Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Health
-
June 14, 2024
4 Big ERISA Decisions From The 1st Half Of 2024
A California federal court allowed a novel type of 401(k) mismanagement suit to advance to discovery, the Ninth Circuit elaborated on the pleading standard for mental health parity claims, and workers beat back an attempt to force their federal benefits suit into arbitration at the Second Circuit. Here, attorneys discuss four consequential ERISA decisions in 2024's first half.
-
June 14, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen toy company Jellycat hit supermarket Aldi with an intellectual property claim, AIG start proceedings against firefighting foam company Angus International Safety Group, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a legal claim against the Post Office amid the ongoing Horizon IT scandal. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
-
June 13, 2024
Ex-Duke Doc Wants Panel To Redo Disability Bias Ruling
A fired Duke University hospital doctor pressed a North Carolina state appeals court to reconsider not reviving the disability claims in his suit against the hospital, arguing that the case belongs before a jury.
-
June 13, 2024
Pa. Nursing Home Creditors OK With $43.7M DIP Loan
Creditors of a Pittsburgh-area nursing home network indicated Thursday they were open to $43.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing as the group prepares to potentially sell off a portion of its footprint in a Chapter 11 sale.
-
June 13, 2024
Justices Hand Abortion Advocates An Incomplete Win
The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection Thursday of a challenge to the abortion drug mifepristone will do little to safeguard long-term access to the medication while suggesting that it will be up to voters, not judges, to settle some of the nation's abortion debates, attorneys say.
-
June 13, 2024
Thomas Targets Group Standing In Mifepristone Ruling
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas joined his colleagues Thursday to unanimously uphold broad access to the abortion medication mifepristone for now, but he wrote separately to challenge a standing rule that often serves as the key to the courthouse doors for litigants of all varieties.
-
June 13, 2024
Feds Get $4.6M In Deal Over Telehealth Billing Fraud Probe
A multi-state network of behavioral health companies and their CEO have agreed to pay nearly $4.6 million to settle allegations that they submitted fraudulent claims for payment to Medicare and Connecticut's Medicaid program for telehealth services for nursing home residents, federal investigators said Thursday.
-
June 13, 2024
CVS Dodges Discovery Audit In Generic Drug Collusion Suit
A federal judge declined to make CVS hire a forensic auditor to evaluate its compliance with information demands in a lawsuit alleging it colluded with drugmakers to keep Medicare beneficiaries from accessing certain generic drugs, despite a whistleblower bemoaning "woefully deficient" discovery on the pharmacy chain's part.
-
June 13, 2024
Health Co. Execs Charged In $100M Adderall Sales Scheme
Two California digital healthcare company executives were charged in a first-of-its-kind case Thursday with scheming to sell Adderall through deceptive advertising, allegedly bringing in $100 million in illicit profits.
-
June 13, 2024
Abortion Medication Case Ends 'With A Whimper' At High Court
A case that threatened to cut off access to a widely used abortion medication while disrupting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authority over drugs and medical devices ended Thursday at the U.S. Supreme Court with a decision concerned solely with challengers' right to sue.
-
June 12, 2024
Ex-Rehab Biz Manager Gets Prison For Theft From Resident
The former business manager of a Connecticut rehabilitation center will serve at least nine months in prison for stealing money from an elderly resident's bank account, state prosecutors said.
-
June 12, 2024
Indiana Hospital Gets $11M Leg Amputation Verdict Reversed
An Indiana state appeals court has upended a $1.3 million judgment — originally an $11 million verdict — awarded to a patient whose leg was amputated allegedly due to the negligence of a hospital, its physician and nurse, citing a slew of "cumulative errors" the lower court made during the trial.
-
June 12, 2024
Yale Hospital OK With Merging Suits Over Stalled $435M Sale
Yale New Haven Hospital has consented to combining two dueling lawsuits over its stalled $435 million deal to buy three Connecticut facilities operated by California-based Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., agreeing that judicial efficiency and economy is best served by consolidating both entities' claims into one proceeding.
-
June 12, 2024
Texas Anesthesia Co. Appealing To Duck FTC Suit To 5th Circ.
U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. gave notice Wednesday that it will ask the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas federal judge's mid-May decision refusing to toss Federal Trade Commission allegations of a monopolistic "roll-up" of Lone Star State anesthesia practices.
-
June 12, 2024
SEIU Unit On Hook For $6M In HCA Healthcare Strike Dispute
An arbitrator has found a Service Employees International Union affiliate liable for more than $6 million in damages for replacement worker costs from a strike, a California hospital said Wednesday, while a union representative told Law360 that the decision is "outrageous and unprecedented."
-
June 12, 2024
Doctor Says Lawyer, Insurer Agreed To Backdoor Settlement
A Colorado neurosurgeon accused an attorney and an insurer of interfering with the legal services provided to him in defense of an underlying medical malpractice suit, telling a state court the underlying suit was settled without his consent, elevating the carrier and its insured's interests over his own.
-
June 12, 2024
SPAC Dealmakers Expect Modest Pickup After Market Bottom
Market professionals expect a slow pickup in deals involving special-purpose acquisition companies starting in the second half of 2024, predicting on Wednesday that a leaner market will emerge following the recent crash and imposition of tighter regulations.
-
June 12, 2024
'Natural' Toothpaste Brand Loaded With PFAS, Moms Say
Natural toothpaste company RiseWell LLC falsely advertised its kids toothpaste as "natural" and "safe to swallow," two mothers alleged Tuesday in a proposed class action, saying a U.S. Department of Defense-certified laboratory test found 750 times more "forever chemicals" in the toothpaste than researchers found in heavily tainted kale.
-
June 12, 2024
32 AGs Urge Justices Take Up Okla. PBM Law Fight
Thirty-two attorneys general urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Oklahoma's petition for review of a Tenth Circuit decision holding that federal law preempted portions of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing the justices needed to intervene to resolve a circuit split.
-
June 12, 2024
FTC Asks 4th Circ. To Pause Novant Hospital Purchase
The Federal Trade Commission has asked the Fourth Circuit to pause Novant Health's purchase of a North Carolina hospital while enforcers appeal an order from the lower court that refused to put the deal on hold for the commission's in-house merger challenge.
-
June 12, 2024
Conn. Justices Nix Health Dept. Worker's Whistleblower Claim
The Connecticut Supreme Court has trounced a public health official's claim that she was fired for blowing the whistle on appointees who lacked mandatory credentials, upholding her termination but also backing her simultaneous pursuit of a union grievance and an administrative complaint.
-
June 12, 2024
Transit Insurer Seeks To Limit Loss From $60M No-Fault Scam
A taxi and livery insurer told a Brooklyn federal judge Wednesday that it is pursuing settlement in its effort to recoup $3.2 million lost in a massive, $60 million no-fault scam led by a former clinic operator now headed for prison.
-
June 12, 2024
Sen. Dems Seek Criminal Penalties For PE Hospital 'Looters'
A pair of Democratic senators are targeting private equity's role in the healthcare industry, introducing new legislation Tuesday that would give federal and state enforcers new tools to go after firms they say are "looting" hospital systems and other providers, including possibly jailing executives if patient deaths result.
-
June 11, 2024
Pa. Health System Shakes Meta Data Sharing Row For Now
A Pennsylvania federal judge has tossed a putative class action accusing a nonprofit health system of unlawfully sharing information about website visitors' activities with Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the plaintiff had failed to adequately detail what protected health data had been disclosed.
-
June 11, 2024
Psychiatrist Can't Ax Verdict Over ADHD Drug Death
A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday refused to let a psychiatrist off the hook for a $5 million jury verdict — later reduced to less than $1 million — that found that he had negligently prescribed amphetamines to a patient with a history of abusing them, ultimately resulting in a brain hemorrhage that killed her.
Expert Analysis
-
Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law
A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.
-
Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
-
2 Recent Suits Show Resiliency Of Medicare Drug Price Law
Though pharmaceutical companies continue to file lawsuits challenging the Inflation Reduction Act, which enables the federal government to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, recent decisions suggest that the reduced drug prices are likely here to stay, says Jose Vela Jr. at Clark Hill.
-
4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
-
Decoding The FTC's Latest Location Data Crackdown
Following the Federal Trade Commission's groundbreaking settlements in its recent enforcement actions against X-Mode Social and InMarket Media for deceptive and unfair practices with regards to consumer location data, companies should implement policies with three crucial elements for regulatory compliance and maintaining consumer trust, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.
-
Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement
Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.
-
Lessons For Nursing Facilities From DOJ Fraud Settlement
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement with the owner of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Florida provides a cautionary tale of potential fraud risks, and lessons on how facilities can mitigate government enforcement actions, say Callan Stein and Rebecca Younker at Troutman Pepper.
-
Planning For Healthcare-Private Equity Antitrust Enforcement
U.S. antitrust agency developments could mean potential enforcement actions on healthcare-related acquisitions by private equity funds are on the way, and entities operating in this space should follow a series of practice tips, including early assessment of antitrust risks on both the state and federal level, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
-
3 Health Insurance Paths For Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Ahead of potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for psychedelics as insured treatments, attorneys at Husch Blackwell review pathways for these drugs to achieve coverage as treatments for complex mental health conditions.
-
Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
-
Bid Protest Spotlight: Nonprecedential, Unreasonable, Scope
James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions showing that while the results of past competitions may inform bid strategy, they are not determinative; that an agency's award may be deemed unreasonable if it ignores available information; and that a protester may be right about an awardee's noncompliance but still lose.
-
Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
-
Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
-
Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
-
Direct Claims Ruling May Alter Gov't Ties To Software Firms
A recent Federal Circuit decision allowing a software developer to pursue legal action under the Contract Disputes Act could change the government's relationship with commercial software providers by permitting direct claims, even in third-party purchase situations, say Dan Ramish and Zach Prince at Haynes Boone.