Top 2 Counts Dismissed Against Luigi Mangione

By Frank G. Runyeon

The terrorism counts against Luigi Mangione were dismissed Tuesday as "legally insufficient" by a New York judge, leaving him to face a state murder charge over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

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Feature

For Cahill Atty, Rare Disease Pro Bono Work Is Personal

By Mark Payne

John MacGregor of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP didn't have any experience in healthcare law before taking on a pro bono client that supports people with a rare form of epilepsy. MacGregor's son is one of them.

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Dr.'s COVID Falsehoods Are Free Speech, Wash. Panel Says

By Hannah Albarazi

A Washington state appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the Washington Medical Commission overstepped its authority by punishing a doctor for COVID-19 falsehoods he published to his blog, but affirmed the commission's decision to discipline him for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients.

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UC Groups Sue Trump Admin Alleging Free Speech Violations

By Craig Clough

A coalition of faculty, staff and unions affiliated with the University of California system sued the Trump administration in federal court Tuesday, arguing the suspension of $584 million in research projects along with threats to terminate billions more violates the law and is an attempt to violate their free speech.

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Wash. Justices Scrutinize Minimum Wage 'Live In' Exclusion

By Rachel Riley

Washington Supreme Court justices on Tuesday pushed counsel for an adult family home on the stance that its "live in" workers are adequately protected by existing laws and regulations, pointing to testimony its employees are always on call and sometimes at risk of physical assault by residents.

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Tax-Exempt Hospitals Face Financial Duress, Panel Hears

By Stephen K. Cooper

The nation's nonprofit hospitals are under growing financial stress due to cutbacks in federal funding, an aging population and unnecessary spending on programs unrelated to providing healthcare to their communities, industry experts told lawmakers Tuesday at a congressional hearing.

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FTC Ends Director Overlap In Healthcare Space

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission said three members of Sevita Health's board of directors resigned after enforcers flagged an overlap with the board of a competing provider of specialty healthcare for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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Miami Hospital's Ex-COO Admits To Embezzling $4.3M

By David Minsky

The former chief operating officer of the fundraising arm for a taxpayer-funded Miami health system pled guilty to a wire fraud charge in Florida federal court, admitting to embezzling $4.3 million from the nonprofit and receiving kickbacks after submitting false vendor invoices. 

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Meta Loses Bid To Overturn Verdict In Flo Privacy Class Action

By Allison Grande

A California federal judge has refused to disturb a jury verdict that found Meta Platforms Inc. liable for using an online tracking tool to unlawfully obtain sensitive health data that users entered into the Flo menstrual tracking app, finding that there was nothing to justify reversing this result.

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Harborview Nurses In Ga. Score Collective Status In OT Suit

By Gina Kim

A pair of nurses who worked at Harborview Health Systems' facility in Rome, Georgia, brought enough evidence to show they and other similarly situated nurses were subjected to pay practices that shorted them on overtime wages to proceed as a collective action, a New York magistrate judge said Tuesday.

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Merck Says Vaccine Case 'Poor Vehicle' For Antitrust Review

By Benjamin Morse

Merck & Co. told the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a bid from physicians looking to revive antitrust claims over submissions the pharmaceutical giant made to federal regulators concerning its mumps vaccine, arguing that the case is "an exceptionally poor vehicle" for review.

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Okla. Tribe Sues Social Platforms Over Youth Mental Health

By Emily Field

The Chickasaw Nation on Monday became the latest Native American tribe to lodge claims against social media giants in California federal court, alleging that the platforms harm their youth who are already at risk of mental health problems and suicidal ideation.

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Ill. Hospital Nonprofit Must Face Tobacco Fee Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

An Illinois federal judge refused to toss the bulk of a proposed class action from an Illinois hospital worker who claimed a fee on the employee health plans of tobacco users was discriminatory and breached fiduciary duties under benefits law, finding most allegations sufficiently backed up to survive dismissal.

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Doximity Says AI Startup Using Lawsuits To Thwart Rivals

By Julie Manganis

Telehealth platform Doximity has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to toss a trade secrets lawsuit brought by medical artificial intelligence company OpenEvidence, saying the startup is trying to "use the courts to stifle fair competition."

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DC Circ. Asked To Look At ADA Injunction In Segregation Case

By Nadia Dreid

Washington, D.C., wants the D.C. Circuit to narrow an injunction commanding the district to help people in Medicaid-funded nursing homes move out of those facilities and into less restrictive forms of care, as the litigation approaches its 15th birthday.

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FTC Chair Pledges 'Action' Against Late Merger Fixes

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson vowed Tuesday to take unspecified "action" against tactics by merging companies to propose fixes only after antitrust enforcers bring a transaction challenge, a strategy he called "bad for the system."

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Brief

CVS Caremark Takes $290M Overbilling Judgment To 3rd Circ.

By P.J. D'Annunzio

CVS's pharmacy benefits manager will appeal a judgment against the company that was recently increased from $95 million to $290 million in a suit alleging it overbilled Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs, according to a notice of appeal filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

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HHS OIG Senior Counsel Joins Polsinelli As Shareholder

By Jack Rodgers

A former senior counsel in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, who spent more than a decade in private practice before his most-recent six years in public service, has joined Polsinelli PC.

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Jones Day Adds FDA Regulatory Expert As Of Counsel In DC

By Gianna Ferrarin

Jones Day on Tuesday announced the arrival of an attorney who brings over a decade of experience at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advising on drug regulation.

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Transmission Security Has A Critical Role In Healthcare

In light of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights' continuing enforcement initiative focusing on businesses' accurate and thorough security risk assessments under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, covered entities should not neglect the importance of transmission security, says John Howard at Clark Hill.

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FTC Actions Highlight New Noncompete Enforcement Strategy

Several recent noncompete-related actions from the Federal Trade Commission — including its recent dismissal of cases appealing the vacatur of a Biden-era noncompete ban — reflect the commission's shift toward case-by-case enforcement, while confirming that the agency intends to remain active in policing such agreements, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Deference Ruling Could Close The FAR Loophole

A recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision may close a loophole in the Federal Acquisition Regulation that allows agencies to circumvent the Trade Agreements Act, significantly affecting federal pharmaceutical procurements and increasing protests related to certain Buy American Act waivers, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

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Ruling On Labor Peace Law Marks Shift For Cannabis Cos.

Currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, an Oregon federal court’s novel decision in Casala v. Kotek, invalidating a state law that requires labor peace agreements as a condition of cannabis business licensure, marks the potential for compliance uncertainty for all cannabis employers in states with labor peace mandates, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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Rebutting Price Impact In Securities Class Actions

Defendants litigating securities cases historically faced long odds in defeating class certification, but that paradigm has recently begun to shift, with recent cases ushering in a more searching analysis of price impact and changing the evidence courts can consider at the class certification stage, say attorneys at Katten.

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7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

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BREAKING: Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

By Gina Kim

Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage.

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7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

By Courtney Bublé

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

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House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

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Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

By Courtney Bublé

More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

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Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

By Adrian Cruz

A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

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SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

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Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

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