Wash. Justices Say Privacy Act Doesn't Bar Hospital Pixel Use

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday the state's privacy act does not prohibit Seattle Children's Hospital from using web analytics tool Meta Pixel on its public-facing website, rejecting a group of parents' allegations that their browsing and search activity was illegally intercepted and sent to the Facebook parent company.

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FDA Expects Mifepristone Safety Review Results By March

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration anticipates finishing its safety evaluation of mifepristone by March 2027, suggesting a longer horizon for its review of regulations allowing the abortion drug to be dispensed remotely, according to a report filed by the agency in Louisiana federal court.

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Analysis

New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

By Phillip Bantz

The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

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2nd Circ. Spikes Yale Health Workers' Vax Mandate Challenge

By Grace Elletson

The Second Circuit shut down a suit Thursday from workers who claimed Yale New Haven Health violated their rights by subjecting them to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying their constitutional claims were doomed by a lack of state involvement.

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Taro Pharma Says MDL Deal Bars States' Duplicative Claims

By Lauren Berg

Taro Pharmaceuticals USA asked a Connecticut federal judge to toss generic-drug price-fixing claims brought by a coalition of states on behalf of consumers that are duplicative of claims the consumers have already resolved through settlements in separate multidistrict litigation.

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2 More Sentenced In $11M Amtrak Health Fraud Scheme

By George Woolston

A former Amtrak employee and a New York podiatrist have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme that prosecutors claim defrauded the rail carrier out of $11 million in health benefits, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said.

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Texas Clinics Settle False COVID-19 Billing Claims For $20M

By Spencer Brewer

Two Texas clinics under the same ownership have agreed to pay the government $20 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that they lied about COVID-19 billing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Mayne, Ascend Cut $1M Generic Price-Fixing Deal With States

By Gina Kim

Ascend Laboratories, Mayne Pharma and Citron Pharma asked a Connecticut federal judge Thursday to sign off on a settlement with a coalition of states resolving claims the companies were involved in an illegal conspiracy to fix prices and suppress competition for generic drugs in the United States. 

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High Court Urged To Keep Prison Trans Care Ban Blocked

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court should decline the Trump administration's request to disturb a district court order barring the Federal Bureau of Prisons from enforcing a gender dysphoria care ban, a group of transgender individuals incarcerated in BOP facilities argued Thursday.

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$13.4M Conn. Insurance Fight Won't Resume Amid Appeal

By Danielle Ferguson

A Connecticut judge won't lift a stay on a mother's lawsuit seeking to enforce a $13.4 million trial judgment over her son's death in a group home because the group home still has time to appeal a decision affirming the judgment.

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Pa. Justices Urged To Toss $207M UPenn Med Mal Verdict

By Y. Peter Kang

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has pressed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed a record $207 million medical malpractice verdict, saying because no individual hospital employee was found negligent, the case improperly expands vicarious liability into an unprecedented "team liability" doctrine.

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Humana Brass Face Derivative Suit Alleging Illegal Kickbacks

By Jarek Rutz

A Humana Inc. shareholder is suing 12 current and former company leaders in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they allowed the health insurer to pay more than $100 million in illegal broker kickbacks, to conceal worsening medical costs and Medicare Advantage plan quality, and to waste more than $1.5 billion buying back company stock at inflated prices.

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Benefits Co. Wants Sanctions For 'Frivolous' TCPA Suit

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Florida-based dental insurance carrier has asked a Michigan federal judge to sanction a dental practice and its attorneys at Bock Hatch & Oppenheim LLC and Shenkan Injury Lawyers, saying they pursued a baseless junk fax class action for years that resulted in millions of dollars in defense costs.

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Blinded Yale Patient Wants $6.6M On Top Of $15.1M Verdict

By Brian Steele

The conservator of an elderly woman who won a $15.1 million verdict from Yale New Haven Hospital after she was blinded during brain surgery has asked a Connecticut state court judge to add $6.6 million in interest because the defense rejected a settlement offer years before the trial.

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Flint Hospital Accused Of Race Bias In Nurse Promotion

By Melanie Dorsey

A Black registered nurse has sued a Flint, Michigan, hospital and one of its administrators alleging she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a less-qualified white candidate after an administrator manipulated the interview process and predetermined who would receive the position.

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Mich. Says Blue Cross Monopoly Ups Costs And Cuts Care

By Lauren Berg

The state of Michigan accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance Co. in federal court Thursday of amassing an illegal health insurance monopoly in the state, allegedly driving up premiums and out-of-pocket costs for state businesses and patients.

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Viatris To Buy Pacira BioSciences For $1.65B

By Al Barbarino

Viatris has agreed to acquire non-opioid pain treatment maker Pacira BioSciences for $1.65 billion, with Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP advising Viatris and Ashurst Perkins Coie representing Pacira, the companies said Thursday.

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Kirkland-Led Aphias Wraps Inaugural Fund At $1.05B

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised Aphias Capital on Thursday revealed that it closed its inaugural fund with $1.05 billion in tow.

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Genesis Healthcare Gets OK For Amended $1B Asset Sale

By Rick Archer

A Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday approved the sale of Genesis Healthcare's 175 care facilities after being told that the debtor had reached an amended deal with the buyer that will add $15 million in cash to the $1 billion Genesis was already slated to receive.

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Series

Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

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IDScan Data Breach Puts Spotlight On Vendor Oversight

A recently reported breach that exposed millions of identification documents held by IDScan.net highlights the liability risks for businesses that contract with third-party identity processors, and emphasizes the importance of auditing vendors' data retention practices, say attorneys at Tucker Ellis.

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Sheppard Mullin Hit With Class Action Over Data Breach

By Jake Maher

A former Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP paralegal launched a proposed class action against the firm in California federal court on Wednesday over a cyberattack it had in August, in which she says at least 1,000 people's names and Social Security numbers were stolen.

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IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

By Elliot Weld

An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

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Cornell Defendant Seeks To Nix James As Special Prosecutor

By Andrea Keckley

One of the seven men accused of drugging and raping a fellow Cornell University student at a fraternity home has asked a New York state court to void Gov. Kathy Hochul's appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.

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Gov't Attys Could Face Sanctions Over AI Use Omissions

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered four government attorneys to explain why they shouldn't be sanctioned for making factual misrepresentations about the U.S. Army's use of artificial intelligence to evaluate contract proposals.

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Split Congress Could Spur Competing Probes, Cleary Finds

By Courtney Bublé

If the new year brings an era of divided Congress, then "dueling investigations" into the same topics should be expected, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP said in a report it released Thursday.

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Fla. Judge Says Oct. 7 Attack Was 'Inflection Point' For U.S.

By David Minsky

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman addressed a small group of attorneys in a Florida law office to speak on his book about the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, saying public debate over facts surrounding the event and underlying feud has reached an "inflection point" in America.

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Buzbee Faces $970K Fee Bid In Dismissed Conspiracy Cases

By Lynn LaRowe

A Mississippi lawyer is asking a Texas state court to award her more than $970,000 in fees after defeating claims that she and her law firm conspired with rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to retaliate against prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee and two of his former clients.

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Dems Says GOP Broke Senate Rules In Jack Smith Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused Republicans of violating committee rules during a hearing last week with former special counsel Jack Smith.

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