7th Circ. Mulls FCA Penalties For SuperValu Without Damages

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel grappled Tuesday with whether supermarket chain SuperValu Inc. could face billions of dollars in False Claims Act penalties for knowingly submitting false prescription drug claims when a jury found whistleblowers failed to prove the government suffered damages, with one judge characterizing the potential penalties as "mind-boggling."

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Idaho Judge Stays Abortion Relief, Citing 9th Circ. Ruling

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Idaho federal judge on Tuesday stayed his finding that the state would violate the 14th Amendment by criminalizing certain abortions performed by a doctor challenging the state's abortion laws, saying he is bound by a Ninth Circuit decision he "strongly disagrees" with.

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Ark. Judge Allows State Abortion Ban Challenge To Proceed

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Arkansas physician and six women can proceed with claims that the state's near-total abortion ban violates the Arkansas Constitution by effectively chilling pregnancy-related care, a state judge ruled, denying the majority of the state's dismissal bid.

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Judge Will Reduce 'Shocking' $88M Mesh Bellwether Verdict

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge said Tuesday she will reduce an $88 million verdict awarded to an Alabama couple in the first bellwether hernia mesh trial against Medtronic subsidiary Covidien LP, saying the award appeared to be "the product of passion."

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DaVita, Fresenius Sued By Wash. AG Over Noncompete Terms

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Attorney General's Office accused for-profit kidney dialysis providers DaVita and Fresenius of illegally barring specialists contracted as medical directors from taking on similar roles at other local dialysis centers, thwarting competition and ultimately diminishing patient options, according to a new lawsuit.

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OB-GYN Says Exclusion Doesn't Bar Abortion Suit Coverage

By Hope Patti

An insurer can't avoid covering an underlying suit accusing a Washington state OB-GYN of advising a patient to terminate a normal pregnancy based on a misdiagnosis, the doctor told a federal court, saying the patient's request for medical records does not trigger a coverage exclusion.

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Pharma Co. Investors Ink $4M Deal In FDA Hurdle Suit

By Katryna Perera

Verrica Pharmaceuticals and a group of investors have reached a $4 million deal to end claims that the company hid obstacles it faced in obtaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its lead product.

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Blue Cross Appeals Denial Of Ford Health Benefits Discovery

By Susan Smiley

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has asked a federal judge to reconsider a magistrate judge's ruling that rebuffed its attempt to obtain discovery from Ford Motor Co. and rejected its requests for additional depositions in an antitrust lawsuit brought by the automaker.

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Stryker Shorted Wash. Workers On Breaks, Wages, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

A medical device company failed to provide Washington hourly workers with required meal and rest breaks, underpaid their wages and restricted their ability to discuss their pay, according to a proposed class action removed to Washington federal court.

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Telecom Co. Slapped With Tobacco Fee Suit

By Grace Elletson

A former telecommunications company worker told an Arkansas federal court the business failed to properly reimburse workers who paid an extra benefit plan fee for using tobacco, arguing the company created inequities through a tobacco cessation program.

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LA Cannabis Retailer Sued Over Email 'Spy Pixels'

By Jonathan Capriel

A Los Angeles dispensary placed "malicious" code in marketing emails that spied on a consumer and recorded when she opened the messages and her location, forwarding the information to data-broker vendors, according to a California state lawsuit which seeks $1,000 per email and $5,000 per privacy violation.

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Oura Buys Healthcare AI Platform In $625M Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Health intelligence platform Oura, advised by Latham & Watkins LLP, on Tuesday unveiled plans to acquire artificial intelligence-native primary care company Counsel Health in a $625 million deal.

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Pharma Co. Invatech Can Stay In Chapter 11, For Now

By Clara Geoghegan

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge on Tuesday denied the Office of the U.S. Trustee's bid to convert Invatech's bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 as the former generic pharmaceutical group works to wrap up an administratively insolvent Chapter 11.

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How Product Recalls Expose Insurance Coverage Gaps

The recent Cyclospora outbreak in iceberg lettuce highlights the potential insurance risks of a contaminated ingredient or defective product creating a ripple effect throughout an entire supply chain, leaving companies with substantial costs that standard policies may not cover, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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What The 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Ruling Left Unanswered

Although the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates upheld the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions under the appointments clause, its narrow reasoning leaves unresolved questions about presidential control over relator litigation that could sustain further constitutional challenges, says Taylor Chenery at Bass Berry.

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Planning Personal Phone Collections Before Discovery Begins

For counsel planning a personal phone collection as part of the litigation discovery process, it's important to take early steps to ensure that necessary information will be obtained without exposing unrelated information or running into access issues, says Jeremy Horowitz at MARA Forensics.

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How A Child Of Immigrants Defends Abrego Garcia

By Corey Rothauser

Hecker Fink attorney Jeffrey Then grew up translating English-language letters for customers at his Dominican immigrant family’s Bronx business. Decades later, he drew on that experience while defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal human smuggling charges, becoming a lifeline for Abrego Garcia during his detention.

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Q&A

John Morgan On Why Luck Matters More Than Most Admit

By Y. Peter Kang

John Morgan, founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA, built the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., with 1,110 attorneys in 140 locations. In his new memoir, "Life Is Luck," the attorney who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.5 billion argues that success is about more than talent, intelligence or determination. It is also about recognizing opportunities, taking risks and capitalizing on fortunate breaks when they appear.

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Wachtell To Probe Nvidia CEO's Affair With Alleged China Spy

By Anna Scott Farrell and Sue Reisinger

Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to lead an investigation into allegations that its founder and CEO had an affair with a business executive who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, the artificial intelligence chipmaker said Tuesday.

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Grassley Defends Rush To Confirm Trump Judicial Picks

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday defended how quickly the committee is moving to confirm President Donald Trump's judicial picks before Democrats control the Senate.

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Trump Swaps Out Blocked 8th Circ. Nominee With Ark. Justice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew his pick for the Eighth Circuit and replaced him with a different nominee amid apparent opposition from Arkansas' senators. 

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Girardi Estate's $54M Claim Put Behind Other Creditors

By Craig Clough

The trustees overseeing Tom Girardi's and his former law firm's bankruptcies struck a deal to put their claims against each other behind other approved general unsecured claims, according to a California bankruptcy court filing, with the firm's trustee saying neither estate is expected to collect on those claims.

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