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Massachusetts
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July 12, 2024
Whistleblower's Attys Get $5.9M After Losing $11.5M Fee Ask
A Massachusetts federal judge awarded a whistleblower's counsel $5.9 million in fees plus $651,845 in costs and expenses after slashing their prior "exorbitant" $11.5 million fee request in May in a decade-old False Claims Act lawsuit alleging Fresenius Medical Care billed Medicare for unnecessary hepatitis tests.
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July 12, 2024
Subcontractor Ducks Counterclaims In $1M Army Lab Suit
The prime construction contractor for a U.S. Army lab failed to provide enough evidence to bring counterclaims against a subcontractor in its $1 million breach of contract suit, a Massachusetts federal judge has ruled.
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July 12, 2024
Real Estate Recap: Mall Makeovers, Military Land, Fundraising
Catch up on this week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority, including one Big Four retail leader's take on mall potential, the U.S. Treasury's increasing scrutiny of land deals with national security concerns, and a midyear look at private real estate fundraising trends.
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July 12, 2024
Feds Say Fake Gunshot Wounds Part Of $1M Fraud Scheme
Five Massachusetts residents and one New Yorker defrauded insurance companies out of more than $1 million by submitting reimbursement claims for bogus overseas medical expenses, including gunshot wounds, stabbings and car accidents, federal prosecutors announced on Friday.
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July 12, 2024
Boston To Pay $1M To End Health Dept. Harassment Case
A high-profile sexual harassment case against the city of Boston and its former health director settled for $1 million earlier this month, according to a copy of the agreement released Friday.
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July 12, 2024
Wayfair Says Contractor On 1st Megastore Stiffed Vendors
Online retailer Wayfair LLC says the company it hired to oversee the build-out of its first "large-format" brick and mortar location failed to pay multiple subcontractors on the project, forcing Wayfair to pay the subcontractors directly to ensure that the store opened on time, according to a complaint filed Friday.
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July 12, 2024
Feds Seek 2 Years For Mass. Atty In Campaign Finance Scam
Boston federal prosecutors want a former BigLaw attorney to serve two years in prison for his conviction for a raft of campaign finance violations tied to his 2018 run for an open congressional seat in Massachusetts.
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July 12, 2024
DraftKings' Voided NBA Bets Spark Lawsuit In Fed. Court
An Indiana man claiming he was cheated out of a $150,000 payday has sued DraftKings over its decision to void bets on an October NBA game, with the online betting giant moving the proposed class action to federal court this week.
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July 12, 2024
Ex-Magellan Execs Waive Conflicts Over Past Shared Counsel
Two former Magellan Diagnostics executives charged with conspiring to hide defects in the company's lead testing devices agreed on Friday to waive any potential conflict created by their prior joint representation by a Donnelly Conroy & Gelhaar LLP attorney.
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July 11, 2024
Atty's Missteps Conflicted Her At Trial, Mass. Justices Say
Massachusetts' highest court on Thursday ruled that a man convicted of murder should get a new trial because his lawyer would have had to deride her own performance during her client's police interview in order to provide the best possible defense.
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July 11, 2024
Hershey, Walgreens Sued For 'One Chip Challenge' Death
The Hershey Co. and its businesses that created and negligently marketed the "One Chip Challenge" to eat an ultra-spicy tortilla chip are responsible for the wrongful death of a Massachusetts 14-year-old, whose death coincided with the product being pulled from the shelves, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the boy's mother.
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July 11, 2024
Insurer Can Tap Trust Fund For Old Claims, Mass. Court Says
A Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Thursday that workers' compensation insurers who are no longer selling policies in the state but still paying benefits on older claims are entitled to seek partial reimbursement from an employer-funded state trust fund, reversing its own prior holding on the question.
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July 11, 2024
Fiat Chrysler Says Exploding Minivan MDL Still Lacks Detail
A Stellantis unit has asked a federal judge in Michigan to significantly pare back multidistrict litigation over a risk of spontaneous explosion in certain Chrysler plug-in hybrid minivans, arguing that many drivers' state claims are stale or are otherwise legally flawed.
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July 11, 2024
Orrick Adds Wilson Sonsini, Hooper Lundy Healthcare Attys
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has hired seven new attorneys, including three partners who joined its life sciences and health tech platform in the firm's Washington, D.C., and Boston offices, the firm announced Thursday.
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July 11, 2024
Patent Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2024
A U.S. Supreme Court case over the reach of the judicially created double patenting doctrine and a dispute over which patents branded drugmakers can list in a federal database are among the cases attorneys will have their eyes on for the rest of the year.
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July 10, 2024
Drug Pricing, Overreach Dominate IP Disclaimer Feedback
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received heated feedback regarding its proposal to make follow-on patents easier to invalidate, with drug pricing advocates applauding it, top technology and pharma companies decrying it, and high-profile officials calling the proposal an overstep of the agency's authority.
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July 10, 2024
Meijer Says Takeda Can't Force Antitrust Suit Into Arbitration
Meijer argued before a Massachusetts federal court that Takeda waited far too long to try to force the supermarket chain to arbitrate its proposed class action accusing the Japanese pharmaceutical company of conspiring to delay a generic version of its anti-constipation drug Amitiza.
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July 10, 2024
Atty Says Alaska Judge Reprimand Bolsters 4th Circ. Bias Suit
A former public defender awaiting a bench ruling on her sexual harassment claims against the federal judiciary said Wednesday that the judge deciding her case should note a recent ruling reprimanding an Alaska federal judge for his "sexualized relationship" with a clerk in which the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council determined that intent was irrelevant.
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July 10, 2024
Drug Test Co. Pays $1M To Settle Medicare Fraud Claims
A Los Angeles drug testing lab will pay at least $1 million to settle claims it doubled-billed Medicare for toxicology tests for people undergoing treatment for opioid use disorder, Boston federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
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July 10, 2024
Buyers Say Teva Had Multipart Scheme To Delay Inhaler Rivals
Employee benefit funds accusing Teva of orchestrating a decadelong scheme to delay generic competition for its QVAR asthma inhalers told a Massachusetts federal court the drugmaker is trying to end the case by addressing merely one aspect of a multipart scheme.
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July 10, 2024
Mass. Justices Say Intent Not Factor In Boston Appeal Bonds
Boston's zoning law does not require that courts make a finding of bad faith before ordering a challenger to post a bond, Massachusetts' highest court concluded on Wednesday in a case involving the appeal of the issuance of a cannabis dispensary permit.
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July 09, 2024
Terrorism Victims Push To Keep Pharma Suit In DC Circ.
Terrorism victims warned the D.C. Circuit against sending to a lower court a lawsuit seeking to link pharmaceutical companies to the attacks that injured them, saying a remand could delay the case and frustrate their efforts to collect evidence.
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July 09, 2024
1st Circ. Revives Debt Harass Claims Against National Grid
The First Circuit on Tuesday revived a proposed class action against National Grid USA Service Company Inc. and two debt collection firms whose multiple calls per day to a Massachusetts customer in 2017 and 2018 allegedly violated the state's consumer protection law.
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July 09, 2024
Baby Bottle Makers Sued Over Claims Products Are 'BPA Free'
Philips North America and baby product maker Mayborn USA sell baby bottles that contain "considerable amounts of harmful microplastics" despite being advertised as free of the potentially harmful plastic chemical BPA, according to a pair of suits filed in Massachusetts and Connecticut federal courts.
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July 09, 2024
Davis Malm, Partner Dropped From Investor Suit
Davis Malm & D'Agostine PC and one of its partners have been dropped from a suit alleging a former client of the firm convinced a group of investors to back a startup, then misused their funds.
Expert Analysis
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What Courts' Deference Preference Can Mean For Sentencing
The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Vargas decision deepens the split among federal appeals courts on the level of deference afforded to commentary in the U.S. sentencing guidelines — an issue that has major real-life ramifications for defendants, and is likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, say Jennifer Freel and Michael Murtha at Jackson Walker.
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Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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Opinion
3 Principles Should Guide MTC's Digital Products Tax Work
As the Multistate Tax Commission's project to harmonize sales tax on digital products moves forward, three key principles will help the commission's work group arrive at unambiguous definitions and help states avoid unintended costs, say Charles Kearns and Jeffrey Friedman at Eversheds Sutherland.
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How High Court Is Assessing Tribal Law Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court's four rulings on tribal issues from this term show that Justice Neil Gorsuch's extensive experience in federal Native American law brings helpful experience to the court but does not necessarily guarantee favorable outcomes for tribal interests, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.
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In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development
As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Perspectives
A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial
Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.
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How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness
Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.
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Opinion
Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory
Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.
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It's Not You, It's Me: Breaking Up With Mass. FCA Prosecutors
A recent Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office settlement, which required a hospital to admit to certain facts, continues a state trend away from traditionally defense-friendly nonadmission language and may complicate the prospects of amicably resolving future False Claims Act cases, say Jonathan York and Scott Memmott at Morgan Lewis.
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Immigration Program Pitfalls Exacerbate Physician Shortages
Eliminating shortcomings from U.S. immigration regulations and policies could help mitigate the national shortage of physicians by encouraging foreign physicians to work in medically underserved areas, but progress has been halted by partisan gridlock, say Alison Hitz and Dana Schwarz at Clark Hill.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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What's Next For Enviro Justice After Affirmative Action Ban?
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down affirmative action measures in university admissions raises questions about the future of the Biden administration's environmental justice initiatives — but EJ advocates may still have reasons for cautious optimism, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
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Strategies For Conducting More Effective Plea Negotiations
The sentencing of “Varsity Blues” scandal architect Rick Singer earlier this year provides a helpful case study on the plea bargain process, spotlighting three key negotiation concepts and seven tactics for defense attorneys, say lawyers at Riley Safer.