and usurp congressional power over government spending.

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Colo. Exits Pharma Group's Challenge Of Drug Discount Law

By MJ Koo

A Colorado federal court has thrown out a pharmaceutical industry trade group's challenge of a state law requiring drug manufacturers to sell discounted drugs through contracted pharmacies, finding the group failed to show the law conflicts with federal law or controls business activity beyond Colorado's borders.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

Danish Researcher Pleads Guilty To CDC Grant Money Theft

By Kelcey Caulder

A Danish researcher who spent more than 14 years as a fugitive from U.S. authorities pled guilty Tuesday to operating a wire fraud scheme that diverted more than $1 million in grant money intended to fund overseas research into autism and other developmental disorders.

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LITIGATION

Hims & Hers Investor Sues Over FTC Privacy, Billing Claims

By Sydney Price

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health Inc. was hit with a proposed securities class action accusing it of inflating its share prices by failing to disclose certain practices that led to a suit by the Federal Trade Commission accusing it of sharing customers' sensitive health information with big tech companies and using deceptive billing methods.

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DOL Backs Aramark Bid To Avoid Aetna ERISA Suit Arbitration

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Department of Labor backed Aramark's attempt to keep in court its allegations that Aetna cost the company millions by mismanaging health benefit claims, telling the full Fifth Circuit that a panel correctly held that the case fell under an exception in the arbitration agreement.

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Meijer Escapes Suit Over Health Plan Fee For Tobacco Users

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge tossed a worker's proposed class action alleging supercenter chain Meijer improperly charged workers a $20 per week tobacco surcharge through its health plan, ruling that concerns about improper notifications and allocations of the fee ultimately lacked teeth.

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Suit Alleges Athletico Gave Patient Data To Google Without OK

By Celeste Bott

Physical therapy provider Athletico Management LLC was sued in Illinois federal court Tuesday in a proposed class action claiming it shared patients' personal and health information with Google through tracking technology embedded in the Athletico website where they made their appointments.

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Contractor Seeks Redo After Fed. Circ. Vacates $12.7M Award

By Madeline Lyskawa

A software developer has urged the en banc Federal Circuit to rethink a panel's decision vacating a $12.7 million award against the federal government over unauthorized copies of the company's software, saying the panel wrongly endorsed a hypothetical negotiation between the parties to calculate damages.

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Baby Formula Machine Makes Infants Lose Weight, Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

The makers of the Baby Brezza formula mixing machine are facing a proposed class action in New York federal court from a group of parents who say the $200 device dispenses dangerously diluted formula, even when properly used, causing infant weight loss and hospitalizations.

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BANKRUPTCY

Ex-Genesis Team Denies Using Trade Secrets To Compete

By Rick Archer

Former executives for a subsidiary of bankrupt nursing home chain Genesis Healthcare have told a Texas bankruptcy judge they didn't steal trade secrets to start a new business, accusing their former employer of trying to quash a competitor in the courts.

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AI Healthcare Co. Pushed Into Ch. 7 Amid Ex-Exec Dispute

By Yun Park

A former executive and two contractors have forced artificial intelligence-powered health technology provider Survey Health into a Chapter 7 proceeding in Delaware bankruptcy court, as the company contends with litigation the ex-employee brought against it.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Rejection Of NLRB Successor Bar Renews An Employer Tool

Although the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling in Hospital Menonita v. National Labor Relations Board does not allow purchasers to disregard incumbent unions, employers acquiring a unionized business have regained a tool to challenge a union's majority support, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

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NY Ethics Opinion Warns Attys On Qui Tam Deception

A recent New York State Bar Association ethics opinion cautions that counsel representing whistleblowers may not induce, supervise or facilitate a client's deceptive prefiling investigations, creating a potential vulnerability for qui tam complaints built on questionable evidence-gathering methods, say attorneys at Sidley.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Quinn Emanuel, McDermott Hit By Data Breaches

By Lauren Berg

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and McDermott Will & Schulte LLP both recently suffered data breaches, adding to the dozens of cybersecurity incidents law firms in the U.S. have suffered in 2026.

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Analysis

Boutique Firms Emerge As Trump Admin's 'Achilles' Heel'

By Phillip Bantz

Less fearful of retribution than some of their BigLaw counterparts, small law firms are taking on an outsize role handling cases seen as adversarial to the Trump administration.

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Interview

Federal Judge Warns Threats Imperil Judicial Independence

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida told Law360 that judges and members of the bar need to educate the public on the judiciary's important role in American democracy to combat increasing threats, speaking following the release of two reports this week that warn of safety concerns for judges and that defiance of court orders is undermining the federal judiciary's independence.

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Husch Blackwell Gets Early Win In Ex-Partner's 401(k) Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A Missouri federal court granted Husch Blackwell LLP an early win over a former employee's proposed class action alleging the firm illegally withheld retirement contributions and mismanaged its employee 401(k) plan, finding the ex-partner couldn't prove violations of federal benefits law.

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Former Girardi Keese CFO Drops Appeal Of 5-Year Fraud Term

By Emily Sawicki

The Seventh Circuit has granted onetime Girardi Keese financial chief Christopher Kamon's request to drop the appeal he lodged fighting an Illinois federal judge's order adding five concurrent years onto the 10 he is already serving for his role helping Tom Girardi, the head of the firm, steal millions from plane crash clients who settled cases in Chicago.

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Pirro Urges House Ethics Panel To Refer Crime Claims To DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has told the House Ethics Committee that as cases involving criminal misconduct come before it, her office should be involved too.

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Fox Rothschild Says Adult Day Care Suit Rehashes Claims

By Rose Krebs

Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to toss claims against the firm and one of its attorneys in a complaint related to the firm's prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AbbVie Inc.

Aetna Inc.

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Board of Trial Advocates

American Psychological Association

Ameris Bancorp

Aramark

AstraZeneca PLC

Audi AG

Chevron Corp.

Executive Health Resources Inc.

Express Scripts Holding Co.

Federal Bar Association

Google LLC

Harley-Davidson Inc.

Hims & Hers Health Inc.

Lily Transportation

LinkedIn Corp.

Meijer Inc.

Michaels Stores Inc.

Natural Resources Defense Council

New York County Lawyers' Association

New York State Bar Association

OptumRx Inc.

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America

The Cigna Group

Viatris Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alston & Bird

Ashurst Perkins

Bass Berry

Benesch

Brown Rudnick

Bursor & Fisher

Chestnut Cambronne

Clement & Murphy

Dickinson Wright

Faegre Drinker

Federman & Sherwood

Fox Rothschild

Gelber Schachter

Gillam Smith

Girardi & Keese

Glancy Prongay

Goodwin Procter

HSF Kramer

Haun Mena

Hicks Thomas

Husch Blackwell

Jackson Lewis PC

Jenner & Block

Kramer LLP

Latham & Watkins

Lowell & Associates

Marks Balette

Mayer Brown

McDermott Will & Schulte

McKool Smith

Napoli Shkolnik

Ogletree Deakins

Pashman Stein

Quinn Emanuel

Sanford Heisler

Sidley Austin

Simmons Hanly

Siri & Glimstad

Stutzman Bromberg

Susman Godfrey

Taft Stettinius

Thompson Hine

Treanor Devlin Brown

Wick Phillips

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Central Intelligence Agency

City and County of San Francisco, California

Colorado Attorney General's Office

Defense Health Agency

Federal Judicial Center

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Illinois Attorney General's Office

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Court

New York Attorney General's Office

Office of the Vermont Attorney General

Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado