CVS PBM Hit With $95M Judgment For Overbilling Medicare

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday ruled that CVS's pharmacy benefits manager owes the government $95 million for overbilling Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs, leaving the door open for the amount to be tripled later.

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Feature

How An Ex-AUSA's Compliance Savvy Ended A Kickback Case

By George Woolston

An attorney drew upon his past as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and as a healthcare compliance counsel to get all charges dropped against a doctor accused of accepting close to $150,000 in bribes through Insys Therapeutics for "sham" speaker program engagements.

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Analysis

TCPA Litigants Brace For 'Seismic Shift' After Deference Blow

By Allison Grande

The U.S. Supreme Court's backing of broad judicial review for the crush of regulatory orders interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is poised to turn the litigation landscape on its head, as key statutory determinations that have long been viewed as settled matters are suddenly ripe for scrutiny. 

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Michigan Man Gets 2 Years In 'Despicable' Pill, Fraud Scheme

By Julie Manganis

A Michigan resident was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison by a Massachusetts federal judge who called the defendant's role in a prescription pill smuggling and pandemic aid fraud scheme "despicable."

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Cigna Says Bristol-Myers Delayed Cancer Drug Generic

By Gianna Ferrarin

Cigna has launched an antitrust suit in New York federal court accusing Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and its Celgene subsidiary of fraudulently obtaining patents, filing sham litigation and paying off generic-drug makers to maintain a monopoly on their blockbuster blood-cancer drug Pomalyst.

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Hospital Slams Novo Nordisk's Insulin Pen Suit Sanctions Bid

By Aaron Keller

Connecticut's Griffin Hospital says Novo Nordisk's attempt to score sanctions in a lawsuit about insulin pen contamination should be rejected because no law requires the healthcare facility to lay out its adversary's possible defenses when pleading its claims.

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CVS Fights Ruling In Del. Rejecting Coverage For Opioid Suits

By Jeff Montgomery

An attorney for CVS Health Corp. told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that a lower court cited inapplicable precedent to dismiss the pharmacy chain's suit seeking coverage for medical provider claims against it arising from the opioid epidemic.

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Brief

Late Conn. Doc's Estate To Defend Insemination Fraud Cases

By Jonathan Capriel

The patients of a recently deceased Connecticut fertility doctor have asked a state court to substitute his estate as the defendant in their lawsuit, which claims the doctor secretly inseminated women with his own sperm in the 1980s.

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Ohio Judge Halts Insurance Broker's Biz Amid AG's Fraud Suit

By Ryan Harroff

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost secured a temporary restraining order Wednesday against an insurance broker he accused of pulling a rug out from under first responders and leaving them hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills that should have been covered.

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Feds Say Vet Failed To Back VA Malpractice Claim At Trial

By Mike Curley

The U.S. government is urging a Washington federal court to give it a win following a bench trial on a suit brought by a Navy veteran and former Department of Veterans Affairs nurse alleging that malpractice by her VA psychiatrist led to an episode in which she stabbed her mother with a knife.

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Trans Worker Says Metal Co.'s Health Plan Discriminatory

By Grace Elletson

A subsidiary of Kaiser Aluminum discriminated against transgender employees by including an exclusion in its health plan barring coverage for medical treatments related to gender-affirming care, according to a new suit filed in Washington federal court.

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OTC Pills Are Opioid In Disguise, Consumer Says

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia company that produces an over-the-counter supplement branded as "ZaZa" was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday from a consumer who said the supplement's active ingredient is a highly addictive substance with effects comparable to opioids, which the manufacturer has hidden from consumers.

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Anti-Aging Biotech Startup Minovia Inks $180M SPAC Merger

By Tom Zanki

Minovia Therapeutics Ltd., an Israeli startup developing treatments for age-related decline, plans to go public in the U.S. at a $180 million valuation by merging with special purpose acquisition company Launch One Acquisition Corp., both parties announced Wednesday.

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K&L Gates Adds Powers Pyles Pharma Litigator To DC Team

By Jack Rodgers

K&L Gates LLP said Wednesday it has brought on a pharmaceutical attorney from Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC who worked for nearly a decade as a pharmacist and has handled pharmacy law matters for more than 15 years.

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Focusing On Fluoride: From FDA To Class Action

A class action filed two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the connection between government pronouncements on safety and their immediate use as evidence in lawsuits, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths

Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

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DOJ Sues Md. Federal Judges Over 'Lawless' Habeas Orders

By Ali Sullivan

The Trump administration is suing the Maryland federal district court and all of its judges over a standing order that temporarily staves off the deportation of detained noncitizens who file habeas petitions.

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3rd Circ. Pick Emil Bove Says He's 'Not Anybody's Henchman'

By Courtney Bublé

Emil Bove, nominee for the Third Circuit, who previously served as President Donald Trump's criminal attorney and was a top acting official at the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year, where he took various controversial actions, made his case on Wednesday for judicial confirmation.

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Watchdog Targets US Atty Over Arrests, Probes Of NJ Officials

By Jake Maher

The legal ethics watchdog Campaign for Accountability on Wednesday accused interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba of an "abuse of power" over her office's recent investigations and arrests of New Jersey officials and called for an ethics investigation.

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Analysis

The 5 Big Enforcement Trends White Collar Attys Must Know

By Phillip Bantz

The Trump administration has made clear its intent to prioritize U.S. interests, eliminate transnational cartels and cut government fraud, waste and abuse — but questions remain about the administration’s approach to foreign bribery, crypto, public corruption, self-disclosure and clemency as we head into the second half of the year.

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2nd Circ. Blocks Reed Smith Doc Turnover Order In Eletson Row

By Emily Sawicki

The Second Circuit on Wednesday granted Reed Smith LLP's emergency motion to stay a Manhattan federal judge's order to turn over client files amid a conflict over the legitimate ownership of international shipping company Eletson, which is in a dispute with competitor Levona.

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Paxton Deputy Accused Of Pressuring Impeachment Witnesses

By Catherine Marfin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's second-in-command tampered with witnesses during Paxton's impeachment, fabricated sexual harassment allegations and misused state funds, according to a state bar complaint and federal lawsuit filed by two of Paxton's former top deputies.

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Court Halts Trump Order Curbing Federal Union Bargaining

By Beverly Banks

Several federal agencies must stop enforcing a part of President Donald Trump's executive order that would ax labor contracts covering agencies that have "national security" aims, a California federal judge ruled, finding unions showed they would suffer irreparable harm by losing collective bargaining rights.

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Brief

NJ Rep. McIver Pleads Not Guilty In ICE Facility Incident

By Carla Baranauckas

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver pled not guilty Wednesday in New Jersey federal court to assault and interference charges stemming from an incident at an immigration detention center in Newark on May 9.

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