Analysis

3 Takeaways From EBSA's New Health Parity Guidance Docs

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's recent guidance on how to comply with federal laws requiring parity in health plan coverage between behavioral and physical healthcare provides critical new details on the agency's narrowed set of enforcement priorities. Here are three takeaways from the guidance.

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Fed. Circ. Questions Medical Training Co.'s $100M Deal Theory

By Ivan Moreno

A medical training startup urged the Federal Circuit on Friday to revive claims accusing Galderma of a "classic catch-and-kill strategy" to derail what it says could have been a $100 million deal with Allergan, but a three-judge panel questioned whether that theory had been properly presented below.

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Analysis

11th Circ. Ruling Won't Prevent Qui Tam Constitutional Tests

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Eleventh Circuit's holding that the False Claims Act's provisions letting private individuals sue on the federal government's behalf pass muster under the U.S. Constitution may do little to halt the growing wave of challenges seeking to knock down those provisions.

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New IHS Director Says Bill Protects $5.3B In Health Programs

By Joyce Hanson

Newly confirmed Indian Health Service Director Mark Cruz in one of the first acts of his four-year term has told tribal leaders that $5.3 billion in federal funds earmarked for IHS programs is safe following the U.S. government's passage of a stopgap spending bill.

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Dems Demand Info From DeSantis On $10M Fraud

By David Minsky

Democratic federal lawmakers sent a letter to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis seeking more information on $10 million in misappropriated settlement funds, demanding answers to why the money was diverted to a nonprofit founded by his wife and not allocated to support healthcare in the state. 

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Fed. Circ. Agrees Globus Didn't Infringe Spinal Surgery IP

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Friday upheld a Pennsylvania federal judge's decisions clearing Globus Medical Inc. of infringing Moskowitz Family LLC spinal surgery tool patents, agreeing that language used in the patents' opening statement, or preamble, limited their scope.

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Mass. Court Revives Whistleblower Claims Against Hospital

By Julie Manganis

A former Boston Medical Center doctor will have another chance to pursue his claims that the hospital fired him in retaliation for his testimony for defendants in child abuse cases and complaints about the work of colleagues, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court said Friday.

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Process Flaws Doom Group Home's $13.4M Death Appeal

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut assisted-living facility failed to preserve or brief several issues that underpinned its appeal of a $13.4 million judgment over the death of a resident, an appellate panel held Friday in upholding a trial court victory for the man's mother.

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AbbVie Seeks To Nix Health Orgs.' 'New Theory' In 340B Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

Two advocacy groups for safety net health providers shouldn't be allowed to argue that a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction over biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc.'s suit challenging the federal government's definition of a "patient" in the 340B drug discount program, AbbVie told the court.

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Pending Rule May End Nurse Training Antitrust Fight, Ga. Says

By Gianna Ferrarin

The Georgia Board of Nursing is urging a federal court to stay litigation alleging that it violated antitrust law by preventing online and out-of-state nursing programs from placing their students at state facilities for clinical rotations, arguing that a proposed rule would likely resolve the suit.

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Pa. Hospitals Must Face Wage Suit By 30 ER Doctors

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge has advanced claims filed by a group of 30 emergency room doctors against Prime Healthcare Services Inc. seeking unpaid wages, rejecting the company's argument that it could not be sued because it didn't qualify as their employer.

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OB-GYN Hits Conn. Law Firm With $60M Malpractice Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

A $60 million lawsuit brought against Ryan Ryan Deluca LLP and two attorneys claims the firm failed to notify an obstetrician-gynecologist of a "reasonable" settlement offer in a medical malpractice case, subjecting the doctor and her employer to a $50 million judgment favoring a patient injured during childbirth.

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CVS Renews Bid To Escape Investors' AI Use Suit

By Jessica Corso

CVS Health Corp. wants a second shot at dismissing a lawsuit accusing it of inflating its revenues through the use of artificial intelligence, arguing investors haven't shown it was using the technology to deny prior authorization requests. 

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11th Circ. Backs $620K Award In Radiology Contract Fight

By Kelcey Caulder

The Eleventh Circuit upheld a $620,000 arbitration award in favor of an Indian teleradiology company against a radiology provider, finding the arbitrator did not exceed his authority by interpreting the parties' long-standing services agreement.

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Austrian Device-Maker Exits Suit Over Medicare Fraud

By MJ Koo

A Colorado federal court Friday dropped an Austrian medical device-maker from a lawsuit brought by a podiatrist who alleged the company helped create a scheme to bill Medicare using improper codes, finding he failed to detail the alleged fraud sufficiently and defend several other claims.

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Abbott Can Move Baby Formula Death Suit Out Of Illinois

By Y. Peter Kang

An Illinois state appeals court on Friday ordered the dismissal of a product liability suit alleging Abbott Laboratories' Similac formula caused a premature Florida infant's fatal case of necrotizing enterocolitis, finding the case belongs in Florida rather than Chicago's Cook County.

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Exploding Home Sauna Suit Clears Damages Concerns

By Jonathan Capriel

A New Jersey woman will get to proceed with her product liability lawsuit claiming an at-home sauna spontaneously exploded, after a federal judge accepted Friday her argument that a jury could award her tens of millions of dollars, so the amount in controversy would not fall below the statutory minimum.

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Conduent Settles Claims Over Data Breach That Affected 44M

By George Woolston

Conduent Business Services LLC has reached a deal to resolve plaintiffs' claims in a proposed class action alleging it failed to adequately protect sensitive personal and health information of more than 44 million individuals, according to filings from both parties.

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Tylenol Maker Seeks 2nd Circ. Relook In Autism, ADHD Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Tylenol maker Kenvue and several retailers have urged the Second Circuit to revisit its decision overturning a district court's exclusion of expert testimony for plaintiffs who claim prenatal exposure to the over-the-counter pain reliever causes autism and ADHD, saying the appeals court improperly restricted the trial court's "gatekeeping role."

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NC Biz Court OKs Data Breach Deal But Shrinks Atty Fees

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina Business Court judge gave his final seal of approval to a class action data breach settlement with an eye care provider but slashed the amount of attorney fees he would allow, saying the deal was fair but "by no means extraordinary."

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Vanda Ruling Offers New Guide To Generic Labeling Disputes

The D.C. Circuit's recent decision in Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration is significant for its guidance on when generic-drug labeling remains sufficiently similar to brand labeling and when a difference requires a statutory exception, says Shashank Upadhye at Upadhye Tang.

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Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

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Big Biz Coalition Backs Litigation Funding Disclosure Rule

By Ryan Boysen

Big U.S. businesses and insurers like Amazon, Anthropic, Chubb and Walmart asked the federal judiciary on Monday to tighten disclosure requirements for litigation finance, claiming the lack of guardrails allows funders to operate "in the shadows."

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Indiana Atty Hit With $10K Sanction Over False Citations

By Andrea Keckley

An Indiana federal judge on Friday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to sanction a local attorney $10,000 after finding that five briefs in a consumer credit case included citations to nonexistent cases.

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Jackson Lewis Removes Ex-Atty's Bias Suit To Federal Court

By Patrick Hoff

Jackson Lewis PC has moved a former associate's suit accusing the firm of refusing to accommodate her temporary work restrictions following her medical leave to California federal court, saying state court wasn't the right venue for dispute.

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Bove Rejects Recusal Bid Tied To DOJ Whistleblower Claims

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove declined Monday to recuse himself in a Third Circuit immigration case, saying the attorneys for the petitioner are "recycling a failed pre-confirmation political smear" on him.

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State Farm Attorney Sanctioned $999.99 For AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

An attorney for State Farm who filed several motions citing nonexistent cases and fabricated quotes generated by AI software must pay a $999.99 sanction, a Los Angeles judge ruled, an amount one cent below the threshold that would have triggered a mandatory notice to the State Bar of California under state law.

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Brief

Ex-Moses & Singer Partner Gets 10 Months For Tax Crimes

By Craig Clough

A Connecticut federal judge Monday sentenced a former Moses & Singer LLP partner to 10 months of imprisonment and ordered him to pay more than $3.1 million for failing to file personal income tax returns, the U.S. attorney's office announced.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes over allegedly fabricated board approvals at a telecom infrastructure startup, insider trading and child safety at Roblox Corp. and ownership of artificial intelligence technology used in legal proceedings.

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