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Expert Analysis

• Florida's Medical Marijuana Industry: 2022 In Review

  

  2022 saw the medical marijuana market in Florida continue with several measured steps forward, bringing with it a host of new business opportunities and litigation challenges — and leaving open questions about adult-use legalization, says Richard Blau at GrayRobinson.

• Medical Malpractice Settlements Shouldn't Require NDAs

  

  Hospitals and insurance companies can go to great lengths to avoid accountability — as depicted in the recent Netflix film "The Good Nurse" — and nondisclosure agreements used to settle medical malpractice cases out of court leave patients without crucial information when seeking treatment, says Andrew Barovick at Sandra Radna.

• What Really Doomed Kidney Test Patents In Fed. Circ. Ruling

  

  Following the Federal Circuit's decision in CareDx v. Natera upholding the invalidation of kidney test patents, commentary has focused on the asserted patents' use of boilerplate, even though the issues in this case can be traced back to their claiming strategy and subsequent litigation strategy, say attorneys at BCLP.

• 2022 Hurdles Failed To Deter DOJ Antitrust Enforcement Goals

  

  Some significant losses and dismissals in major criminal cases this year haven't impeded the U.S Department of Justice Antitrust Division's commitment to enforcement, including in untested areas of the law, signaling to businesses the importance of reevaluating compliance program effectiveness, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

• Best Practices For Cannabis Cos. Managing A Product Recall

  

  As expanded access to legal cannabis markets increases the risk of large-scale, costly product recalls resulting from mislabeling or adulteration, companies should develop a recall plan that protects consumers, mitigates the threat of litigation and builds brand loyalty, say Joanna Borman and Amy Rubenstein at Dentons.

• What To Expect From Colo. Therapeutic Psychedelics Law

  

  Lauren Carboni at Foley & Lardner breaks down Colorado's recently passed Natural Medicine Health Act, highlighting key deadlines and next steps for regulators as they aim to prioritize social equity and affordable access to therapeutic psychedelics for adults, while also allowing the industry to succeed.

• Why States Need Clear Standards For Cannabis Testing Labs

  

  State lawmakers should emulate California’s efforts to protect consumers and create consistency in the cannabis market by implementing uniform testing standards, thereby curbing companies' practice of working with labs to misrepresent the concentrations of THC and contaminants in their products, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Law.

• Ky. Ruling Shows Need For Consistent Insurer Claim Replies

  

  The Kentucky Supreme Court's recent ruling in Ashland Hospital v. Darwin Select Insurance, allowing a hospital to continue seeking coverage for a medical malpractice claim, warns insurers against invoking a prior-notice exclusion to bar coverage after previously rejecting a notice of potential claim as insufficient, say Chet Kronenberg and Lindsay DiMaggio at Simpson Thacher.

• NY Panel's COVID Nursing Home Case Order Spurs Questions

  

  The New York Litigation Coordinating Panel's recent final order to coordinate the resolution of COVID-19 nursing home cases leaves critical parameters for the cases coming under the order undefined, such as time frame and injury, say Christopher Potenza and Elizabeth Adymy at Hurwitz Fine.

• 3rd Circ. 'Loss' Definition Is A Win For White Collar Defendants

  

  The Third Circuit's recent watershed decision in U.S. v. Banks — holding for the first time that the definition of "loss" in fraud cases does not include "intended" loss under the sentencing guidelines — may result in fewer white collar matters and smaller sentences, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

• The Fed. Circ. In November: The Presumption Of TM Validity

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision confirming the strength of the presumption of validity of federal trademark registrations in SoClean v. Sunset Healthcare makes clear that the presumption applies with full force, even if the examiner allowed a trademark to issue in error, says Paul Stewart at Knobbe Martens.

• Pending High Court ICWA Decision Holds Broad Implications

  

  Oral argument in Brackeen v. Haaland — a child welfare case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court — has called attention to complex interplay between the case and other tribal and racial issues, indicating that consequences will affect Congress' ability to fulfill its trust obligations to tribes, as well as diversity programs that include Native Americans, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

• Cos. Can Bet On More Stringent Climate Regs At Every Level

  

  The climate measures recently proposed at COP27, as well as emerging federal, state and local policies aimed at reaching aggressive carbon emissions reduction targets, make it clear that companies will have to adapt to the certainty of increased climate regulations at all levels of government, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.