Indiana Justices Probe Timing Of Religious Abortion Suit

By Dan McKay

Indiana justices sharply questioned both sides Thursday as they wrestled with whether the state's religious freedom law can be used to protect the abortion rights of Jewish women, repeatedly asking whether the case had developed enough to warrant a ruling.

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Judge Finds No Standing To Block Ill. Aid-In-Dying Law

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday refused to block a new law from taking effect that allows patients with terminal illnesses to seek a doctor's assistance in ending their lives, ruling that a challenge brought by disability rights advocates relied on speculative fears rather than imminent legal harm.

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Colo. Judge Asked To Sanction Hospital In Gender Care Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

Transgender adolescent patients of Children's Hospital Colorado urged a state judge on Thursday to sanction the hospital for refusing to resume providing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth patients, arguing that the hospital can't avoid its obligation to provide the care by blaming its providers.

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6th Circ. Says Fatal Child Hold Excluded From Coverage

By Danielle Ferguson

Insurers do not have to indemnify a management services company for a child welfare agency in a lawsuit over the death of a 7-year-old who died after being restrained by workers, the Sixth Circuit said, finding the hold on the child, while improperly used, was considered an excluded professional service.

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Biosimilars Boast Big Savings But Face IP Risks, Report Says

By Theresa Schliep

There are no biosimilar drugs in development for 90% of biologic products set to lose their patent exclusivity by 2034, according to a report released Thursday by the Association for Accessible Medicines, which warned that current patent policy threatens generic-drug development. 

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DHS Aims To End 60-Day Grace Period For Certain Work Visas

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security floated a new rule Thursday that would eliminate a 60-day grace period for holders of H-1B and certain other employment-based visas to remain in the U.S. if they lose their jobs, citing "administrative burden."

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$270M Medi-Cal False Claims Scheme Nets 30-Year Sentence

By Gina Kim

An Orange County man with multiple prior fraud convictions has been sentenced in California federal court to 30 years in prison for his role in a $270 million Medi-Cal prescription drug scam, which he orchestrated while awaiting sentencing in a separate tax evasion case, prosecutors said. 

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Dompé To Pay $32M Over Foundation Co-Pay Kickback Claims

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. arm of Italian pharmaceutical company Dompé Farmaceutici SpA has agreed to pay $32 million to resolve allegations that it contributed funds to patient assistance foundations to induce purchases of its prescription eye drops Oxervate, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

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Hospital Says Saul Ewing Atty's 'Revenge' Drove FCA Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A Saul Ewing LLP attorney who quit a Pittsburgh-area hospital's board turned his representation of two whistleblower nurses into an act of "revenge," but failed to make the clients' accusations against their co-workers into a viable False Claims Act suit, the hospital said.

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Greenberg Traurig Sued Over Ex-Pharma CEO's Indictment

By George Woolston

Greenberg Traurig LLP devised the very business practices that got a former pharmaceutical CEO indicted for fraud and then billed the executive $1.4 million for defending the criminal case, according to a legal malpractice suit accusing the firm of an inherent conflict of interest.

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Drone Co., Ex-VP Reach Deal Resolving Pay, Sabotage Claims

By Hayley Fowler

A company that makes emergency response drones and its former vice president of sales have settled a dispute in which the executive alleged he was stiffed on pay and the company accused him of trying to sabotage its business, court records show.

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11th Circ. Urged To Undo Trial Loss For Hospital Ratings Org

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Florida federal court order requiring hospital ratings nonprofit Leapfrog to revoke poor safety grades it issued to five hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp. violated the First Amendment, Leapfrog told the Eleventh Circuit in a Thursday opening brief challenging its bench trial loss.

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Catholic Charity Fights Bid To Toss Funding Cut Suit

By Susan Smiley

A Catholic charity said its opposition to abortion and contraception led Michigan to unconstitutionally terminate its decade-long role as a state-designated service provider for women suffering from substance abuse, and it urged a federal judge to reject the state's request to dismiss a civil rights suit filed by the organization.

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Hospitals Say Mich. BCBS Unit Owes For Out-Of-State Care

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield unit owes a group of hospitals more than $800,000 in reimbursement for health services they provided to patients covered under out-of-state BCBS plans, the hospitals allege in a complaint in Michigan federal court.

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Insurer Wants Quick 8th Circ. 401(k) Forfeiture Suit Appeal

By Kellie Mejdrich

UnitedHealth Group asked a Minnesota federal court to allow a quick appeal of the court's June decision refusing to completely toss allegations that the company misallocated forfeitures from an employee 401(k) plan, arguing differing opinions on the validity of the claims nationwide justified early Eighth Circuit review.

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Frazier Life Sciences Adds $1.1B To Its Public Fund

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Healthcare-focused investment firm Frazier Life Sciences, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Thursday revealed that it has closed on more than $1.1 billion of new capital commitments for its Public Fund.

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Deals Rumor Mill

TPG, Blue Owl, CVC Exploring Deals, And More Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Private equity firm TPG may be looking to sell Lyric, which could value the healthcare software company at $5 billion; asset manager Blue Owl Capital is exploring the launch of a real estate investment trust; and CVC Capital Partners could sell personal care company Arthea at a $2 billion valuation. 

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State AI Safety Laws Raise New Liabilities For Healthcare Cos.

Healthcare and life science companies using third-party artificial intelligence tools should pay particular attention to the changing state-level legal landscape, where the rollout of multiple AI safety laws is introducing both new compliance obligations and potential consumer protection liabilities, say attorneys at McDermott.

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5 Practice Tips After DOJ's Healthcare Fraud Declination

In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's decision to not prosecute Campus Eye Management under the agency's new corporate enforcement and voluntary self-disclosure policy, healthcare companies should keep several considerations in mind when weighing their risk and self-disclosure strategy, including the distinctions between reporting to the DOJ versus other government agencies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

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Cannabis, Psychedelics Boom Raises IP Hurdles

Recent data regarding patent filing activity and litigation in the cannabis and psychedelics markets indicates that as commercial interest accelerates, the scope of publicly accessible prior art is also expanding, setting a higher bar for novelty and nonobviousness in patent applications, say attorneys at Sterne Kessler.

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Bid Protest Spotlight: GAO Lessons For Small Biz Contractors

In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo offers small business takeaways from three recent U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions about rule-of-two challenges, joint ventures maintaining service-disabled, veteran-owned small business certifications, and joint venture and teaming arrangement eligibility distinctions.

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Series

Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

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ABA Study Shows 20% Of Attys Under Severe Mental Distress

By Tracey Read

About one-fifth of attorneys across the country meet moderate-to-extremely severe symptom thresholds for depression, anxiety and stress, according to the largest-ever study of mental health and well-being in the legal profession.

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Mass. Judge Sanctioned Over Handling Of ICE At Courthouse

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday sanctioned a judge over her handling of a case involving a defendant wanted by immigration agents in 2018, an incident that led to federal charges that were dismissed after the judge agreed to a disciplinary process.

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Ed Martin Reprimanded Over Unauthorized FBI Contacts

By Courtney Bublé

Last summer, when Ed Martin was still head of the weaponization working group at the U.S. Department of Justice, he was reprimanded after his team communicated with the FBI without authorization, according to recently released emails.

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2 At DOJ Sued Over Conn. Immigration Court Record Access

By Christine DeRosa

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Connecticut has filed suit in Connecticut federal court challenging the Hartford Immigration Court's refusal to provide access to immigration court records.

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JPMorgan Aided Ex-Atty Kossoff's $18.5M Theft, Trustee Says

By Hailey Konnath

The Chapter 7 trustee representing bankrupt firm Kossoff PLLC on Wednesday sued JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, claiming the bank helped the firm's principal steal at least $18.5 million from clients, and it "should be made to account."

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Analysis

Executive Privilege Questions Cloud Congressional Probe Prep

By Phillip Bantz

As corporate leaders brace for the possibility of Democrats retaking control of Congress and launching aggressive investigations into the Trump administration's dealings with a vast array of companies, attorneys say a U.S. Justice Department opinion on executive privilege could complicate the probes.

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DOJ Urges High Court To Revisit 9th Circ.'s Bar Of Nev. US Atty

By Madison Arnold

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a recent Ninth Circuit ruling disqualifying the Trump administration's top federal prosecutor in Nevada, calling it a decision that imposes "ongoing confusion" in the executive branch.

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Jay-Z Can't Undo Buzbee's Win In Rapper's Defamation Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has refused to revive claims that Texas attorney Tony Buzbee defamed and extorted music superstar Jay-Z by roping him into a sexual abuse suit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, saying the case was properly thrown out under California's free speech statute.

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