Health Attys Talk Cooperation In Gov't Fraud Investigations

By Gianna Ferrarin

For attorneys defending healthcare clients hit with grand jury subpoenas and other enforcement actions investigating potential cases of fraud, cooperation with federal prosecutors is key.

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Analysis

Remedies, Not Suits: How FTC Approaches Health Mergers

By Yeji Jesse Lee

The Federal Trade Commission has not sued over any healthcare provider mergers since President Donald Trump's return to the White House. Attorneys at the American Health Law Association annual meeting say that's not a signal that the agency is backing off.

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Trump Public Loan Forgiveness Rule Is Unlawful, Judges Find

By Rae Ann Varona

Federal judges in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday struck down a U.S. Department of Education rule that effectively narrowed which public service workers could receive student loan forgiveness, saying the department had issued limitations on qualifying employers outside its rulemaking authority.

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Cigna, Others Fight Ohio AG's Drug Price-Fixing Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

Ohio pharmacy benefit managers and their corporate parents urged a federal judge to toss the state's drug price-fixing lawsuit, saying in a series of briefs that the state is trying to skirt federal pleading standards, collapse corporate separateness and stretch Ohio's antitrust law beyond its limits.

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Calif. Will Lock In Biz Tax Credit Limit, Halve Min. Tax For LLCs

By Maria Koklanaris

California will expand its sales and use tax base to include prewritten software, make permanent its business tax credit limit and halve the $800 minimum tax for limited liability companies, under the last budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed as the state's chief executive.

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GEO Still Blocking Parts Of NJ Detention Center, State Says

By Elaine Briseño

New Jersey and its Department of Health told a federal judge that despite consent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to tour its Newark detention center, facility operator GEO Group Inc. is still barring entrance to certain areas.

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Geico, Drivers Seek Final OK Of Deal Over Injury Coverage

By Eli Flesch

Geico and a class of hundreds of drivers asked a Washington federal court Tuesday to approve a settlement in a dispute over whether the insurer improperly withheld drivers' personal injury protection coverage by asserting they reached "maximum medical improvement."

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Uber, FedEx Slam Pa. Law Firm Counterclaims In RICO Suit

By James Boyle

Philadelphia-based personal injury firm Simon & Simon PC and its founder have failed to support a counterclaim in Pennsylvania federal court saying Uber Technologies Inc. and FedEx Corp. filed a sham litigation and abused the legal process with their ongoing RICO complaint against the firm, the companies argued Monday.

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Analysis

Defamation Litigation Roundup: Tyra Banks, Carroll, ERISA

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 highlights Tyra Banks' suit over a Netflix docuseries about her long-running modeling competition show, as well as a late-night television host's defeat of a case taking issue with a segment on Medicaid coverage in Iowa.

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UCHealth Workers Fight Bid To Toss Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Two former hospital workers urged a Colorado federal court to keep alive their proposed class and collective action alleging University of Colorado Health shorted hourly employees through a time-rounding policy and denied them required meal and rest breaks, saying their claims are sufficiently detailed to proceed.

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Patients Say Colo. Health Network Didn't Secure HIV Data

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado healthcare organization that operates as the state's largest source of services and programs for people impacted by HIV did not protect patients' private information in a cyberattack, according to three proposed class actions filed in state court.

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FDA Lets Zyn Market Some Pouches As Less Risky Than Cigs

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that Philip Morris may now market 20 of its Zyn nicotine pouch products as having less of a health risk than cigarettes.

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AIDS Group Says Cigna-Owned Express Scripts Hurts Patients

By Nadia Dreid

AIDS Healthcare Foundation says its nonprofit wellness centers are going to be run out of business if Cigna-owned pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts isn't stopped from using its muscle in the market to steer pharmacy patients toward specialty pharmacies it's affiliated with.

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Mental Health Nonprofit Hit With RN's Wage Suit Over Breaks

By Melanie Dorsey

A former Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services registered nurse filed a proposed collective action on Tuesday accusing the Michigan health provider of shorting hourly workers on overtime pay through automatic meal-break deductions, time-rounding practices, unpaid training and excluded bonuses. 

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Claims Full Of 'Fog' Cloud Pa. Nurse's Racial Bias Suit

By Matthew Santoni

An employment lawsuit argued Tuesday in Pittsburgh could raise questions of a joint employer's obligation to investigate and oppose alleged racial bias by another employer, but a federal judge said the claims were obscured by "a bunch of fog" and sharply challenged the plaintiff's lawyer to state the case more clearly.

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Pharma Co. Seeks Injunction Over Chinese Military Co. Label

By Madeline Lyskawa

Chinese pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec is urging a D.C. federal court judge to block the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of the company as a "Chinese military company," arguing the listing is unsupported by facts and was imposed without due process.

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Gordon Rees Adds 8 Partners In Northern California

By Tracey Read

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has expanded its offices in Northern California with eight new partners who have expertise in multiple practice areas, a firm spokesperson told Law360 Pulse on Tuesday.

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Series

Power To The Paralegals: Burnout As A Structural Problem

Law firm leadership can best retain their paralegals not by encouraging self-care, but by seeking top-down structural solutions for the quiet proliferation of responsibilities and the vicarious exposure to client trauma that particularly drive burnout in this vital role, says Erika Sneeringer at Brockstedt Mandalas.

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$885M IBS Drug Verdict Tests Pay-For-Delay Limits

The outcome in the Amitiza Antitrust Litigation is significant because it is the first jury trial win for private antitrust plaintiffs in a suit challenging a patent settlement reverse payment since the U.S. Supreme Court adopted the rule-of-reason legal framework in 2013, offering a blueprint for pay-for-delay claims, say attorneys at Katten.

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Key Tips For Patenting Antibody-Drug Conjugate Inventions

Recent decisions highlight the significant challenges that can arise when patenting antibody-drug conjugates, which require strategic considerations for satisfying heightened written description and enablement requirements, says Xiaoban Xin at FisherBroyles.

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Healthcare Orgs Should Prep For Greater Grant Oversight

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new Audit Enforcement and Risk Oversight initiative, and a proposed overhaul of the governmentwide framework for grants management, signal an aggressive and data-driven approach to federal grant enforcement, and could significantly expand the pathways leading to enforcement actions and private litigation, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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Goldstein Calls Gov't's Attack On Text Messages 'Hypocrisy'

By Jared Foretek

Lawyers for convicted SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein have rejected prosecutors' claims that the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer may have deleted messages between himself and his poker backers, calling the government "hypocritical" after it had previously argued that Goldstein could authenticate the messages if he took the stand at trial.

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Judiciary Dems Seek DOJ Replies Before Blanche Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing for the permanent position, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding he provide answers to their outstanding oversight inquiries.

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Brief

Texas Federal Judge Requires Confirmation Of AI Checks

By Emily Sawicki

Attorneys and self-represented parties appearing before U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez of the Western District of Texas are now required to certify that they have independently verified the contents of any filings created or edited using artificial intelligence.

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'Do Your Part,' Mass. Judge Chides Read Case Attys Post-Leak

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts judge on Wednesday lectured counsel in the high-profile civil case against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, to honor their ethical obligations after sensitive information leaked on social media.

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U Of Ky. Appoints Controversial Dean Pick For Law School

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky will retire from the bench later this month to become dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law, a move that sparked controversy in the state.

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Wash. Atty Loses Bid For Jury In Dispute Over Bar Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Washington lawyer sanctioned and disciplined for bringing a "frivolous" election suit in 2021 against then-Gov. Jay Inslee has lost her bid to have her ethics charges heard by a jury, with a state appeals panel finding no error in a trial court's ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to take on the disciplinary matter.

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Analysis

High Court's Guardrails Won't Ease Fight Over Trans Athletes

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision permitting states to ban transgender athletes from girls' sports was written in simple terms, but attorneys tracking the issue see the ruling as a flashpoint for further litigation.

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Analysis

Plea Deals Get Scrutiny In 'Hunter,' But Justices Stay Cautious

By Brandon Lowrey

The shock for Mary Fan came almost immediately after she began her career as a federal prosecutor in Southern California in the mid-2000s.

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5 NYC Legal Service Provider Union Contracts Have Expired

By Andrea Keckley

The collective bargaining agreements for five New York City-based indigent defense and civil legal aid providers expired at the end of the day Tuesday as multiple unions reported outstanding points of contention in their negotiations.

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Watchdog Says DOL Needs Better Info Sharing Controls

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor's lack of controls over information sharing between subagencies and nongovernmental entities, including law firms and legal advocacy organizations, may have unfairly advantaged those parties with privileged investigative information, an agency watchdog reported, though use of the practice has dropped off. 

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of June

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Bayer, Harley-Davidson and PBS. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from June.

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