3 States Ask High Court To Block Abortion Shield Laws

By Dan McKay

Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to strike down shield laws for reproductive care in New York, California and Massachusetts, alleging they illegally allow the mailing of abortion medication into states that restrict or ban abortion.

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Relator Must Seek Part Of $4.7B Opioid Deal In State Courts

By Gianna Ferrarin

A whistleblower must turn to state courts to pursue his bid for a portion of a $4.7 billion settlement between Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and a group of states resolving opioid-related claims against the retail pharmacy chain, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

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23andMe Beats Calif.'s Bankruptcy Sale Privacy Challenge

By Dorothy Atkins

A Missouri federal judge on Tuesday denied California's bid to undo the $305 million bankruptcy sale of 23andMe over concerns that the sale sidestepped state consumer data protections, ruling that the state lacks standing to challenge the sale and that the court's "good-faith" findings aren't clearly erroneous.  

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Judge Backs CMS' Contested Organ Procurement Metrics

By Mark Payne

Federal health officials didn't violate federal law when they implemented a competitive rule that will alter how organ procurers are rated by decertifying low performers, a Florida federal judge ruled, a holding that could bring wide changes to the organ donor network. 

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Texas Court Revives Suit Over Sponge Left In Surgery Patient

By Y. Peter Kang

A Texas appellate court on Wednesday revived a medical malpractice suit accusing three radiologists of failing to identify a surgical sponge left inside a patient after open-heart surgery, saying there is a factual dispute over whether the plaintiffs acted with sufficient diligence to overcome a statute-of-limitations defense.

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Ex-Budget Official Sentenced To 7 Years After Fleeing US

By Aaron Keller

Former Connecticut budget official Konstantinos Diamantis, who fled to Greece before learning his fate on federal corruption charges, was sentenced while absent on Wednesday to seven years in prison, if extradition efforts are successful, and immediately faced new litigation over his state government pension.

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Independence Blue Cross Will Pay $22.5M To End FCA Case

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Pennsylvania health insurer Independence Blue Cross has agreed to pay $22.5 million to resolve allegations from the federal government that the company violated the False Claims Act by submitting inaccurate and untruthful diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees, the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia said Wednesday.

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Aetna Escapes Zelis Repricing Tool Antitrust Case

By Craig Clough

A Massachusetts federal judge granted Aetna's bid Wednesday to dismiss claims against it in consolidated antitrust litigation accusing insurance companies of using Zelis Healthcare's repricing tools to reduce reimbursements paid to healthcare providers, finding an amended complaint failed to plausibly allege that Aetna used the tools.

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FTC Asks Texas Court To Keep Trans Health Suit Intact

By Spencer Brewer

The Federal Trade Commission asked a Texas federal court to keep intact its lawsuit against World Professional Association for Transgender Health, saying Tuesday that it adequately pled that the organization published medically dubious, self-serving trans guidelines that push "dangerous and experimental treatments."

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Tow Co. Can't Nix $27M Default Judgment, Texas Court Rules

By Jonathan Capriel

The father of a U.S. Postal Service worker who was totally incapacitated following a collision with a tow truck will get a second shot at securing a $27 million default judgment against the repossession company, a Texas appeals court ruled, saying the company was properly served.

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Health Co. Wins Initial Toss Of Retirement Forfeiture Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

An Oregon federal judge agreed Wednesday to toss a proposed class action alleging a health company misspent forfeitures from two employee retirement plans by putting assets toward employer-side contribution obligations instead of lowering administrative costs, holding that allegations failed to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.

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NJ Co. Says PPE Stockpiling Was Chinese Sovereign Activity

By Carolina Bolado

A New Jersey company accused of helping China hoard personal protective equipment to create a monopoly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic told the Eleventh Circuit that a lower court erred in finding that the allegations fall within the commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity.

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Mallinckrodt Must Face Painkiller Contract Breach Claims

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge maintained a drugmaker's contract violation claims against a pharmaceutical ingredient company for allegedly failing to provide the materials needed to make two kinds of painkillers, but held that the drugmaker's claims of market monopolization fell short.

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Verano, Dispensary Failed To Protect Patient Info, Suit Says

By Mike Curley

An Illinois woman is alleging that nationwide cannabis operator Verano Holdings Corp. and a St. Charles dispensary failed to properly protect patient data, allowing 2.4 million lines of database information to be put on the internet.

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Cigna, Fla. Atty Resolve $21M Claim In Ch. 7 Case

By David Minsky

A Florida federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a settlement between a lawyer and Cigna in a Chapter 7 lawsuit, resolving a $21 million claim the health insurer once disputed as nondischargeable for only a fraction of the amount. 

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Navigating A Key Inflection Point In Biosimilar Sector M&A

As biosimilar mergers and acquisitions gain notice amid U.S. Food and Drug Administration reforms, a maturing patent framework and a looming patent cliff, companies diversifying into the higher-growth biologics space should align their regulatory, intellectual property and transactional strategies, say attorneys at Skadden.

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3rd Circ. Ruling Shows ADA Limits Amid Worker Misconduct

In Hileman v. West Penn Allegheny Health System, the Third Circuit recently rejected a wrongful termination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, illustrating that disability and leave laws don't automatically insulate employees from the consequences of prior workplace misconduct, say attorneys at Bond Schoeneck.

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AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

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Ex-DOJ, Commerce Dept. Leaders Open Export Controls Shop

By Jack Rodgers

Two former federal prosecutors who have spent years at the Justice Department and Commerce Department focusing on export controls, national security, sanctions and related matters are launching a new law firm in Washington, D.C., according to a Thursday announcement.

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DOJ Outlines New Corporate Fraud Enforcement Priorities

By Phillip Bantz

Federal prosecutors "must place great weight" on a new list of factors when considering potential charges in corporate fraud cases, including whether the matters involve government programs, threats to national security or immigration offenses, according to a memo released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Trump Announces Judicial Noms For 5th Circ., NC

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he's nominating Todd Butler, a managing partner at Phelps Dunbar LLP, to serve as a judge on the Fifth Circuit. 

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

State enforcers settled their case challenging Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, while the U.S. Department of Justice probes Fox's planned $22 billion deal for Roku and regulators review massive deals in the energy and railroad sectors.

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Judge Reinstates Rogoff As Seattle US Atty After Trump Firing

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge issued an order from the bench on Thursday reinstating Roger Rogoff as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, finding that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he fired him in July.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of September

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at MSG Sports, Nestle and the Associated Press. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from September.

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Blackburn Holds Up White House's Tenn. Judge Pick

By Courtney Bublé

The White House is standing by its nominee for a judgeship on the Eastern District of Tennessee amid a holdup from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a White House official confirmed to Law360 on Thursday.

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Richards Layton Atty Confirmed To Join Del. Chancery Bench

By Rose Krebs

Delaware's Senate on Thursday confirmed a Richards Layton & Finger PA director to a 12-year term as a vice chancellor on the Chancery Court.

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FBT Gibbons Beats DQ Bid In Suit Over Cigna Payments

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court judge has rejected a plastic surgery practice's bid to disqualify FBT Gibbons LLP from representing Cigna and a group of employer-sponsored health plans in its suit over the insurer's alleged underpayments, finding the bid appears more as an effort to gain an advantage rather than one to protect the interests of any client.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Reopens Practice, Starts Consulting Firm

By Alison Knezevich

A former U.S. Department of Justice official announced Thursday that he has returned to private practice at the law firm he founded.

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Wachtell Lipton Taps Ex-US Atty For SDNY From Cleary

By Andrea Keckley

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has hired the former chief U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP following the departure of former co-chair and top corporate litigator William Savitt over the summer, Wachtell Lipton confirmed on Thursday.

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Galindo Law Gets $7.5M Ch. 11 Deal To Pay Explosion Victims

By Ben Zigterman

A Texas bankruptcy judge Thursday approved a $7.5 million settlement between mass tort firm Galindo Law Firm and the trust overseeing claims from victims of a chemical plant explosion.

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Brief

Colo. Judicial Branch Announces Death Of Former Justice

By Zach Dupont

The Colorado Judicial Branch late Thursday afternoon announced the death of former Justice Melissa Hart, who retired from the Colorado Supreme Court in December. 

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Trump Says Copyright Chief Can't Stay In Office Amid Appeal

By Adam Lidgett

The Trump administration is urging the D.C. Circuit to let it remove U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision protecting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook for now does not entitle Perlmutter to remain in office while her firing challenge proceeds.

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