Health

April 23, 2025
M&A 'Pause' Requires Nimble, Creative Dealmaking

With deals stalling in a market defined by uncertainty, attorneys and the dealmakers they counsel are leaning on creative structures — from earnouts to partial stake sales — to keep transactions alive, according to corporate lawyers advising on major mergers and acquisitions.
April 22, 2025
23andMe Has Received 'Significant Interest' In Ch. 11 Auction

Genetic testing company 23andMe has received significant interest in the Chapter 11 auction for its assets, its counsel told a Missouri bankruptcy judge Tuesday at a hearing where it received final approval of a $35 million financing package to fund its bankruptcy case.
April 22, 2025
Judge Approves Prospect Medical's Pa. Hospitals' Closure

A Texas bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Prospect Medical Holdings' request to close two Pennsylvania hospitals after the bankrupt operator was unable to secure another entity to run the hospitals despite support from government and community organizations to keep them open.
April 22, 2025
Insurer Skirts Bad Faith Claim In $60M Liposuction Death Row

The professional liability insurer for a Georgia cosmetic surgery provider didn't act in bad faith in handling a liposuction patient death claim that eventually led to a $60 million judgment, a Utah federal court ruled, rejecting arguments that the insurer breached its duties.
April 22, 2025
Tivity Health Denied Win In Suit Over Nutrisystem Buy

Health program company Tivity Health was largely denied a summary judgment win over investors who sued the company over its troubled $1.3 billion purchase of Nutrisystem, according to an order from a Tennessee federal judge who ruled Tivity's duty to disclose certain information is still debatable.
April 22, 2025
Hogan Lovells Adds Ex-HHS Atty To Health Practice

Hogan Lovells on Tuesday announced the arrival of a former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services attorney to the firm's global regulatory and intellectual property practice group.
April 22, 2025
Pharma Co. Owner Cops To Selling $60M Of Sham HIV Drugs

An owner of a pharmaceutical company has pled guilty in Florida to participating in a $60 million nationwide scheme to illegally distribute misbranded and adulterated HIV drugs to patients.
April 22, 2025
MoFo Adds Perkins Coie FDA Regulatory Leader In DC

Morrison Foerster LLP has hired a former Perkins Coie LLP leader who focuses his practice on a range of regulatory matters involving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as its new head of food and regulatory, the firm announced Tuesday.
April 22, 2025
Save Mart Reaches $20.5M Deal On Nonunion Retiree Benefits

California-based Save Mart Supermarkets will pay about $20.5 million to escape a suit from workers who alleged the company unlawfully revoked a monthly health reimbursement that it promised to nonunion retirees and their spouses for life, according to a proposed deal filed in federal court.
April 22, 2025
Nossaman Health Atty Talks Staffing, Evolving Calif. Law

A former Procopio Health attorney has made the jump to Nossaman LLP at a time when California law around peer and judicial review processes for medical staff is evolving.
April 21, 2025
Teamsters Unit Drops Health Insurance Suit Against Mich. Co.

A Teamsters local has dropped its lawsuit against a Detroit trucking company, indicating it will no longer pursue breach-of-contract litigation in Michigan federal court over the company's alleged failure to notify workers that they needed to sign up for health insurance.
April 21, 2025
Kentuckian Sues Medtronic, FDA Over Spinal Cord Stimulator

A Kentucky woman has hit Medtronic and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with a suit alleging that a 41-year-old spinal cord stimulator device worsened her pain, and that updates to the device over the years weren't diligently reviewed by the agency.
April 21, 2025
Premera's Teen Trans Policy 'Textbook' Sex Bias, Judge Says

Premera Blue Cross discriminated based on sex against transgender teens at the center of a lawsuit alleging the insurer and health plan administrator illegally denied coverage for gender-affirming chest surgery, according to a Washington federal judge who also denied class certification because the teens' claims are not typical of class members.
April 21, 2025
Sun Pharma Accuses Drugstores Of $10M Refund Scheme

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. told a New Jersey federal court that a group of pharmacies and their operators engaged in a criminal, years-long racketeering scheme that resulted in it paying more than $10 million in refunds for short-dated pharmaceutical products.
April 21, 2025
Imprisoned Ex-Pharma Exec Must Pay SEC $1.8M

The former leader of a pharmaceutical company currently serving a 20-month sentence for using a fake name to get around a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban has been ordered to cough up $1.8 million within 90 days of his release or be ready to explain why he cannot.
April 21, 2025
Harvard Sues Trump Admin Over $2B Funding Freeze

Harvard University on Monday hit the Trump administration with a suit in Massachusetts federal court, escalating a high-profile battle after the government slashed more than $2 billion in funding amid allegations the elite school has failed to properly address antisemitism on its campus.
April 21, 2025
NJ Panel Revives Ex-Group Home Worker's Whistleblower Suit

A New Jersey appeals court reinstated a group home worker's lawsuit alleging she was fired for raising concerns about staffing levels and training, reasoning Monday that she met the pleading standards for the state's whistleblower law.
April 21, 2025
Unions Demand Halt To DOGE's Info Access At DOL, HHS

A D.C. federal judge must block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive systems in the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services, unions argued in a preliminary injunction bid, saying the government's search for "waste, fraud and abuse" doesn't warrant access.
April 21, 2025
Billionaire Attorney Sues Miami Herald, Claiming Defamation

Billionaire Miami attorney John Ruiz has sued the Miami Herald and two of its reporters in Florida state court, alleging they defamed him by running a report saying he and his company MSP Recovery Inc. were the targets of federal criminal and civil investigations.
April 21, 2025
Unions Score Block On Orders To Fire Probationary Workers

A California federal judge blocked the Office of Personnel Management from ordering federal agencies to fire probationary employees and stopped several agencies from heeding its directives, but he declined to order them to rehire the workers they've already let go.
April 21, 2025
DOJ Defends Wage-Fixing Jury Win From Mistrial Bid

The U.S. Department of Justice is defending a key wage-fixing and fraud conviction of a Nevada nursing executive, hitting back at the executive's claims that it used privileged documents and communications to sway the jury during the three-week trial.
April 21, 2025
Dental Practices Say Ex-Contractor Holding Websites Hostage

A group of pediatric dental practices in North Carolina have accused their longtime business consultant of "hijacking" several website domains after they canceled his contract, saying he's trying to use the domains as leverage in unrelated negotiations.
April 21, 2025
Ozempic Maker, Texas Pharmacy Settle Knockoff Drug Claims

The manufacturer behind the Ozempic weight loss drug buried the hatchet with a Houston-area pharmacy it accused of selling compounded, non-FDA-approved medications that claim to contain the drug's key ingredient, with the pharmacy agreeing to never again market compounded semaglutide drugs.
April 21, 2025
HCA, Workers Eye Mediation in Wage Suit

HCA Healthcare Inc. asked a North Carolina federal court to press pause on a respiratory therapist's class and collective action accusing the company of manipulating workers' time sheets to pay them less overtime wages, saying the parties are planning to attend mediation in July.
April 21, 2025
Justices Mull 5th Circ. Redo In ACA Preventive Care Fight

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared skeptical of a Fifth Circuit ruling that found members of a task force setting preventive services coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act were unconstitutionally appointed, with multiple justices suggesting kicking the case back down to the circuit court for additional arguments.

Expert Analysis

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.
5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.
What 2024 Tells Us About Calif. Health Transaction Reviews

Looking back at the California Office of Health Care Affordability's first year accepting notices for material healthcare transactions reveals critical lessons on what the OHCA's review process may mean for the future of covered transactions in the state, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
Republican Trifecta Amplifies Risks For Cos. In 3 Key Areas

Expected coordination between a Republican Congress and presidential administration may expose companies to simultaneous criminal, civil and congressional investigations, particularly with regard to supply chain risks in certain industries, government contracting and cross-border investment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.