Calif. Justices Back Gilead Over Nondefective Drug Liability

By Lauren Berg

The California Supreme Court on Monday held that Gilead Sciences Inc. shouldn't face a negligence claim alleging it declined to market a safer HIV drug in order to maximize profits from an older drug with more harmful side effects, rejecting a novel theory that would expose drugmakers to broader liability.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Albertsons Says Wash. Slow To Warn Of Bad Drug Prescribers

By Ben Adlin

Washington regulators didn't notify pharmacies or patients about doctors' potentially improper opioid prescribing until months after receiving complaints, Albertsons' counsel told a Seattle judge Monday, as the bench trial over Washington's claims the pharmacy chain helped fuel the state's overdose crisis entered its fourth week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

21 States Again Fight ACA Changes That Could Increase Costs

By Gina Kim

A coalition of 21 states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in California federal court Friday, challenging an Affordable Care Act rule that shifts costs onto enrollees while reimposing certain provisions that a Maryland federal court vacated for being unlawful and arbitrary.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Justices Say Insanity Defense Requires Expert Testimony

By Parker Quinlan

New Jersey's highest court ruled Monday that to raise an insanity or diminished mental capacity defense, a defendant must present testimony from a medical expert that their mental condition caused them to violate the law.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sandoz Settles States' Generics Price-Fixing Cases For $450M

By Matthew Perlman

Sandoz reached a settlement with a coalition of state enforcers on Monday, agreeing to pay $450 million to end claims against it in several cases targeting alleged price-fixing in the generic-drug industry.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

How State SG Offices Became A Judicial Pipeline

By Cara Bayles

The rapid growth of Missouri's solicitor general's office illustrates the import of top state appellate roles, which offer young lawyers a chance to gain courtroom experience they might never acquire in BigLaw. The gig is also, for young conservatives especially, one of the fastest paths to the federal bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

A group of state enforcers challenged Paramount's planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, as a separate group of states and DirecTV accused Nexstar of violating an order preventing it from integrating with Tegna and the Federal Trade Commission faced a bench trial seeking to block a constructive adhesive deal.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7th Circ. Backs OB-GYN's 10-Year Healthcare Fraud Sentence

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit has upheld a 10-year prison sentence for a former obstetrician-gynecologist over a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme, saying the district judge made no clear error in applying an enhancement to her sentence for performing invasive and medically unnecessary procedures on patients without their informed consent.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boston Eye Biz To Pay $3.9M For Improper Medicaid Billing

By Elaine Briseño

A Boston ophthalmology office has agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle allegations it improperly billed Medicare and Medicaid for eye injections performed during office visits, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Court Denies Health Worker Privacy Suit Coverage Bid

By Danielle Ferguson

A Connecticut federal judge has said a homeowner's insurer does not owe her coverage in a lawsuit alleging she shared a patient's treatment information while she was at home, finding that her alleged actions fall under a business exclusion because she used her employment to access the private information.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pfizer COVID Vaccine Suit Needs 3-Judge Court, Panel Finds

By Mike Curley

The D.C. Circuit has revived a couple's suit against Pfizer Inc., federal officials and a pediatrician's office alleging their child died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, saying federal law required a three-judge court to decide motions to dismiss, not the single judge who tossed the case.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Novo False-Ad Claims Against Telehealth Co. Fail, For Now

By Gianna Ferrarin

A New York federal court tossed a false advertising suit by Novo Nordisk against a telehealth company that markets compounded weight loss medications, finding the pharmaceutical giant failed to point to literal or implied false statements made by the company.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Workers Say OPM Unlawfully Nixed Gender-Affirming Benefits

By Patrick Hoff

A group of federal employees on Monday accused the Trump administration of unlawfully eliminating coverage of gender-affirming care from their health insurance benefits, forcing thousands of transgender workers and their dependents to pay out of pocket for treatment.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In July

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts judge affirmed her self-described "eye-popping" $91 million judgment against insurance companies, a private lender was freed from fraud claims after a loan recipient's emails told a different story, and a venture capital pro was denied a jury for his upcoming trial, among other recent state court rulings.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Contractor Says HHS, GSA Are Flouting Stay In Contract Row

By Madeline Lyskawa

A logistics company accused the General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of violating federal law by continuing performance on a contract while it's being protested, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Mechanic Says Chemicals At Plants Gave Him Cancer

By Jonathan Capriel

A mechanic claims his decades of employment at Boeing's Seattle-area manufacturing facilities caused him to develop cancer due to toxic chemical exposures, according to a lawsuit removed by the company to federal court.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PetMeds Beats Pixel Tracking Privacy Suit Over Standing Flaw

By Allison Grande

A Florida federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing online pet pharmacy PetMed Express Inc. of deploying tracking tools that illegally transmitted website visitors' data to third parties, finding that class discovery had revealed the plaintiffs lack standing to support their remaining federal and state wiretap claims. 

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Judge Denies Bid To Oust Kirkland From Trade Secret Feud

By Ivan Moreno

A California federal judge has denied a healthcare software company's attempt to disqualify Kirkland & Ellis LLP from representing Commure Inc. in a trade secret lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that information it disclosed during a prospective client consultation was materially harmful enough to warrant disqualification.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4 Firms Steer Curium's $8B Lantheus Take-Private Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Private equity-backed radiopharmaceutical company Curium on Monday announced plans to acquire fellow radiopharmaceutical company Lantheus Holdings Inc. in an $8 billion take-private deal built by four law firms.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

KKR Buying Integer For $5.7B In Kirkland, Davis Polk-Led Deal

By Al Barbarino

KKR said Monday that it will acquire medical device company Integer Holdings Corp. in an all-cash transaction with a roughly $5.7 billion enterprise value, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advising on the transaction. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Renews Bid To Oust Susman From ABA Trump EO Case

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice renewed its call for a D.C. federal judge to disqualify Susman Godfrey LLP from representing the American Bar Association in its challenge to the Trump administration's law firm executive orders, saying Susman Godfrey's attorneys could potentially have to serve as fact witnesses in the case.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Jackson Walker, Trustee Agree On $15M Romance Settlement

By Emma Cueto

Jackson Walker LLP has agreed to pay $15 million and reform its conflicts and disclosure practices to resolve claims brought by the regional U.S. trustee regarding bankruptcy fees approved by a bankruptcy judge who was at the time concealing a relationship with a Jackson Walker partner.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA To Assess Aggressive BigLaw Campus Recruitment

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's policymaking body on Monday approved a resolution sponsored by law students seeking reprieve from increasingly early BigLaw recruitment drives and clarified rules regarding client confidentiality and prosecutorial responsibility, some of the first votes taken on day one of its annual meeting.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Simpson Thacher's PIPE Work Was 'Dogged,' Jury Told

By Jake Maher

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP did all it could to help Patriot National Inc. and the company's owner and warn them about risks as they pursued a financing deal, a former capital markets attorney told a Florida state jury Monday in the insurance services company's malpractice case against the firm.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blanche's Nix Of Trump's $1.8B Fund Wins Over GOP Sens.

By Asha Glover

Two holdout GOP senators said Monday that they would support confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent role after he gave assurances that President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, created as part of a settlement with the IRS, would not move forward.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conn. Justices Order Education For Atty Who Missed AI Flubs

By Christine DeRosa

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ordered a GLG Law LLC attorney to complete continuing education after finding that seven errors in filings caused by ChatGPT stemmed from negligence in the use of new technology, not from an intentional attempt to deceive or mislead the court.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Disputes Continue, 1 Week Into NY Public Defender Strikes

By Andrea Keckley

Two unions representing hundreds of New York public defenders remain on strike Monday, with managers from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem requesting third-party mediation during their most recent negotiations on Sunday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of July

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Goldman Sachs, Coinbase and Sanofi. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from July.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving merger litigation, insider trading allegations, books and records demands, advancement proceedings, fiduciary duties, public benefit corporations and more.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »