UScellular Can't Call 'Checkmate' In Fraud Suit, Justices Told

By Christopher Cole

Two whistleblowers told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that UScellular cannot escape claims of spectrum auction fraud by arguing they had "pleaded themselves out of court" at an earlier stage of the False Claims Act suit.

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Ex-NY Gov Aide Rips Dearth Of Fact Witnesses In FARA Trial

By Stewart Bishop

Counsel for an aide to two New York governors on Wednesday tore into allegations that she secretly acted as an agent of the People's Republic of China, telling a Brooklyn federal jury that the government's case rests on nothing more than out-of-context chats and little relevant testimony.

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AGs Say Judicial Safety Threats Reaching 'All-Time Highs'

By Matthew Santoni

Attorneys general for 43 states, three territories and the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress urging more financial support for judicial security in the face of threats against judges, including funding for a program that lets judges scrub addresses and personal information from online databases.

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Calif. Suit Over $4B High-Speed Rail Funds OK To Proceed

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Tuesday denied the Trump administration's bid to toss California's lawsuit challenging the termination of $4 billion in grants for the state's electric rail project, rejecting the administration's contention that California asserted a breach-of-contract claim that only the Court of Federal Claims could hear.

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GAO Tells SBA To Use Stronger Cybersecurity, Fraud Controls

By Elaine Briseño

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report Wednesday saying the Small Business Administration has yet to implement some of its recommendations meant to improve cybersecurity and mitigate fraud risks, but has made other cost-saving improvements.

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NJ Bill To Reduce Comptroller Powers Nixed Amid Backlash

By Jake Maher

The New Jersey Senate president has dropped his support for legislation that would have weakened the Office of the State Comptroller's investigative powers in the face of pushback from a range of anti-corruption leaders.

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Nursing Home Owners Defrauded Medicaid For Years, NJ Says

By George Woolston

The owners of two New Jersey nursing homes diverted nearly $100 million in Medicaid funds to themselves while intentionally understaffing the facilities and neglecting the residents, according to a state comptroller report released Wednesday that called for more scrutiny of for-profit residential care facility operators.

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Guilty Budget Official's Legal Bill Battle Sent To Magistrate

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday tapped a magistrate judge to dig into an apparent billing dispute between former state budget official Konstantinos Diamantis and his criminal defense attorney, but he refused to delay a looming bribery trial until he decides whether to allow the lawyer to withdraw.

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Diagnostic Co. Agrees To Oversight Reforms In Derivative Suit

By Sydney Price

A California federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a deal ending shareholder derivative claims that diagnostics company CareDx's executives and directors damaged the company by concealing its scheme to inflate its testing services revenue.

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Judge Denies Bid To Halt Discovery In Refugee Ban Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Washington federal judge has denied the Trump administration's request to halt discovery in a lawsuit challenging its suspension of refugee admissions and resettlement funding ahead of a forthcoming Ninth Circuit ruling on court orders that temporarily blocked its actions.

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Colo. Municipal Adviser Can't Block SEC Suspension Efforts

By Sydney Price

A Colorado federal judge has dismissed all claims brought by a municipal adviser and his company accusing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of illegally making administrative moves to revoke their registration, finding the court lacks jurisdiction over some claims and that other allegations fail to state claims for relief.

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How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Bonus Spotlight

Litigation Shops Paying Above-Market Bonuses, Reports Say

By Andrea Keckley

Litigation boutiques Yetter Coleman LLP and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP are giving above-market bonuses to their associates, according to reports from Above the Law and Bloomberg.

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Jack Smith To Launch Firm With Willkie Partner, 2 Ex-Deputies

By Jack Rodgers

Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel appointed to investigate President Donald Trump, is set to launch his own firm alongside two of his former top deputies and the co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's investigations and enforcement practice.

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Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

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Analysis

Wanted: Temporary US Attorney, No Experience Needed

By Phillip Bantz

Frustrated by a string of court rulings disqualifying several of his U.S. attorney picks, President Donald Trump lamented recently that he might "just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one." Experts say the idea raises legal and practical issues.

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Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

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Fla. Atty Faces Bar Referral Over 'Hallucinated' Case In Filing

By Madison Arnold

A Florida appeals court will refer an attorney to the state's Bar after she filed a brief that included a "hallucinated" case.

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Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

By David Minsky

A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

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McIver's Immunity Disputed In Detention Center Assault Case

By Elizabeth Daley

Federal prosecutors asked a New Jersey federal judge to maintain all charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was accused in an indictment of assaulting federal officers outside an immigration detention center during a scrum in which the mayor of Newark was arrested in May.

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Regulate AI With Existing Regs, Financial Industry Lobby Says

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Services Institute on Wednesday recommended that regulators apply existing rules and standards to artificial intelligence, saying they should use new rules only when AI brings "genuinely new issues or significantly alters existing risks."

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