1st Circ. Suggests It May Resurrect AdTech Wiretap Case

By Carolyn Muyskens

A panel of the First Circuit appeared receptive Monday to reinstating federal wiretap claims leveled against a Massachusetts healthcare system over its use of online tracking tools, despite arguments that such a ruling could cripple the industry amid an influx of similar cases nationwide.

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Mich. Jury Awards $307M To Ex-Inmate Over Denied Surgery

By Y. Peter Kang

A Michigan federal jury has awarded more than $300 million in a suit accusing a prison healthcare provider of refusing to approve a now former inmate's surgery, which forced him to defecate uncontrollably into a bag fastened to his stomach for more than two years.

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Paperwork Lapse Led To 'Horrific' Family Slayings, Jury Told

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Counsel for slain family members of a mentally ill man who murdered them after being discharged from a psychiatric ward asked a Philadelphia jury on Monday to impose a "substantial" verdict against a healthcare management company for allegedly not submitting paperwork that would have stopped him from buying a gun.

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Q&A

Cleary FCA Task Force Head On Enforcement Trends To Watch

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace, who now leads a False Claims Act task force at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, is predicting a continued surge in enforcement as the Trump administration wields the law in new ways.

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Mass. Justices Hint Insurer Owes Defense In Doc's Discipline

By Julie Manganis

An allegation that a Massachusetts doctor prescribed addictive medications to manipulate a patient into a sexual relationship could be enough to trigger a malpractice insurer's duty to defend him in a disciplinary proceeding launched years later over other alleged misconduct, justices on the state's highest court hinted Monday.

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Canvassing Claims Are Moot After Definition Is Nixed, Fla. Says

By Jonathan Capriel

Florida state officials are asking a federal judge to trim a lawsuit seeking to upend a state law imposing residency and citizenship restrictions on paid canvassers affiliated with some sponsors and supporters of ballot initiatives, saying the underlying law has been changed.

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Feds Seek To Enforce Trans Healthcare Orders During Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to let it enforce executive orders that ban federal funding for gender-affirming care for patients under age 19 while its appeal of a nationwide injunction is pending, arguing it's likely to succeed in its bid to overturn the trial court's order.

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RFK Jr. Tweaks HHS Vaccine Policy Panel Membership Criteria

By Lauren Berg

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making changes to a key federal vaccine advisory panel's charter, according to a renewal notice the agency published Monday, after a Massachusetts federal judge last month declared Kennedy's committee picks "appear distinctly unqualified."

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3rd Circ. Backs Sentence Enhancement In $2M COVID Fraud

By Elizabeth Daley

A man who was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for defrauding pandemic-era safety-net programs of more than $2 million cannot challenge his sentence, a Third Circuit panel has ruled, finding he was a ringleader and thus qualified for a sentencing enhancement.

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Florida Insurance Co. To Plead Guilty In $102.7M ACA Fraud

By Rae Ann Varona

A Florida insurance company will plead guilty to defrauding the federal government out of more than $100 million in federal subsidies by targeting unhoused and other vulnerable people for enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans they did not qualify for, according to a notice filed Monday in Florida federal court.

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9th Circ. Panel Finds Insurer Owed Defense To Wash. Provider

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Allied World unit unreasonably declined to defend a Washington behavioral health network in a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by an employee, a Ninth Circuit panel held Monday, partially reversing a summary judgment win for the insurer.

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Justices To Mull Courts' Authority To Hear Vets' Benefits Suits

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a U.S. Army veteran's suit challenging the limit on disability benefits available to him as someone convicted of a felony and sentenced to a lengthy prison term, after the Eleventh Circuit dismissed his claims.

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UMiami Can't Dodge Demoted Surgeon's Sex, Race Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Florida federal judge said Monday that the University of Miami can't fully escape a Latina surgeon's discrimination suit claiming she was demoted for reporting that her male colleagues were paid more, ruling she backed the core of her allegations with enough detail to keep her case in court.

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Biz Groups Urge 4th Circ. To End Allergan Overcharge Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

Major pharmaceutical and business associations urged the Fourth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision that revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing an Allergan Sales LLC predecessor of overcharging Medicaid, warning it threatens to become a road map for False Claims Act abuses.

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Anthem Owes $2.1M For No Surprises Act Awards, Court Told

By Hope Patti

Two medical providers said Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield owes them a combined $2.1 million for medically necessary services rendered to its insured members, telling a Colorado state court that the carrier is wrongfully withholding payment despite losing multiple federal arbitration proceedings.

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NJ Pharmacy Co. Sued Over Nursing Home Data Exposure

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey pharmacy for long-term care facilities is facing a proposed nationwide class action alleging it failed to safeguard highly sensitive patient information later accessed by cybercriminals, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-profile corporate disputes, insider trading allegations, contract fights and significant rulings shaping fiduciary duty and deal litigation.

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Pfizer Failed To Warn Of Depo-Provera Cancer Risk, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia woman who alleged she developed a brain tumor after taking the contraceptive drug Depo-Provera sued Pfizer in federal court, claiming the company failed to warn American patients about the danger even though it does so on warning labels in the European Union.

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Full Fed. Circ. Urged To Course Correct On Design Patent Test

By Dani Kass

The full Federal Circuit needs to return design patent infringement to a similarities-focused test, rather than one looking at differences between designs, massage device-maker Range of Motion Products LLC said in a bid to revive its suit against Armaid Co.

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Ore. Clinic Stuck With Privacy Suit Over LinkedIn Data Sharing

By Allison Grande

An Oregon federal judge has refused to throw out a putative class action accusing a fertility clinic of deploying tracking technology that illegally transmitted its website visitors' protected health information to LinkedIn for advertising purposes, finding that the plaintiff had adequately alleged that these disclosures violated federal health privacy law.

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Cooley, Wilson Sonsini Steer Neurocrine's $2.9B Soleno Buy

By Al Barbarino

Neurocrine Biosciences has agreed to acquire biotechnology company Soleno Therapeutics for about $2.9 billion in cash, in a deal advised by Cooley LLP and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC, the companies said on Monday. 

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4 Firms Guide Healthcare REIT's Early IPO Steps

By Grace Dixon

National Healthcare Properties filed Monday for an initial public offering in which the healthcare real estate investment trust preliminarily estimated it could raise $100 million, advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and two other firms.

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WilmerHale Adds Regulatory Atty From Mayer Brown In DC

By Christine DeRosa

WilmerHale announced Monday it has hired a veteran U.S. Food and Drug Administration and life sciences regulatory attorney from Mayer Brown LLP.

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A Check-Up On HHS' Push To Implement AI Infrastructure

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made some headway in its efforts to implement artificial intelligence across its agencies, but will have to overcome a number of near-term tests in order to be successful, says Theodore Thompson at Stinson.

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Why MDLs Slow Down — And How To Speed Them Up

Multidistrict litigation has become central to mass tort practice, but as MDLs grow in size and complexity, so do delays and costs — so tools like the new federal rule governing MDLs, targeted use of special masters and strategically deployed Lone Pine orders are more essential than ever, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

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Exploring When Fraud Asset Freezes Limit Right To Pick Atty

The defendant’s claim in the Seventh Circuit’s pending U.S. v. Shah case that the government restrained his assets until he couldn’t afford his chosen counsel presents a useful case study in how criminal forfeiture procedure interacts with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Sixth Amendment rights and appealing complex fraud convictions, says Elisha Kobre at Sheppard.

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What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

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Pregnant DLA Piper Atty Fired For 'Sloppy' Work, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former trademark associate told a Manhattan federal jury Monday that DLA Piper "blindsided" her with termination after she announced she was pregnant, but the BigLaw firm countered that she was fired for "repeated mistakes" and other on-the-job shortcomings.

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Files Of 10 Jones Day Clients Breached In Cyberattack

By Aebra Coe

Jones Day is the latest law firm to be hit by a cyberattack, the firm confirmed Monday, revealing that an unauthorized party accessed files of 10 clients.

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Troutman, Ex-Associate Reach Deal In Discrimination Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former Troutman Pepper Locke LLP associate asked a D.C. federal court Monday to pause a suit as the two sides have reported they had reached a settlement agreement over her discrimination claims against the firm, sidestepping a trial set to begin next month.

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Ex-EEOC Leaders Back BigLaw Firms In Trump EO Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

A group of former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials are backing four BigLaw firms in the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders targeting the firms, arguing the president's directives contradict how Congress meant for the EEOC to operate.

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Jackson Walker, Sorrento CEO Hit With RICO Suit Over Ch. 11

By Emlyn Cameron

More than a dozen Sorrento Therapeutics shareholders sued law firm Jackson Walker LLP and the defunct biopharmaceutical company's ex-CEO for over $100 million, accusing them of conspiring to launch an unnecessary bankruptcy in an irrelevant jurisdiction.

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Analysis

Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

By Cara Bayles

As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

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LSC Seeks $2.14B As White House Pushes To Slash Funding

By Marco Poggio

The Legal Services Corp. is asking Congress for $2.14 billion in fiscal year 2027 to fund civil legal services for low-income Americans who cannot afford an attorney.

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Atty Convicted Of Staging Truck Crashes Seeks New Trial

By Parker Quinlan

A disbarred New Orleans attorney has asked a federal judge in Louisiana for a new insurance fraud trial, arguing a suite of issues from her federal trial last month caused her to receive what she described in a filing as a "miscarriage of justice."

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Trump Orders Could Chill US Arbitration, Group Warns

By Caroline Simson

The College of Commercial Arbitrators has urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders yanking the security clearances of four BigLaw firms, arguing a contrary ruling would "imperil" arbitration in the U.S.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Loses Bid To Shake ICE Obstruction Conviction

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge Monday refused to overturn a former Wisconsin state judge's conviction for helping shield a defendant in her courtroom from arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, rejecting her contention that, because ICE had no authority to make the arrest in the courthouse, there was no obstruction.

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Ill. Justices Want MAGA Op-Ed Author Judge's Claims Axed

By Emily Sawicki

Illinois Supreme Court justices have asked a Chicago federal judge to throw out constitutional claims filed by a retired Illinois state trial court judge alleging he was wrongfully terminated over protected speech in a political opinion column, with the justices arguing the federal court should not interfere with a state court matter.

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Justices Clear Path For DOJ To Dismiss Bannon's Conviction

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's order upholding Steve Bannon's conviction over his nonresponse to a congressional subpoena investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, clearing the way for the Justice Department to dismiss his indictment.

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