Feds Back Pharma In 340B Contract Pharmacy Disputes

By Mark Payne

State laws that block drugmakers from imposing restrictions on federally funded hospitals and the contract pharmacies they use to dispense discounted drugs under the 340B drug discount program are violating federal law, the Trump administration said, siding with manufacturers in their bid to strike down these laws.

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

'Almost At A Loss For Words': Judge Fines Attys For AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Ohio federal judge sanctioned two attorneys Monday for repeatedly submitting false and inaccurate citations generated using artificial intelligence, calling the conduct the most egregious violation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 he'd seen in his 46 years on the federal bench.

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

$200M Antitrust Deal Can Shield Drugmakers In States' Claims

By Matthew Santoni

Sun Pharmaceutical and Taro Pharmaceuticals can use their $200 million settlement with the "end payors" for generic drugs in an alleged price-fixing scheme as a defense in a similar lawsuit brought by 47 states and territories, the Connecticut federal judge overseeing the case ruled Wednesday.

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

Kenvue Can't Duck Texas AG's Tylenol Autism Suit

By Emily Field

A Texas state court Thursday rejected Kenvue's bid to toss a lawsuit that Texas' attorney general has brought alleging Tylenol taken during pregnancy could cause autism in children, even though it is marketed as the safest pain relief for pregnant women and young children.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

H-1B $100K Fee Fight Is On, But Tariff Ruling's Effect Is Unclear

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday denied the Trump administration's request to pause a suit by employers challenging President Donald Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, but he held off on deciding the employers' preliminary injunction request and ordered the parties to brief whether the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on tariffs affects the case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tenn. Health System Can't Dodge $28M False Claims Act Suit

By Mark Payne

A Tennessee-based health system must face claims it allegedly ran a sprawling patient referral scheme by overcompensating doctors in exchange for Medicare patient referrals and then billed Medicare $28 million for services it offered those illegally referred patients, a Tennessee federal judge said Thursday, denying the health system's dismissal bid. 

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

Doximity Investors' $31M Deal Over User Slowdown OK'd

By Gina Kim

Investors of medical professional networking platform Doximity Inc. scored preliminary approval of a $31 million class settlement in California federal court Wednesday, two years after suing Doximity for allegedly misleading them about the number of U.S. physicians who are active members and hiding unfavorable engagement metrics.

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

Insurer Dodges Spinoff Coverage Suit From 'Maya' Verdict

By Carolina Bolado

A professional liability insurer does not have to defend the law firm that secured a $213 million award for the woman at the center of the documentary "Take Care of Maya" in a dispute over trial consultant fees, after a Florida federal judge found Wednesday that the claims are not covered by the insurance policy.

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

Boston Scientific Wins Toss Of Spinal Device Suit

By Chris Villani

Boston Scientific escaped a suit alleging that its spinal implant device malfunctioned and caused a Michigan man pain and permanent injuries, after a federal judge ruled that each of the plaintiff's claims are preempted by federal law.

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

Domestic Violence Groups Fight Bondi Over Grant DEI Rules

By Joyce Hanson

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and 17 domestic violence coalitions are fighting in Rhode Island federal court over the groups' bid for a temporary restraining order to block the government from cutting off grant funds that don't comply with President Donald Trump's diversity, equity and inclusion rules.

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

Health Plans Lack Expert In Avandia MDL, 3rd Circ. Told

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Counsel for GlaxoSmithKline urged a Third Circuit panel on Thursday to undo an order certifying a class of health plans in the multidistrict litigation over the company's alleged deceptive marketing of the diabetes drug Avandia, arguing the plaintiffs didn't have the experts necessary to support their case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gambling Addiction Group Settles Ex-Official's Race Bias Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey Inc. has settled a race discrimination lawsuit by its former executive director, according to a notice that the case will be administratively terminated in 60 days.

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

Aurora Care Group Sues Over Block Of $8.5M Property Sale

By Zach Dupont

An Aurora-based care facility claimed in a Colorado state court lawsuit Wednesday that a nonprofit elder care group spiked the $8.5 million sale of a building by enforcing expired or unenforceable provisions from a decade-old construction declaration from a sale of the land where the building sits.

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

Kochava, FTC Near Deal To End Geolocation Privacy Suit

By Gina Kim

The Federal Trade Commission and Kochava Inc. told an Idaho federal judge Thursday that they have negotiated a final deal to resolve claims alleging the mobile app analytics provider illegally sold geolocation data from mobile devices that could be used to track people to reproductive health clinics, places of worship and other sensitive places.

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

Trans Care Enforcement Landscape Is Evolving Quickly

The recent coordinated federal effort to reshape pediatric gender-affirming care through enforcement and funding pressure has created a rapidly evolving regulatory environment marked by shifting risk assessments and potential downstream market effects for healthcare institutions and life sciences companies, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Playing Piano Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing piano and practicing law share many parallels relating to managing complexity: Just as hearing an entire musical passage in my head allows me to reliably deliver the message, thinking about the audience's impression helps me create a legal narrative that keeps the reader engaged, says Michael Shepherd at Fish & Richardson.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How Epstein Referred Clients To BigLaw Partners In His Orbit

By Aebra Coe

Billionaire and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein always had top lawyers in his orbit. He also had extensive and lasting relationships with several partners at BigLaw firms, files newly released by the Department of Justice show.

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

Goldstein Placed Under Home Confinement Until Sentencing

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein was placed under home confinement by a Maryland federal judge until his sentencing, but will likely be able to keep his $3 million D.C. home after the jury that convicted him separately found there wasn't a clear nexus between the property and his mortgage fraud conviction.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'One Way Or Another, ICE Will Comply,' Minn. Judge Vows

By Lauren Berg

The Minnesota federal court's chief judge who admonished U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for violating nearly 100 court orders concerning the Trump administration's immigration operations in the state vowed Thursday "to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law," including holding government officials in criminal contempt.

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

IRS Broke Law 42K Times By Giving Info To ICE, Judge Says

By Anna Scott Farrell

The federal judge who stopped the Internal Revenue Service from sharing taxpayer addresses with immigration authorities said Thursday that a recent admission by the agency showed that it broke the law more than 42,000 times last summer when it disclosed addresses by relying on a computerized matching system.

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

Calif. Atty Agrees To Discipline From State Bar Over AI Errors

By Hailey Konnath

A Los Angeles attorney has agreed to be disciplined for filing appellate briefs rife with artificial intelligence-hallucinated case law quotations, according to a stipulation approved Wednesday by the California State Bar Court, which found that he "recklessly and with gross negligence failed to perform legal services with competence."

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

Reed Smith Says Atty Can't Expand Pay Bias Damages Period

By Grace Elletson

Reed Smith LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to rule that an attorney who claimed the firm unlawfully underpaid her cannot expand the time window for which she's seeking damages, arguing a legal doctrine used to revive continuing claims can't be used to collect back pay.

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

Feds Seek To Toss DOJ Official's Suit Over Epstein-Talk Firing

By Lynn LaRowe

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a D.C. federal court to ax a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former DOJ official who was fired after he was surreptitiously filmed talking about Jeffrey Epstein on what he thought was a date, saying district courts don't have jurisdiction and the matter belongs in front of the Merit Systems Protection Board.

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

Atty Owns 'Sloppy' Incorrect Citations Before Texas Justices

By José Luis Martínez

A Houston attorney told a Texas appellate panel Thursday that incorrect case citations in his brief were "sloppy" and "embarrassing," taking responsibility for errors that included nonexistent cases and inaccurate quotations.

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

Brief

Senate Judiciary Advances Illinois US Atty

By Nadia Dreid

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of Gregory Gilmore to be U.S. attorney for the Central District of Illinois in a quick vote that passed without comment.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »