Jury Clears Ore. Hospital That Implanted FDA-Flagged Mesh

By Cara Salvatore

A state jury cleared an Oregon hospital system and a surgeon of liability Wednesday over a patient's claims that prolapse mesh was implanted almost two weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered its maker to stop selling it.

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GOP States Ask Justices To Undo Trans Patients' 4th Circ. Win

By Patrick Hoff

A group of two dozen Republican attorneys general told the U.S. Supreme Court it should review a Fourth Circuit decision barring West Virginia and North Carolina from excluding coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, arguing states need the power to control controversial nascent treatments.

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Full 11th Circ. Won't Rehear Ala. Trans Care Ban Challenge

By Grace Elletson

The Eleventh Circuit said it will not reconsider its ruling allowing Alabama to enact a ban on certain gender-affirming medical care for minors, knocking down a challenge brought by parents and those who received the treatment of the circuit's ruling, which found that the ban doesn't flout constitutional rights.

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Comer Tells PBMs To Correct Record On Role In Drug Pricing

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is demanding that the heads of three major pharmacy benefit managers "correct the record" on their testimony made before his committee in July about their roles in drug pricing, including company claims that the PBMs don't steer customers to in-house pharmacies and that they allow non-affiliated pharmacies to negotiate contracts.

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Convicted Drexel Prof Says Records Would've Swayed Jury

By Carla Baranauckas

A Drexel University accounting professor convicted on charges of tax evasion and filing false tax returns after the government accused him of failing to report $3.3 million in income from a Trenton pharmacy has asked a New Jersey federal judge for a new trial.

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Ga. Health System Shakes Facebook Data Sharing Row

By Allison Grande

A Georgia federal judge has tossed a putative class action accusing Piedmont Healthcare Inc. of unlawfully sharing confidential health information with Facebook, finding that the plaintiffs failed to allege actual damages and that the "weight of authority" in similar online tracking cases supported the provider's contention that there was no privacy intrusion. 

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HHS Withdraws Appeal In Hospital Web-Tracking Clash

By Dan McKay

The Biden administration on Thursday abandoned its appeal of a federal court decision that knocked down new guidance restricting how hospitals can use web-tracking tools, handing the American Hospital Association a victory in a closely watched case.

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Sutter Health Kickback Fight Likely Headed To Nov. Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge indicated Wednesday she's likely to send at least some claims in a whistleblower's kickback suit against Sutter Health and a surgical-practice group to a November trial, saying during a hearing there are disputes over the credibility of certain evidence and that's "the providence of the jury."

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Seattle Biotech Can't Immediately Force Out LA Times Owner

By Rachel Riley

Billionaire and Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong will not be forced to recuse himself from a Seattle-based biotech research institute board while the nonprofit's breach-of-fiduciary duty lawsuit against him is pending, a Washington federal judge said on Thursday.

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Houston Law Firm Hit With 2nd Data Breach Suit

By Tracey Read

Houston personal injury firm Fleming Nolen & Jez has been hit with another proposed class action over a February 2023 data breach that exposed clients' personal and health information.

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Doctor Wants Stepson Barred From Selling Medial Device

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas doctor has asked a federal court to step in and stop his stepson from selling "micro-current therapy medical devices," saying in a motion this week that his stepson was still using his trademarks despite the fact that he had canceled his license.

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Conn. ER Docs Ask To Drop Harvard Pilgrim Insurance Fight

By Aaron Keller

A staffing company covering six Connecticut emergency rooms has asked a federal judge to dismiss its lawsuit against Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of Connecticut Inc. after the state's highest court last week ruled in the insurer's favor on three certified questions of law regarding a surprise billing statute.

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Brief

Pa. Justices To Examine Axing Of 'Red Book' Drug Pricing

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has agreed to review a decision tossing the "Red Book" pricing values used by the state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation to calculate reimbursement for prescription drug costs.

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Brief

Pacira To Appeal Generic's Win In Pain Drug Patent Fight

By Carla Baranauckas

Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it is appealing a New Jersey federal judge's decision invalidating its patent on a nonopioid painkiller and opening the way for generic versions of its drug Exparel, a long-acting injectable for managing postsurgical pain.

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Brief

Man Gets Prison In Journalist Harassment Case

By Elliot Weld

A man who pled guilty to his role in a scheme to harass two New Hampshire Public Radio journalists was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

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How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

Appeals courts have awakened from summertime slumber and crammed their early autumn calendars with arguments of national significance, which Law360 previews in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. We're also recapping August's top appellate decisions, exploring new polling about U.S. Supreme Court opinions and testing your knowledge of Fifth Circuit history.

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Period Tracker App Users Seek Class Cert. In Data-Selling Suit

By Jared Foretek

Users of the menstrual cycle tracking app Flo Health Inc. are seeking class certification in their suit against Flo, Google and Meta, telling a California federal judge the proposed class would include millions of users whose personal health information was sold to the ad giants without consent.

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DOJ Warns Of Harm From Special Counsel Tapes' Release

By Emily Sawicki

The House Judiciary Committee Republicans demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland release audiotapes of President Joe Biden's interviews over Biden's handling of classified documents while vice president "would cause significant harm to law enforcement interests," the U.S. Department of Justice has told a D.C. federal court.

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Colo. Immigration Atty Disbarred After Hiding Her Suspension

By Daniel Ducassi

A Colorado immigration attorney was disbarred after she filed several documents with immigration authorities while suspended — claiming she was licensed in Nebraska — and appeared before an immigration judge without disclosing her suspension, according to a stipulation to discipline filed Thursday.

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Analysis

What Attorneys Need To Know About New Texas Biz Court

By Catherine Marfin

A new era of business litigation has begun in the Lone Star State. Here's what you need to know about the new Texas Business Court.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Epstein Becker Green PC and the Restaurant Law Center lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Fifth Circuit struck down a U.S. Department of Labor rule on tipped wages, deeming it to go against the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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Firm Accused Of Botching Arbitration In Tribal Lending Row

By Rose Krebs

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and one of its former attorneys have been hit with a California federal court suit accusing them of negligence in their representation of a consulting business and its president in a 2018 arbitration they say caused them at least $17.5 million in damages.

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FTX Exec Drops Bid To Undo Plea Amid Partner's Indictment

By Rachel Scharf

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame is no longer seeking to vacate his guilty plea that he says Manhattan federal prosecutors induced with a false promise to halt a campaign finance probe into his partner Michelle Bond, though his claims that they broke their word will still be litigated before two different judges.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen television property developer Kambiz Babaee hit with a fraud claim, a Bitcoin podcaster reignite a dispute with Australian computer scientist Craig Wright and football club owner Massimo Cellino's company file a claim against ClearBank. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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More Took, Passed Multistate Bar Exam In July

By Aebra Coe

An influx of law students in 2021 has led to an increased number of examinees taking and passing the multistate bar exam in July, according to an announcement this week from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Clark Says New Trump Indictment Bolsters Case

By Emily Sawicki

Special counsel Jack Smith's superseding indictment of former President Donald Trump over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election sets a new precedent that should end ethics charges leveled against Trump administration Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Clark, according to Clark's latest arguments.

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Analysis

Trump's Bid To Move Hush Money Case Could Backfire

By Phillip Bantz

Donald Trump's renewed bid to persuade a federal court to intervene in the Manhattan district attorney's hush money prosecution faces slim odds and could ultimately be deemed a frivolous filing that exposes his attorneys to potential sanctions, experts told Law360.

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Va. US Atty To Resign As Wife Assumes Judgeship

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia has announced that he will step down from his role at the end of the year as his wife, Jasmine Hyejung Yoon, was confirmed to a federal judgeship in that district.

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The Women Working To Lift Barriers For Military Spouse Attys

By Tracey Read

The American Bar Association's policymaking body earlier in August passed a resolution urging all state supreme courts and bar associations to accommodate the unique needs of military spouse attorneys who must move frequently to support the nation's defense. Here, Law360 Pulse talks to members of the group that helped push the issue to the forefront.

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The Top In-House Hires Of August

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires over the last month included high-profile appointments at Target, Cigna and Estée Lauder. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the last full month of summer.

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UTA Atty Fights For More Fees After Beating $125M Suit

By Craig Clough

An attorney representing Liner Freedman Taitelman & Cooley LLP urged a California state judge at a hearing Friday to reconsider a tentative ruling that granted less than the attorney fees sought for defeating a $125 million defamation suit brought by MediaLink's founder, saying the suit threatened the very existence of the firm.

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Conn. Chief Justice Pick Has Already Shaped The Courts

By Brian Steele

When Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he had selected state Supreme Court Justice Raheem L. Mullins, 46, to serve as chief justice, he highlighted Justice Mullins' seven years of service on the state high court and noted that his nominee has written about 70 majority opinions.

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Giuliani Pretends To Live In Fla. To Shield Condo, Suit Says

By Alison Knezevich

The Georgia election workers who secured a $148 million judgment against former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in D.C. federal court hit him with a new lawsuit Friday, saying he is "pretending" to live in Florida in "a brazen attempt to shield his luxury Palm Beach condo" from them.

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