Albertsons Didn't Flag Suspicious Opioid Orders, Judge Hears

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons failed to report its pharmacies' unusual opioid orders to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration despite explicit instructions from the agency to do so, the retailer's vice president of pharmacy compliance testified Thursday during a bench trial in Washington's lawsuit accusing the chain of exacerbating the state's opioid epidemic.

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Selena Gomez Sued For Fraud By Mental Health Co. Investors

By Gina Kim

Pop star Selena Gomez and her mother were sued for securities fraud Thursday in Delaware federal court by investors in their mental health startup, Wondermind, who pointed to the former Disney star's "abject dereliction of her duties" to build the company until an investigation published last year detailed its "state of utter disarray."

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Texas Appeals Court Flips $34M Verdict In Hospital Suit

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appeals court wiped out a $34 million verdict against a healthcare company Thursday, saying the trial court interpreted the parties' contract incorrectly and the company did not breach its agreement with a private orthopedic practice group.

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Vaccine Challengers Slam Connecticut's 'One-Party Rule'

By Aaron Keller

Challengers to Connecticut's mandatory school vaccination laws have accused political leaders of exercising "one-party rule" over state government, claiming the House speaker, governor and attorney general, who are all Democrats, tweaked or defended state laws specifically to stymie their religious freedom claims.

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Brief

Employers Expecting Bump In Health Plan Costs, Survey Says

By Grace Elletson

GLP-1 medications and catastrophic coverage claims are two leading factors employers anticipate will push health plan costs up 10% in 2027, according to new data released Thursday by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

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White House Aims Customs AI Tool At Chinese Tariff Evasion

By Dylan Moroses

The White House identified Thursday over 40 countries from which imports carry a heightened risk of transshipment, an illegal practice of misrepresenting goods entering the U.S. that originate elsewhere such as China, and government officials are working on a new artificial intelligence enforcement tool to address those concerns.

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Wash. Halts Conversion Therapy Ban For Therapist Amid Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

Washington state has agreed not to enforce its ban on a practice commonly known as conversion therapy against a therapist while his First Amendment challenge to the prohibition plays out in federal court, according to a stipulation entered Thursday.

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ICE Again Ordered To Fix 'Inhumane' Adelanto Detention Site

By Hailey Konnath

A California federal judge on Wednesday once again ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve conditions at its Adelanto detention facility in the Mojave Desert, pointing to "severe and inhumane deficiencies" in necessities including access to safe food and water and sanitary living conditions.

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Lilly Claims 6 Vendors Illegally Sold Obesity Drug Candidate

By Gianna Ferrarin

Eli Lilly & Co. hit a medical spa business, compounding pharmacy and a group of chemical suppliers with claims they're illegally selling an obesity drug candidate Lilly is researching, telling California and Texas federal courts the alleged "black market" sales threaten public health.

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4th Circ. Won't Rehear Tort Atty's $25M Extortion Conviction

By Y. Peter Kang

The Fourth Circuit has declined to reconsider its affirmance of the conviction of a prominent medical malpractice attorney for attempting to extort the University of Maryland Medical System for $25 million.

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NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judges Retire, HCA Suit Heads To Trial

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court dropped a host of heavy-hitting opinions in July ahead of two judicial retirements and a new chief judge rising in the ranks.

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Walgreens Faces Pregnancy Bias Suits From 2 Ex-Workers

By MJ Koo

Two former Walgreens corporate employees sued the pharmacy chain in Illinois federal court, alleging the company fired them both on the same day while they were on approved family leave, targeting them because of their pregnancies in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination and family leave laws.

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9th Circ. Revives $140M Robo-Surgery Antitrust Case

By Jared Foretek

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a surgical instrument repair company's antitrust suit accusing the makers of the da Vinci surgical robot of illegally blocking third parties from repairing its machines, ruling that a district judge erred in applying the U.S. Supreme Court's Kodak factors to the dispute.

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Judge Tosses Suit Over Pharmacy Match Program, For Now

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Maryland federal judge has dismissed a suit from pharmacy school graduates over the match system used by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, saying they failed to show that teaching hospitals and the professional pharmacy organization worked together to keep resident wages low.

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Blue Cross Affiliates Get Trim Of Aramark Health Benefits Row

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday trimmed but refused to toss a federal benefits lawsuit from food service giant Aramark against a Blue Cross affiliate that administered the company's employee health benefit plans, opening discovery on allegations that improper claims management cost tens of millions and breached fiduciary duties.

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Mount Sinai Beats Retaliation Claim But Faces OT Trial

By MJ Koo

A New York federal court tossed a fired Mount Sinai West security supervisor's retaliation claim, ruling that 13 months between his complaint about pay and his termination were too long to establish a causal link, while sending his overtime and weekly wage claims toward trial.

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Mich. Jail Nurse Must Face Suit Over Inmate's Death

By Melanie Dorsey

A Lenawee County Jail nurse must face a civil rights claim over her failure to give oxygen to an incarcerated man shortly before his fatal heart attack, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding a jury could conclude she disregarded a serious risk to his health. 

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United Asks Justices To Void 'Destabilizing' Vax Bias Class

By Linda Chiem

United Airlines has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a "destabilizing" Fifth Circuit ruling preserving class certification for workers who sued the airline for religious discrimination after they opposed United's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were placed on unpaid leave.

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Former Colo. Hospital Director Claims Age Discrimination

By Rachel Konieczny

Operators of a Colorado behavioral health hospital discriminated against a 69-year-old former director of the facility by subjecting her to "excessive" scrutiny and retaliating against her for filing a grievance, the employee alleged in Colorado federal court.

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4th Circ. Won't Undo Block Of Gilead-Branded Drug Imports

By Adam Lidgett

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday refused to undo a lower court's order in a trademark suit that blocked a vendor, used by health plans to cut medication costs, from importing Gilead-branded medications into the U.S.

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9th Circ. Says U. Of Wash. Is Immune From Vax Firing Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel declined on Thursday to reinstate former University of Washington employees' claims that they were wrongfully fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, concluding the university qualifies as an arm of the state that cannot be sued for civil rights violations under the relevant federal law.  

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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