RFK Jr. Picks Vaccine Critics As Part Of CDC Panel Overhaul

By Hannah Albarazi

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced Wednesday he appointed eight new members to a vaccine advisory panel, just two days after he removed 17 existing members of the panel, which provides advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Ga. Hospice Provider Pays $9.2M To End Kickback Case

By Mark Payne

A Georgia hospice care provider and its CEO forked over $9.2 million to settle claims that they violated federal fraud laws by participating in a kickback scheme with medical directors who referred hospice patients to the group, prosecutors announced Wedesnday.

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VA Contractor To Pay $4.3M To Resolve Overbilling Claims

By Tom Lotshaw

Healthcare technology company Omnicell Inc. has agreed to pay more than $4.3 million to settle allegations it fraudulently overcharged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for medical products and software, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

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UNC Hospital System Must Face Ex-Resident's Bias Suit

By Emily Brill

The University of North Carolina's hospital system must face a discrimination lawsuit filed by a fired surgical resident, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday, tossing the system's motion to dismiss claims that the discharge decision was motivated by bias against the resident's mental health conditions.

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Conn. Orthopedic Practice Faces Data Breach Class Claims

By Aaron Keller

A March 2 data breach at a Connecticut orthopedic practice exposed the personal information and health data of an unknown number of patients to online hackers, a patient alleged in a proposed class action.

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Health Network Strikes Deal In Retirement Plan Forfeiture Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Pennsylvania health system has settled a suit claiming it failed to tamp down on unnecessary expenses in its $1.1 billion retirement plan and used forfeited funds to cover its own contributions to the plan instead of using the abandoned cash to reduce fees.

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PTAB Issues Mixed Group Of Discretionary Denial Decisions

By Dani Kass

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has invoked its discretion to free Nike Inc. and Cleveland Medical Devices from having their patents scrutinized, but refused to do so for Vermeer Manufacturing Co.

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Seattle Hospital Hit With Class Suit Over 'Diverted' Pain Meds

By Rachel Riley

A Seattle-based hospital system has been slapped with a proposed class action in Washington state court over claims that hundreds of patients suffered unwarranted pain and risk of infection because a staff member may have been pocketing painkillers.

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Cigna Accused Of Misusing $17M In 401(k) Forfeitures

By Matthew Santoni

Retirement plan participants and beneficiaries at Cigna say the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using up to $17 million given up by participants who quit early to reduce the company's matching contributions, rather than using it to pay for the plan's administrative costs.

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Aetna Resolves Lipedema Patients' Coverage Class Action

By Patrick Hoff

Aetna has agreed to end a class action alleging it unlawfully refused to cover liposuction as a treatment for over two dozen patients afflicted with a rare chronic condition called lipedema, according to a Wednesday filing in California federal court.

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Fed. Circ. Says VA Worker Must Submit To Random Drug Tests

By Jonathan Capriel

The Federal Circuit has upheld an arbitration decision requiring a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee, allegedly caught using marijuana on the job, to release her medical records and submit to random drug testing as part of a slate of conditions for her to return to work, finding the arbitrator's award acceptable.

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Oklahoma Pot Agency Wants Claims Tossed In Retaliation Suit

By Mike Curley

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority is urging a federal court to throw out Title VII and Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims in a suit by a former contract monitor who alleges she was fired for whistleblowing.

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PepGen Faces Investor Suit Over Muscular Dystrophy Drug

By Sydney Price

Clinical-stage biotech company PepGen Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging it misled investors about the efficacy and commercial prospects of its muscular dystrophy drug, causing share price declines as investors learned of the drug's clinical trials' shortcomings.

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Children's Healthcare Nonprofit Settles Retirement Fee Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Florida-based nonprofit children's healthcare network and ex-workers who alleged their employee retirement savings were dragged down by excessive fees told a Florida federal court Wednesday they'd worked out a class action settlement of the dispute after mediation.

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Walmart Pharmacist Says Age, Disability Bias Led To Firing

By Julie Manganis

A former pharmacy manager at a Massachusetts Walmart said he suffered age and disability discrimination following a stroke, then was wrongfully fired after more than 20 years with the retailer.

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IP, Health Law Scholars Object To 23andMe Ch. 11 Data Sale

By Emlyn Cameron

A number of university scholars urged a Missouri bankruptcy judge to require that DNA testing company 23andMe Holding Co.'s asset sale be contingent on the final buyer maintaining policies that benefit biomedical researchers.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Appreciating Civil Procedure

If you’re like me, law school’s often complex and theoretical approach to teaching civil procedure may have contributed to an early struggle with the topic, but when seen from a practical perspective, new lawyers may find they enjoy mastering these rules, says Chloe Villagomez at Foster Garvey.

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Analysis

These Firms Are Landing The Most Patent Litigation Work

By Dani Kass

Rabicoff Law LLC reclaimed its status as the most active firm for patent plaintiffs, having filed more than twice as many cases in 2024 as it did in 2023, according to a new report from Lex Machina.

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DOJ Says Newsom Can't Ask Court To Halt Guard Deployment

By Jared Foretek

The Trump administration is telling a California federal judge its decision to federalize the National Guard is unreviewable in court, calling California Gov. Gavin Newsom's effort to stop the takeover "a crass political stunt" in a new filing Wednesday.

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Ex-Copyright Leader Says Firing Risks 'Inoperable' Agency

By Ivan Moreno

The fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office has asked a D.C. federal judge to block the Trump administration's action while she challenges her termination, arguing that significant functions of the government agency could be rendered "inoperable" without judicial intervention.

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DOJ Legal Policy Chief, Adviser On Judge Selections, Resigns

By Courtney Bublé

Aaron Reitz, a top U.S. Department of Justice official who works on judicial nominations, announced Wednesday he's resigning after being confirmed for the role on March 26.

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DC Circ. Pauses Habeas Order In Alien Enemies Act Case

By Ali Sullivan

The D.C. Circuit has agreed to briefly pause a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to give due process to Venezuelan immigrants deported from the U.S. to a Salvadoran prison under the Alien Enemies Act.

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Analysis

New Patent Cases Rebound As EDTX Seals Top Venue Spot

By Ryan Davis

The number of new patent suits filed in 2024 increased 22.2% over 2023, bouncing back from a historically slow year, and the Eastern District of Texas further cemented its status as the most popular patent venue after a rule change made another Texas district less attractive to plaintiffs.

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Analysis

DOJ's Focus On Cartels Raises Compliance Risks For US Cos.

By Phillip Bantz

U.S. corporations with business interests south of the border are increasingly worried about exposure to terrorism-related criminal charges under the Trump administration for inadvertently working with cartels linked to major business sectors throughout Mexico, from energy and manufacturing to financial services, compliance experts tell Law360.

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JC Penney Blasts Jackson Walker Bid To Escape Fee Dispute

By Lynn LaRowe

J.C. Penney has called on a Texas bankruptcy court to knock down Jackson Walker LLP's bid to escape a fee suit prompted by a yearslong secret romance between a former firm partner and a onetime bankruptcy judge, saying the firm's dismissal bid is "riddled with implausibility, excuse and contradiction."

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Calif. Justices OK More Bar Exam Proposals After Fiasco

By Craig Clough

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday approved more measures to address the widespread problems that arose during the administration of the February bar exam, which includes a provisional license program for applicants who failed or withdrew from the exam. 

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J&J's Beasley Allen DQ Bid Based On 'Innuendo,' Court Told

By Ryan Harroff

A California couple ripped Johnson & Johnson's renewed bid to block two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys from representing them in their suit accusing the company of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder, arguing the company's opposition is based largely on "innuendo" rather than proof of misconduct by the lawyers.

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Queens Defenders Ex-Director Charged With Embezzling

By Gina Kim

A former executive director of Queens Defenders and her husband are charged with embezzling $60,000 from the organization and spending it on personal expenses including rent for a penthouse apartment, luxury goods, vacations and teeth-whitening procedures, prosecutors say in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court.

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Ex-Judges Urge High Court To Protect Right To Counsel

By Cara Salvatore

A group of six high-profile retired judges urged the Supreme Court to protect criminal defendants' right to consult with counsel during overnight trial recesses, saying a current "patchwork" of practices in this area is bad for judges as well as defendants.

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Trump Presses 2nd Circ. To Federalize Hush Money Appeal

By Stewart Bishop

Counsel for President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Second Circuit to take over the appeal of his New York state hush money conviction post-trial, saying a federal judge in Manhattan wrongly denied removal, and the landscape has now changed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark presidential immunity decision.

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Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision

By Jack Karp

If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.

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