2nd Circ. Says PBM Opioid Crisis Suits Belong In Fed. Court

By Gianna Ferrarin

Local New York governments can't keep dozens of suits alleging two of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers contributed to the opioid epidemic in state court, a Second Circuit panel held Wednesday, finding the litigation alleges "indivisible" federal and non-federal conduct by the PBMs.

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States Sue To Block Medicaid Ban On Youth Gender Care

By Dan McKay

Twenty state attorneys general on Wednesday challenged the Trump administration's plan to halt Medicaid funding for minors' gender-affirming care, alleging the move would violate federal law and usurp congressional power over government spending.

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Colo. Exits Pharma Group's Challenge Of Drug Discount Law

By MJ Koo

A Colorado federal court has thrown out a pharmaceutical industry trade group's challenge of a state law requiring drug manufacturers to sell discounted drugs through contracted pharmacies, finding the group failed to show the law conflicts with federal law or controls business activity beyond Colorado's borders.

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Danish Researcher Pleads Guilty To CDC Grant Money Theft

By Kelcey Caulder

A Danish researcher who spent more than 14 years as a fugitive from U.S. authorities pled guilty Tuesday to operating a wire fraud scheme that diverted more than $1 million in grant money intended to fund overseas research into autism and other developmental disorders.

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Hims & Hers Investor Sues Over FTC Privacy, Billing Claims

By Sydney Price

Telehealth company Hims & Hers Health Inc. was hit with a proposed securities class action accusing it of inflating its share prices by failing to disclose certain practices that led to a suit by the Federal Trade Commission accusing it of sharing customers' sensitive health information with big tech companies and using deceptive billing methods.

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DOL Backs Aramark Bid To Avoid Aetna ERISA Suit Arbitration

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Department of Labor backed Aramark's attempt to keep in court its allegations that Aetna cost the company millions by mismanaging health benefit claims, telling the full Fifth Circuit that a panel correctly held that the case fell under an exception in the arbitration agreement.

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Meijer Escapes Suit Over Health Plan Fee For Tobacco Users

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge tossed a worker's proposed class action alleging supercenter chain Meijer improperly charged workers a $20 per week tobacco surcharge through its health plan, ruling that concerns about improper notifications and allocations of the fee ultimately lacked teeth.

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Suit Alleges Athletico Gave Patient Data To Google Without OK

By Celeste Bott

Physical therapy provider Athletico Management LLC was sued in Illinois federal court Tuesday in a proposed class action claiming it shared patients' personal and health information with Google through tracking technology embedded in the Athletico website where they made their appointments.

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Contractor Seeks Redo After Fed. Circ. Vacates $12.7M Award

By Madeline Lyskawa

A software developer has urged the en banc Federal Circuit to rethink a panel's decision vacating a $12.7 million award against the federal government over unauthorized copies of the company's software, saying the panel wrongly endorsed a hypothetical negotiation between the parties to calculate damages.

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Baby Formula Machine Makes Infants Lose Weight, Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

The makers of the Baby Brezza formula mixing machine are facing a proposed class action in New York federal court from a group of parents who say the $200 device dispenses dangerously diluted formula, even when properly used, causing infant weight loss and hospitalizations.

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Ex-Genesis Team Denies Using Trade Secrets To Compete

By Rick Archer

Former executives for a subsidiary of bankrupt nursing home chain Genesis Healthcare have told a Texas bankruptcy judge they didn't steal trade secrets to start a new business, accusing their former employer of trying to quash a competitor in the courts.

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AI Healthcare Co. Pushed Into Ch. 7 Amid Ex-Exec Dispute

By Yun Park

A former executive and two contractors have forced artificial intelligence-powered health technology provider Survey Health into a Chapter 7 proceeding in Delaware bankruptcy court, as the company contends with litigation the ex-employee brought against it.

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Rejection Of NLRB Successor Bar Renews An Employer Tool

Although the D.C. Circuit's recent ruling in Hospital Menonita v. National Labor Relations Board does not allow purchasers to disregard incumbent unions, employers acquiring a unionized business have regained a tool to challenge a union's majority support, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

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NY Ethics Opinion Warns Attys On Qui Tam Deception

A recent New York State Bar Association ethics opinion cautions that counsel representing whistleblowers may not induce, supervise or facilitate a client's deceptive prefiling investigations, creating a potential vulnerability for qui tam complaints built on questionable evidence-gathering methods, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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