Mich. Pharmacist Tells 6th Circ. Feds Silenced Key Witness

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan pharmacist serving an eight-year prison sentence for medical fraud is entitled to a new trial, his attorney told a Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday, arguing that a key defense witness in the case was threatened by the government and dissuaded from testifying.

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

7th Circ. Rejects Removal Of Hospital Patient Privacy Suits

By Danielle Ferguson

The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday joined a host of other appellate courts in determining healthcare providers were not "acting under" the federal government when they created patient web portals, finding actions alleging hospitals improperly shared patient information belonged in state court.

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

Meta To Rereview MDL Privilege Claims Under Special Master

By Dorothy Atkins

Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to have an independent special master rereview potentially thousands of documents the company withheld as privileged in social media addiction multidistrict litigation, after a California federal judge criticized Meta's privilege claims and refused to let Meta use an AI tool to rereview 170,000 documents at issue.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Offer Up-Front Payments For Fraud Whistleblower Tips

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the creation of a whistleblower incentive program offering up-front monetary awards for tips that lead to criminal fraud charges.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Won't Block Connecticut Drug Price Cap

By Matthew Perlman

A Second Circuit panel affirmed a lower court's decision Tuesday, refusing to block Connecticut from enforcing a cap on generic and off-patent drug prices while a trade association for drug wholesalers challenges the statute.

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

CMA Seeks Views On Intersurgical's Teleflex Deal

By Irene Madongo

Britain's antitrust regulator invited comments Tuesday on whether local medical device maker Intersurgical's proposed $530 million acquisition of two businesses could harm competition in U.K. markets.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LA Tells 9th Circ. DOJ Pot Shift Can't Revive License Appeal

By Sam Reisman

The city of Los Angeles is urging the Ninth Circuit to throw out a challenge to its social equity cannabis licensure program, saying the Constitution's dormant commerce clause doesn't apply to marijuana regardless of recent changes to federal cannabis policy.

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

Ill. Lab Owner Charged Over $66M COVID-19 Test Fraud

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois laboratory executive has been charged with orchestrating a $66 million COVID-19 testing fraud scheme, allegedly fabricating negative results and billing a federal program for approximately 380,000 tests that were never performed.

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

11th Circ. Rejects Ex-3M Worker's COVID Vax Refusal Suit

By Gina Kim

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive a Title VII religious discrimination suit by a former 3M healthcare business division employee who was terminated after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because of her beliefs, finding that her own statements show that there's no conflict between her beliefs and 3M's policy. 

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

Polsinelli Seeks Sanctions For 'Knowingly False' IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Law firm Polsinelli PC has asked a Tennessee federal judge to sanction a medical device company for advancing what it says were "knowingly false and materially incomplete" positions in a suit accusing the firm of pursuing bad faith patent infringement claims on behalf of a client.

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

OB-GYN Not Covered In Abortion Mishap Suit, Insurer Says

By Hope Patti

An insurer said it owes no coverage to a Washington state OB-GYN accused of advising a patient to terminate a normal pregnancy based on a misdiagnosis, telling a federal court that the patient's request for medical records before the policy took effect triggers a coverage exclusion.

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

Medical Device Co. Beats Investors' Alleged Demand Drop Suit

By Sydney Price

A New York federal judge has dismissed a proposed shareholder class action alleging medical device maker Integer Holdings Corp. hid plummeting demand for cardiac devices and misled investors about its overall growth, concluding that the allegations do not suggest its disclosures in 2024 and 2025 were untrue or deceptive.

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

Comcast Says Workers Can Avoid Tobacco Surcharge  

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Comcast has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of violating federal benefits law by imposing a surcharge for tobacco use, saying its health and welfare benefit plan is "more generous" than required.

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

Medtronic Sued Over Insulin Pump Failures

By Emily Field

Two women with diabetes on Monday accused Medtronic of knowingly selling insulin pumps with a known defect that can deliver the wrong amount of insulin that were recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020.

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

Metabase, Pediatric Telehealth Biz Sued Over Patient Info Leak

By Gina Kim

Open-source AI analytics company Metabase Inc. and pediatric telehealth provider Blueberry Medical failed to protect patients' personal health information from being exposed during a cybersecurity attack, and waited several weeks to notify affected individuals, alleges a proposed negligence class action filed Monday in California federal court. 

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

Brief

REIT Says Narcan Dispenser Spiked Crime Near Apartments

By Carolyn Muyskens

A real estate investment trust sued a Boston suburb Tuesday, blaming drug activity near its 146-unit apartment building on a public health initiative to provide a vending machine nearby for the overdose treatment Narcan. 

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

Freshfields Hires Gibson Dunn Life Sciences Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Freshfields LLP has hired a former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP lawyer who focuses his practice on identifying, assessing and mitigating risks associated with U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight, the firm recently announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

A Nuanced Reading Of DOL's Mental Health Parity Guidance

Though a recent U.S. Department of Labor bulletin may suggest that agency enforcement pressure on group health plans with respect to mental health parity is easing, the takeaways are more complex, and plan sponsors should not relax compliance efforts, say attorneys at Proskauer.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

6th Circ. Spotlights Cannabis Contract Enforceability Risks

The Sixth Circuit's recent reversal of a $31.8 million jury verdict against a subsidiary of cannabis giant Curaleaf highlights that state licenses do not necessarily provide the legal foundation needed to enforce contracts in federal court, which is a pattern that appears across many sectors, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

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

Kagan: High Court 'Blinded Itself' To Election Ruling Effects

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized her conservative colleagues' approach to deciding election law cases Tuesday, saying they often rule without considering the real-world consequences of their decisions. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Retired Judges Say DOJ's Ethics Complaint Is Meritless

By Courtney Bublé

A coalition of 61 retired federal judges has admonished the U.S. Department of Justice for filing a complaint against federal judges in Minnesota for speaking to a newspaper about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in their state.

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

'Petulant' Attorney Behavior Requires New Trial, 5th Circ. Says

By Cara Salvatore

The Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial Friday for a woman who was halted while speaking at a Louisiana local council meeting, saying defense lawyers for two council members threw "a skunk into the jury box" with a bevy of improper maneuvers.

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

Atty Used Legal Cred To Prop Up Ponzi Schemes, DOJ Says

By David Aaro

A Florida attorney was arrested Tuesday on charges of using his legal bona fides to help run two Ponzi schemes that swindled investors out of nearly $2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-NOLA Injury Atty Gets 32 Months For Staging Crashes

By Christine DeRosa

A former New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fake vehicle accidents with tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles so he could pursue lawsuits and extract settlements.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »