DOJ Demand For Pa. Transgender Patient Records Blocked

By Hannah Albarazi

A Pennsylvania federal judge partially quashed part of a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena seeking health records for minors receiving gender-affirming care at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, ruling that the department lacked the statutory authority "for a rambling exploration" of medical files involving state-sanctioned medical care.

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Mass. Judge Says States Can Fight Planned Parenthood Cuts

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday chided a Trump administration lawyer for continuing to argue that a coalition of states lacks standing to seek to block what it says is the effective defunding of Planned Parenthood, even as it only just received a lengthy list of new requirements for Medicaid reimbursement.

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ND Justices Reverse Ruling That Struck Down Abortion Ban

By Dan McKay

North Dakota's near-total ban on abortion is back in effect after the state's top court narrowly reversed a lower court decision by failing to reach the supermajority required to declare the law unconstitutional.

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HHS Says It Plans To Resume Sharing Medicaid Info With ICE

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has completed a decision-making process and established a new policy under which the agency will share certain Medicaid information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday.

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Wash. Hits Regence BlueShield With Transparency Fine

By Grace Elletson

Washington's insurance commissioner slapped Regence BlueShield with a $550,000 fine, the state announced Monday, for purportedly violating reporting requirements under a federal law that says health insurers must provide the same level of coverage for mental health care as general medical care.

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Justices Won't Review Doctor's Conviction For Reusing Devices

By Abigail Harrison

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition from a North Carolina physician seeking to revisit the Fourth Circuit's decision to back her conviction for healthcare fraud.

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Doctor Liable For Rent On Ex-NFL Player's Concussion Clinic

By Julie Manganis

A Florida neurologist who partnered with a former National Football League player to start a concussion clinic in Massachusetts can't dodge more than $100,000 in unpaid rent and interest owed by the defunct venture, an intermediate state appellate court said.

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Cooper Cos. Faces Narrowed Claims In Paragard IUD MDL

By Chart Riggall

The Cooper Cos. won't have to face design defect claims ahead of a possible bellwether trial over the Paragard IUD, as a Georgia federal judge on Friday found "nothing in the record" to suggest the company had anything to do with the design of the particular contraceptive devices that three women received.

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Colo. Justices Again Uphold $40M Award In Med Mal Cap Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday denied a state hospital's bid for the justices to rehear a couple's medical malpractice damages cap lawsuit over their daughter's care, upholding for a second time a nearly $40 million judgment against the institution.

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Mich. Christian Health Group Claims Right To Deny Trans Care

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Christian health system urged a federal court to permanently prohibit Michigan from enforcing a state civil rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the statute unconstitutionally hampers its ability to make faith-based hiring and policy decisions.

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Conn. Must Pay $2.5M Over Foster Teen's Death

By Mike Curley

A Connecticut state judge has awarded $2.5 million to the estate of a teenager who died in therapeutic foster care, finding the state's poor records and communication led to the teen not receiving the care he needed.

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9th Circ. Clarifies FTC's Sanction Power In Backing $7M Win

By Dorothy Atkins

The Ninth Circuit affirmed Monday a $7.3 million compensatory sanction and asset-freeze injunction against executives behind the "Success By Health" pyramid scheme, rejecting their argument, among others, that the justices' AMG v. FTC ruling requires the Federal Trade Commission to hold administrative proceedings before suing over rule violations.

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Conn. Family Can't Go After ENT Insurer Following Failed Deal

By Hope Patti

A Connecticut state court tossed a family's suit seeking a declaration as to the insurance coverage available to an ear, nose and throat center that rejected the family's settlement offer in an underlying malpractice case, saying the family hasn't alleged an actual dispute or injury in order to establish standing.

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Teamsters Health Plan Wants Data Breach Suit Tossed

By Emily Brill

A Massachusetts federal judge should toss a proposed class action accusing a Teamsters healthcare plan of failing to protect plan participants' personal information, the plan argued, seeking dismissal of a suit that seeks to hold the plan liable for an August data breach.

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Colo. Hospitals Accused Of Denying Workers Break Pay

By Zach Dupont

A respiratory therapist told a Colorado state court that two hospitals violated state labor laws by neglecting to pay employees for missed breaks during shifts.

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Rite Aid's Ch. 11 Plan Advances Over US Trustee Objection

By Ben Zigterman

A New Jersey bankruptcy judge said he would confirm the Chapter 11 plan of drug store chain Rite Aid after overruling the U.S. Trustee's objection to the opt-out mechanism for obtaining creditor support for third-party releases.

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Key Risks For Cos. As MAHA Influences Food Regulation

As the Make America Healthy Again movement alters state and federal legislative and regulatory priorities, measures targeting ultra-processed foods, front-of-package labeling requirements and restrictions on schools are creating new compliance and litigation risks for food and beverage manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, retailers and digital advertisers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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State AGs May Extend Their Reach To Nat'l Security Concerns

Companies with foreign supply-chain risk exposure need a comprehensive risk-management strategy to address a growing trend in which state attorneys general use broadly written state laws to target conduct that may not violate federal regulations, but arguably constitutes a national security threat, say attorneys at Wiley.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

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Bonus Spotlight

5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

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Feds' Claim Against Judge Weighing Trans Troops Ban Tossed

By Lauren Berg

The D.C. Circuit's chief judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's misconduct complaint against the federal judge overseeing litigation challenging the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops serving in the military, saying judicial misconduct proceedings are not the appropriate avenue to address concerns about a judge's impartiality.

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Comey, James Defeat Charges Over Halligan's Appointment

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the headline-grabbing indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the controversial prosecutor handling both cases was not properly appointed.

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Calif. Personal Injury Law Firm Sued Over Ransomware Attack

By Gina Kim

A former Adamson Ahdoot LLP client lodged a proposed class action in California state court on Friday over a Nov. 3 ransomware attack, alleging the law firm failed to protect his personal information despite touting on its website that it follows industry standards to do so.

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Feature

Prep, Panic & Poise: Inside An Associate's First Oral Argument

By Jeff Overley

Fraser M. Holmes followed a long professional path to a Texas court's lectern. He'd been a baseball blogger, travel writer and social studies teacher before appellate law beckoned. After years of toil, a milestone moment — his first oral argument — finally arrived, but as justices took the bench, his heart sank: "Oh, my God. I think I've just forgotten my entire argument."

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Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

By Andrea Keckley

Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

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Oversight Chair Seeks USPTO Briefing On Litigation Funding

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking a briefing by the end of the month from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on third-party litigation funding and reforms the agency is working on.

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8th Circ. Won't Force Judge's Recusal In Pork Price-Fixing Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Eighth Circuit has denied a mandamus petition from Agri Stats Inc. and major pork producers who are seeking a Minnesota federal judge's recusal in price-fixing litigation based on a law clerk's previous work on a related case.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week delivered a packed mix of fraud allegations, merger fallout, corporate-governance reforms and jurisdictional fights, while a new academic report ignited debate over attorney fee awards in Delaware's influential corporate forum.

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