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April 30, 2024
Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Moon Rover, Doomsday Planes
In April, the U.S. vowed to make a Japanese astronaut the first non-U.S. citizen to step on the moon in exchange for Japan and Toyota's habitable lunar rover and advanced a $13.1 billion effort for new Doomsday planes designed to withstand nuclear warfare. Here, Law360 looks at some of the most noteworthy government contracts over the last month.
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April 30, 2024
Hospital Says IP Spat Shouldn't Delay Children's Center Build
A Michigan hospital system has asked a judge to deny an attempt to block construction of a children's rehabilitation hospital, saying it did not copy its former architect's design and has made significant design pivots since terminating the firm's contract.
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April 30, 2024
Feds Endorse Easing Marijuana Status In Big Policy Shift
Federal drug enforcers will recommend loosening restrictions on cannabis for the first time since the drug was made federally illegal decades ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
FTC Says Novant Wants Court To Ignore Local Competition
Novant Health can't ask a federal judge to ignore evidence that buying two North Carolina hospitals will stymie competition in the region just because those facilities are supposedly struggling and the proposed deal might shore up resources, the Federal Trade Commission said in a brief doubling down on its bid to block the $320 million buyout.
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April 30, 2024
Don't Miss It: McDermott, Paul Weiss Lead Month's Hot Deals
A lot can happen in the world of mergers and acquisitions over the course of a month. Here, Law360 recaps the deals you may have missed, including transactions helmed by McDermott and Paul Weiss.
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April 30, 2024
PE-Backed Medline Buying Ecolab's Surgical Unit For $950M
Private equity-backed medical supply company Medline said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire the global surgical solutions business of Ecolab Inc. for $950 million in cash.
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April 29, 2024
ReNew Health To Pay $7M To Settle COVID-19 FCA Claims
ReNew Health Group LLC has agreed to pay the federal government and California $7 million to settle whistleblower allegations that the healthcare provider misused a COVID-19 waiver intended to free up hospital beds by submitting fraudulent claims for nursing home residents, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.
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April 29, 2024
Judge Rejects 2 Challenges To Medicare Drug Price Talks
A New Jersey federal judge on Monday shot down a pair of challenges to the Medicare drug price negotiations, extending a string of court victories for the Biden administration as it defends the talks as entirely voluntary.
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April 29, 2024
Radiologist Can't Opine On Surgeon Standards, Court Says
A woman can't maintain a medical negligence suit against a vascular surgeon for allegedly failing to identify a pseudoaneurysm in her leg, which later became infected, a Minnesota appeals court ruled on Monday, saying the patient's medical expert was properly disqualified.
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April 29, 2024
9th Circ. Scraps Trans Law Opinion After High Court Ruling
The Ninth Circuit on Monday scrapped its 2023 opinion blocking an Idaho law that would have banned transgender women from competing in sports following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision allowing enforcement of another Idaho law permitting a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, explaining that a revised opinion is needed.
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April 29, 2024
5th Circ. Ponders If There Were Claims In 'Patient Mistake' Suit
If an insurer says there's no claim, might a claim still have been made, a skeptical Fifth Circuit panel pondered at oral arguments Monday, considering whether a healthcare company's settlement paid for mistakenly approving out-of-state treatment of a Florida Medicaid patient was covered by insurance.
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April 29, 2024
UnitedHealth's Cyberattack Response Is 'Inadequate,' AGs Say
Nearly two dozen state attorneys general urged UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiary Change Healthcare "to do more" to address the fallout from a February cyberattack by Russian ransomware group Blackcat that breached their systems and services, noting their response efforts to the outage "have been inadequate."
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April 29, 2024
Trans Patients In NC, W.Va. Prevail In 4th Circ. Health Fight
The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed two lower court decisions ordering North Carolina and West Virginia to end discriminatory exclusions for coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in both states, finding the lower courts properly struck down the policies as "textbook sex discrimination."
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April 29, 2024
Ex-COO Of Mo. Charity Gets 3 Years For Bribing Officials
The former chief operating officer of a Missouri-based healthcare charity was sentenced to three years in prison Monday after admitting she and her husband, the charity's ex-chief financial officer, conspired to bribe elected officials in Arkansas, according to Missouri federal court documents.
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April 29, 2024
HHS Delays Menthol Cigarette Ban Indefinitely
U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said Friday that a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes has been put on hold for now, citing the need to process considerable feedback from civil rights groups and the criminal justice movement.
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April 29, 2024
Amid Backlash, FDA Extends Control For Lab-Developed Tests
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration inked a final rule Monday that gives the agency broad authority over lab-developed tests by classifying them as medical devices, a move that has drawn ire from congressional leadership and those in the healthcare and life sciences industries.
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April 29, 2024
4th Circ. OKs Sanctions Against Law Firm In Bestwall Ch. 11
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Monday refused to overturn more than $402,000 in sanctions against a law firm and its clients as part of bankruptcy proceedings for a Georgia-Pacific unit, saying the contempt and sanctions orders can't be appealed because they aren't final judgments.
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April 29, 2024
Judge Rejects Class Certification Of Seizure Drug Customers
An Illinois federal judge has rejected a class certification bid in a suit against drugmaker Mallinckrodt and prescription delivery platform Express Scripts, ruling that the plaintiffs were unable to meet their predominance burden as a class.
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April 29, 2024
DOL Wants Quick Win In Pa. Care Co. Wage Suit
The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday to grant it a pretrial win in its case accusing a private healthcare agency of failing to pay in-home caregivers overtime and minimum wages, saying the workers are protected by federal wage law.
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April 29, 2024
Conn. Health Co., Competitor Eye Deal In Trade Secrets Suit
Connecticut-based healthcare marketing firm Primacy LLC and a direct competitor accused of poaching top executive Matt Cyr are looking to settle a trade secrets lawsuit by pausing a preliminary injunction hearing and engaging a new magistrate judge to help them work out their differences.
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April 29, 2024
Aetna Can't Arbitrate Aramark's Suit Over Billing Issues
A Texas federal judge refused to boot to arbitration a suit Aramark filed against Aetna accusing the insurer of costing the food services company millions by approving shoddy health benefit claims, saying the allegations fall into a carveout in the parties' arbitration agreement.
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April 29, 2024
DOL Finalizes Rescission Of ACA-Skirting Health Plan Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday finalized its rescission of an association health plan rule that allowed small businesses to band together to create healthcare plans that skirt certain Affordable Care Act requirements, which a D.C. federal court largely invalidated in 2019.
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April 29, 2024
Philips Inks $1.1B Deal To Resolve CPAP Injury Claims
The plaintiffs' attorneys leading a multidistrict litigation against Koninklijke Philips NV and some of its American subsidiaries announced Monday that they had reached a $1.1 billion settlement agreement for plaintiffs claiming that degraded foam in their breathing machines caused them personal injuries or will require long-term medical monitoring.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
Ex-McKinsey Partner Says Firm Made Him Opioids 'Scapegoat'
A former McKinsey & Co. partner lobbed defamation claims at the consulting firm, claiming Friday that it lied to the government and the public about his purported role in deleting evidence amid government investigations into the firm's work with opioid manufacturers, an alleged scheme designed to make him the "scapegoat."
Expert Analysis
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5 Trade Secret Developments To Follow In 2024
Recent cases and trends in trade secret law indicate that significant developments are likely this year, and practitioners should be anticipating their impact on the business and legal landscape, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Supreme Court Amgen Ruling's Major Effect On Enablement
The U.S. Supreme Court's Amgen v. Sanofi invalidity holding continues to significantly affect technologies and all aspects of the patent system by providing confidence in the Federal Circuit's approach and a clearer understanding on enforceability and the disclosure needed for compliance, say Irena Royzman and Daniel Williams at Kramer Levin.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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OIG Report Has Clues For 2024 Healthcare Fraud Enforcement
A recent report from the Health Department's Office of the Inspector General reveals healthcare fraud and abuse enforcement trends that will continue in 2024, from increased telehealth oversight to enhanced policing of managed care, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Healthcare Industry Must Prepare For Greater AI Regulation
Healthcare entities that use even basic machine-based systems should pay close attention to a recent executive order and a proposed bill, both of which focus on artificial intelligence safety and security, and signal the government's intent to establish a regulatory framework for AI-enabled technology, says Kristen Petry at Spencer Fane.
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How 4 State AGs Are Shaping Data Privacy Compliance
As the landscape of state data privacy laws continues to grow across the nation, understanding how state attorneys general — such as in California, Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia — are thinking about these laws is critical to begin forecasting how enforcement will play out, say Michelle Kallen and Daniel Echeverri at Jenner & Block.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Tips For Contractors Preparing For Potential Gov't Shutdown
With elements of the Congress’ latest continuing resolution expiring on Jan. 19, companies that may be fatigued by preparing for potential shutdown after potential shutdown should consider the current political climate and take specific steps now, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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2 FCPA Settlements Illuminate Self-Disclosure, Disgorgement
Two of last year’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements — with biomedical company Lifecore and mining company Corsa Coal — suggest that the government will be much more flexible in negotiating disgorgement amounts if an entity voluntarily self-discloses misconduct, say Michael Gilbert and Lucas Amodio at Sheppard Mullin.
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Opinion
Conflicts Abound When Activist Short-Sellers Publish Reports
The self-serving relationship between activist short-sellers and plaintiff-side litigators is conflict-ridden and hinders the fact finder's impartiality when a short report forms the basis for lead plaintiffs' allegations, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.
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Financing Healthcare Deals In Uncertain Markets This Year
As challenges to closing and financing new deals prevail into 2024, lenders in new healthcare transactions are talking about alternative approaches for sponsors to consider, such as private credit alternatives and utilization of junior capital, say attorneys at McDermott.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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Disability Benefits Ruling Holds Claim Evaluation Lessons
In Haynes v. Principal Life Insurance, a Texas federal court recently overturned a disability benefits denial, providing both claimants and insurers with valuable insight on what constitutes a valid benefits claim, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Lessons From DOJ's Handling Of Rare Medicare Fraud Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent indictment against HealthSun sheds light on the relatively rare circumstances in which the agency may pursue criminal charges for fraud involving Medicare Advantage, but its subsequent decision not to prosecute shows that compliance efforts can mitigate penalties, say attorneys at WilmerHale.