Health

May 22, 2025
Judge Asks If DEI Is Now 'Homogeneity, Inequity And Exclusion'

A Massachusetts federal judge considering a challenge to the Trump administration's cuts to hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants pressed the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday for its definition of diversity, equity and inclusion, at one point asking hypothetically whether the government's policy is now "homogeneity, inequity and exclusion."
May 22, 2025
Conn. AG Targets 'Bootleg' Weight Loss Drug Sellers

Connecticut has launched a consumer protection lawsuit in state court against a Florida-based company and its owner, accusing them of peddling untested and unsafe, research-level, "bootleg" GLP-1 weight loss drugs to customers.
May 22, 2025
Boies Schiller Stays In Row Of Mass Tort Firms, Ex-Counsel

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP was unable to convince a federal court that it does not belong in a suit between pharmaceutical mass tort firms and their former counsel, with a Miami federal judge on Thursday remanding the suit back to state court after finding allegations against Boies Schiller are viable.
May 22, 2025
Texas Lawmakers Clarify Exceptions To Abortion Ban

The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday specifying that women experiencing life-threatening pregnancies don't have to suffer "any effects" before they can obtain an abortion.
May 21, 2025
'DIY' Rape Kit Ban Challenge Seems To Leave 9th Circ. Split

A Ninth Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over a company's appeal in its case challenging Washington state's ban on self-administered DNA collection kits for sexual assault survivors, with one judge remarking the product "doesn't do a whole heck of a lot" if the evidence isn't admissible in court.
May 21, 2025
Latham Leads Pair Of Venture-Backed IPOs Raising $624M

Artificial-intelligence powered physical therapy startup Hinge Health Inc. raised an estimated $437 million initial public offering at the top of its range Wednesday, leading two venture-backed IPOs that netted more than $624 million combined, both represented by Latham & Watkins LLP.
May 21, 2025
Florida Ex-Hospital Exec Charged In $3.6M Fraud Scheme

The former chief operating officer of the fundraising arm for a Miami-based health system was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with a scheme to falsify $3.6 million in vendor invoices that funneled more than $1 million in kickbacks paid directly to her, Florida federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
May 21, 2025
Judge Mulls National Scope Of Bid To Restore COVID Grants

A Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday mulled whether it would be appropriate to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the termination of $11 billion public health grants set aside under COVID-era laws in a lawsuit brought by four local governments and a public sector union.
May 21, 2025
AbbVie Gets Victory In Allergan Shareholder Suit Upheld

An Illinois state appellate panel said Wednesday that a trial court properly dismissed a shareholder class action against biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. that accused the drugmaker of issuing unregistered shares to investors after acquiring Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan.
May 21, 2025
6th Circ. Revives Yacht Co.'s ERISA Health Fee Claims

The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday revived a Michigan yacht company's federal benefits lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, holding that a lower court wrongly tossed allegations that excessive healthcare fees breached fiduciary duties and caused prohibited transactions.
May 21, 2025
GOP FTC Renews Calls For Orange Book Patent Delistings

The now-Republican controlled Federal Trade Commission again called on Teva, Novartis, Mylan and other drugmakers to remove patents from a key federal database that partially insulates their drugs from generic competition, arguing Wednesday the patents cover "devices," not drugs, and thus don't warrant such protection.
May 21, 2025
Texas Bills To Watch Before The End Of The 2025 Session

With less than two weeks remaining in the Texas legislative session, lawmakers will hit several deadlines in the coming days that will seal the fate of bills surrounding legal procedure, abortion, artificial intelligence and other topics.
May 21, 2025
Court Won't Revive Mental Health Class Suit Against Fla. Blue

A Florida appeals court Wednesday declined to revive a proposed class suit by state employees enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida healthcare plan alleging the insurer designed a claims process to obstruct approval and payment of claims for mental health care.
May 21, 2025
Rite Aid Cleared To Sell Pharmacy Assets To CVS, Others

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge Wednesday gave drugstore chain Rite Aid the go-ahead to transfer millions of prescriptions and dozens of stores to CVS, Walgreens and other pharmacy businesses in Chapter 11 transactions.
May 21, 2025
Device Maker Who Evaded Tax Gets 2 Years In Prison

A Florida man who sold millions of dollars worth of medical devices that federal prosecutors said were unproven to work was sentenced to two years in prison for evading taxes and ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
May 21, 2025
Walgreens Ducks False Ad Suit Over Mucus Relief Meds

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a potential class action accusing Walgreens of misleading customers by selling them over-the-counter mucus relief medicine containing benzene without warning them of that risk, saying the claims are preempted by a federal drug safety law.
May 21, 2025
Food Distribution Co. Must Face Tobacco Surcharge Suit

Food distributor Performance Food Group must face a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully overcharged tobacco users hundreds of dollars for health benefits, with a Virginia federal judge ruling workers sufficiently alleged the company breached its responsibilities under federal benefits law.
May 21, 2025
11th Circ. Lets Man Seek Rare Writ To Fight $21M Restitution

A former payroll director serving time for defrauding hospitals in an employment tax scheme can challenge his $21 million restitution by pursuing a rare legal remedy, the Eleventh Circuit ruled, saying the fact that he's in custody doesn't make him ineligible to apply.
May 20, 2025
Trump Admin Rationale For HHS Firings Challenged By Judge

A Rhode Island federal judge expressed skepticism Tuesday about the Trump administration's assertion that mass firings at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were lawful and intended to improve national health, saying during a preliminary injunction hearing that nothing in the record demonstrates "thoughtful work" behind these decisions.
May 20, 2025
Flo Users Get Class Cert. In Google, Meta Data-Sharing Suit

A California federal judge has granted class status to users of the menstrual cycle tracking app developed by Flo Health Inc. in a suit accusing the company of unlawfully sharing their personal health information with Google and Meta, finding that the defendants' opposition to this move lacked clarity and support.
May 20, 2025
Subpoena For Alleged Trans Care Must Stand, Texas Says

A Texas appeals court on Tuesday pressed the state to explain why the principle of sovereign immunity should stop patients who potentially received gender affirming care from trying to block a subpoena, saying during oral arguments a challenge to a subpoena seems to fall outside sovereign immunity.
May 20, 2025
Cancer Drug Co. Beats Investor Suit Over FDA Rejection

Cancer drug company Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc. has permanently escaped a shareholder suit alleging it understated the likelihood the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would refuse approving Checkpoint's lead product candidate, with a New York federal judge ruling company statements were not shown to be false or made with scienter.
May 20, 2025
Medical Organizations Sue Feds For Removing Health Data

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and several constituent agencies are accused of violating the Administrative Procedure Act by illegally purging websites containing critical public health information related to trans and HIV care, vaccines and the prevention of outbreaks of communicable diseases, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington federal court.
May 20, 2025
Medical Supply Co. Faces Ga. Suit Over Unwanted Texts

A Florida-based medical supply company has been hit with a proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action in Georgia federal court by a man who says he received several promotional text messages from the company after he added himself to the National Do Not Call Registry.
May 20, 2025
Ga. Panel Says Affidavit Won't Sink Couple's Surgery Suit

The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected Southern Regional Medical Center and one of its nurses' arguments that a trial court should have tossed a married couple's lawsuit over injuries stemming from a hysterectomy over their failure to attach a required affidavit to their complaint.

Expert Analysis

Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
Courts Must Stick To The Science On Digital Addiction Claims

A number of pending personal injury and product liability lawsuits allege that plaintiffs have developed behavioral addictions to the use of social media and video games — but this is not yet recognized by relevant authorities as an addiction, so courts must carefully scrutinize such claims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
2024 Was A Significant Year For HIPAA Compliance

The Office of Civil Rights' high level of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act activity in 2024 and press releases about its specific focus on certain cybersecurity issues make it abundantly clear that the OCR is not going to tolerate widespread compliance complacency, says Nathan Kottkamp at Williams Mullen.
5 Notable Information Security Events In 2024

B. Stephanie Siegmann at Hinckley Allen discusses 2024's largest and most destructive data breaches seen yet, ranging from ransomware disrupting U.S. healthcare systems on a massive scale, to tensions increasing between the U.S. and China over cyberespionage and the control of U.S. data.
Series

Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
How 2025 NDAA May Affect DOD Procurement Protests

A bid protest pilot program included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act shifts litigation costs onto unsuccessful bid protesters and raises claim-filing thresholds, which could increase risks to U.S. Department of Defense contractors who file protests, and reduce oversight of DOD procurement awards, say attorneys at Venable.
Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
Opinion

No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
Liability Risk For AI In Medical Devices Demands Greater Care

As regulators push for legal reform surrounding artificial intelligence and cases implicating product liability for AI in medical technology continue to rise, manufacturers must adapt and implement new strategies to accommodate evolving risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Top 10 Noncompete Developments Of 2024

Following an eventful year in noncompete law at both state and federal levels, employers can no longer rely on a court's willingness to blue-pencil overbroad agreements and are proceeding at their own peril if they do not thoughtfully review and carefully enforce such agreements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.