9th Circ. Mulls Whether Politics Tainted DOJ Trans Care Probe

By Hannah Albarazi

A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday grappled with where to draw the line between a legitimate law enforcement investigation and a politically motivated crusade, as the U.S. Department of Justice sought to revive a subpoena against a telehealth provider of gender-affirming medical care.

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FDA Vaccine Chief Prasad To Exit Agency For 2nd Time

By Mark Payne

Dr. Vinay Prasad, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top vaccine regulator, will leave the agency in the coming weeks, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said Friday.

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Express Scripts Ducks RICO Suit Over Acthar Price Hike

By Matthew Santoni

Express Scripts Inc. and its affiliates may have worked with drugmaker Mallinckrodt to hike the price of seizure medication Acthar from $40 to $40,000, but a proposed class action by third-party payors failed to allege the high prices were a result of fraud, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled.

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DC Circuit To Hear Appeal On Idaho Abortion Law Subpoena

By Mark Payne

The anti-abortion group National Right to Life Committee Inc. must turn over communications the group had with Idaho legislators over a state law that criminalizes adults who help minors travel out of state for abortions, a group of abortion rights advocates told the D.C. Circuit this week. 

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Mass. Judge Told Vax Committee Must Be Fairly Balanced

By Gianna Ferrarin

A key federal vaccine committee remains subject to statutory requirements that its membership be fairly balanced, a Massachusetts federal judge heard from both U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and medical organizations challenging his overhaul of the group.

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ExThera Exec Hid Patient Deaths To Keep $10M Deal, DOJ Says

By Jonathan Capriel

Medical device company ExThera concealed the deaths of two U.S. patients treated with its unapproved blood filtration device at a clinic in Antigua, according to federal prosecutors, with the company agreeing to forfeit nearly $5.7 million and one executive facing up to three years in prison.

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Health Groups Back Bid To Bar Noncitizen Benefit Restrictions

By Gianna Ferrarin

A group of public health organizations and scholars Friday urged a Rhode Island federal court to make permanent its order blocking the Trump administration from enacting a policy change basing access to a host of federally funded services on immigration status.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen British American Tobacco sued by more than 100 investors, the government bring a claim against a COVID-19 supplier of personal protective equipment, Annington Funding sue its new corporate trustees on the Financial List, and Piers Morgan hit with a defamation claim from a pro-Israel barrister he interviewed on his YouTube channel. 

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Pa. High Court Snapshot: AG Powers, Gun Parts, CEO Bonus

By Matthew Santoni

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court this month will revisit a ruling on the state attorney general's power over civil suits brought by county-level district attorneys in a case stemming from the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh district attorneys' objections to a $26 billion opioid settlement.

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Dentist Says She Was Fired For Exposing Medicaid Fraud

By Melanie Dorsey

A dentist filed suit against several West Michigan dental practices and a dental management company, claiming she was fired after reporting that the clinics billed Medicaid for dental procedures that were never performed.

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Boston Scientific Investor Sues Over Growth Projections

By Katryna Perera

A Boston Scientific Corp. investor has filed a proposed class action against the medical device manufacturer and its top brass, claiming they misled shareholders about the sustainability and growth trajectory of the company's electrophysiology segment while failing to disclose competitive pressures and regulatory headwinds.

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Atty Should've Checked Docket, Says Philips CPAP Judge

By Jonathan Capriel

An attorney and his client have no one but themselves to blame for the permanent end to a product liability lawsuit over a recalled Philips sleep breathing machine, a Pennsylvania federal judge said on Friday, saying it was on them to monitor the docket.

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Constantine Cannon Defends Handling Of Sutter $75M Fee

By Dorothy Atkins

Constantine Cannon LLP pushed back against Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's allegations it unfairly reduced Schneider Wallace's share of a $75.4 million fee award in Sutter Health's $228.5 million antitrust deal, arguing in California federal court that the firm "sat on the sidelines" for most of the decadelong fight and isn't entitled to a bigger cut.

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TriZetto, Cognizant Hit With Class Claims Over Data Breach

By George Woolston

A Cognizant Technology Solutions-owned healthcare tech company was hit with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court on Friday over its alleged failure to protect the sensitive personal and health information of thousands.

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Care Co. Automatically Deducted Meal Breaks, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

A multistate senior care provider automatically deducted 30 minutes per shift for meal breaks even when employees worked through them, resulting in unpaid overtime, according to a proposed class and collective action complaint filed in Kentucky federal court.

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Brief

Nurses' Holiday Pay Suit Against Health System Trimmed

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado healthcare company will not face nurses' claims under state minimum-wage law alleging it miscalculated overtime wages, as a federal judge adopted a report concluding the statute does not cover "'pure overtime'" disputes when employees were paid at least the required minimum, court records show.

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Baker McKenzie Guides Servier On $2.5B Oncology Deal

By Al Barbarino

French pharmaceutical group Servier said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Day One for about $2.5 billion in cash, with legal guidance from Baker McKenzie.

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Cleary, Davis Polk Lead Diabetes Biz MiniMed's $560M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Medtronic's diabetes-focused spin-off MiniMed Group began trading publicly Friday after pricing a $560 million initial public offering, well below the expected target of $742 million.

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Sanofi Selling Medley Unit To Brazilian Drug Co. For $500M

By Al Barbarino

French drugmaker Sanofi will sell 100% of Medley, one of Brazil's leading generic drug brands, to Brazilian pharmaceutical conglomerate Grupo EMS, the companies announced Friday. 

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Kavanaugh, Jackson Debate High Court Emergency Orders

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back Monday against critiques that the high court is ruling in favor of President Donald Trump in emergency appeals more often than it did for prior presidents, saying people who believe those allegations have "short" memories. 

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Employment Law Cases Have Rebounded Except For FLSA

By Max Kutner

Employment law cases overall have bounced back from pandemic-era lows, especially discrimination and disability accommodation suits, though a slump has continued for Fair Labor Standards Act claims, according to a report by legal analytics provider Lex Machina.

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NJ US Atty Trio Booted In 2nd Leadership Ouster

By George Woolston

A federal judge on Monday disqualified the three assistant attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, finding the "byzantine" leadership structure is unconstitutional.

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Brief

SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein To Be Sentenced In June

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein, currently under home confinement in Washington, D.C., after a Maryland jury convicted him on tax evasion and mortgage fraud charges, will face sentencing in June.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket last week featured disputes spanning alleged forged board approvals at a telecom startup, evidence-destruction claims tied to WWE's blockbuster merger with UFC and investor scrutiny of a multibillion-dollar deal between Intel and the U.S. government.

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McGuireWoods Beats Sun Pharma's DQ Bid In NJ Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal court has denied Sun Pharmaceutical's bid to disqualify McGuireWoods LLP from representing pharmaceutical company Biofrontera in litigation over the alleged breach of a settlement agreement, ruling the firm's continued representation won't harm Sun Pharmaceutical and will avoid significant harm to Biofrontera.

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Lewis Brisbois Renews Bid To Force Paralegal To Arbitrate

By Adrian Cruz

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP asked a Florida state judge on Friday to have a former paralegal arbitrate her defamation claims that its actions tarnished her reputation and cost her a job at another firm.

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K&L Gates IP Atty Tapped For Wash. Supreme Court Seat

By Rachel Riley

A K&L Gates intellectual property litigator will become the Washington State Supreme Court's first justice of Middle Eastern descent, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said Monday, announcing his pick to replace veteran retiring Justice Barbara Madsen.

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