More Healthcare Coverage
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June 12, 2025
Bristol-Myers Promotes Attorney To Lead Corporate Affairs
Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb continued to shuffle its legal department with the recent promotion of an in-house attorney to lead its corporate affairs, filling in a role left vacant when her predecessor was named general counsel last month.
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June 11, 2025
Fed. Circ. Says VA Worker Must Submit To Random Drug Tests
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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June 11, 2025
PTAB Issues Mixed Group Of Discretionary Denial Decisions
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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June 10, 2025
Stewart's Newest Discretionary Denial Has Attys On Edge
The acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director's decision on Friday to reject patent challenges due to the petitioner's long-standing knowledge of a patent has many attorneys bracing for either a massive rise or dip in Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings.
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June 09, 2025
Aetna Inks $3.4M Deal In Suit Over Cancer Treatment Denials
Aetna has agreed to pay at least $3.4 million to resolve a proposed class action claiming it shirked federal benefits law by mischaracterizing a proton beam cancer radiation treatment as experimental to deny claims, according to a Florida federal court filing.
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June 09, 2025
Doc Says WWE Accuser's Firm Ignored Defamation Suit
A celebrity doctor and his practice are seeking a default win in Connecticut federal court Monday against an allegedly nonresponsive law firm over comments a partner made amid a discovery dispute connected to the sexual abuse case a former World Wrestling Entertainment legal staffer is pursuing against the company and its co-founder.
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June 06, 2025
Patent Office Leader Rejects IPRs Based On 12-Year Wait
Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart on Friday turned away a series of challenges to Welch Allyn Inc.'s heart monitor patents, determining petitioner iRhythm Technologies Inc. should have disputed them much earlier.
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June 06, 2025
Texas Court Says Doctor Can Be Sued For Service Dog Mauling
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday greenlit a suit accusing a gynecologist of negligently giving a patient a note stating that she required a service dog which later mauled a toddler, saying the alleged negligence is not a malpractice claim, therefore the plaintiffs did not need a medical expert's opinion.
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June 06, 2025
Wash. Panel Grills Ambulance Co. On Crash Immunity Defense
Washington appellate judges expressed skepticism on Friday regarding an ambulance company's stance that qualified immunity shielded it from a patient estate's $2.3 million jury verdict over a mid-transport crash, while also casting doubt on the family's contention that the defendant had forfeited its appeal rights.
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June 06, 2025
Fed. Circ. Weighs Purview Over Acorda's $17M Arbitral Award
A Federal Circuit panel on Friday wrestled with its authority to consider arbitration appeals dealing with patent law, with at least one judge appearing skeptical that it could consider Acorda Therapeutics Inc.'s bid to increase a $16.6 million award in a fight with Alkermes PLC over a multiple sclerosis drug.
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June 06, 2025
Free Speech Shields Rehab From Permit Suit, Court Says
A Connecticut drug treatment facility does not have to face claims, including unfair trade practices, lodged by a prospective competitor amid a contentious permit battle, a state appellate panel ruled Friday, finding that the state's anti-SLAPP statute is fatal to the case.
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June 06, 2025
NJ Firm Says It Has No Business Being Sued In Louisiana
New Jersey-based Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC asked a Louisiana federal judge to dismiss a doctor's suit accusing the firm of driving him into bankruptcy, arguing that there's no jurisdiction that would justify continued litigation in the state.
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June 05, 2025
Med Mal Juror Misconduct Claim Won't Mean New Trial
An Indiana state appeals court Thursday upheld a defense win in a medical malpractice trial despite a juror's post-verdict revelation that she had previously heard of a defense expert witness.
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June 04, 2025
4th Circ. Invokes Rooker-Feldman In Hospitalization Case
The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday found that a woman could not challenge a consent order she signed to be released from an involuntary hospital commitment, marking the first opinion of its kind from the court in two decades invoking the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
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June 03, 2025
Patent Deals Accelerate Access To Generics, Drug Group Says
Deals between the makers of brand name drugs and the companies behind their generic versions have led to billions of dollars in healthcare cost savings and faster access to cheaper medicines, according to a new report.
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June 03, 2025
MultiPlan Must Face Reimbursement Pricing Antitrust MDL
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday largely rejected a bid by MultiPlan to ditch multidistrict litigation accusing the company of illegally fixing out-of-network reimbursement rates, trimming only unjust enrichment claims while allowing antitrust claims to move forward.
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June 03, 2025
Adidas, UChicago Failed To Protect Data In Hacks, Suits Say
Adidas' American arm and the University of Chicago Medical Center have been sued for allegedly failing to keep sensitive identifying information safe from hackers who stole it through certain third-party vendors.
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May 30, 2025
Mich. Workers Get Final OK For Boot-Up Suit Settlement
A Michigan federal court greenlighted an $86,000 settlement resolving an insurance specialist's collective action accusing a home healthcare company of failing to pay employees for the time they spent booting up their computers.
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May 30, 2025
Temple U., Cancer Center Can't Dodge Prof's Sex Bias Claims
Temple University and its cancer research center can't shut down the bulk of a researcher's suit claiming her supervisor refused to support her after she complained about his unwanted advances, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding she plausibly alleged harassment interfered with her job.
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May 29, 2025
Express Scripts Says Arkansas Can't Ban PBM Pharmacies
Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts sued the state of Arkansas in federal court Thursday, alleging that the state's recently enacted law banning PBMs from owning pharmacies in the state violated the U.S. Constitution and ran afoul of federal law governing military employee benefits.
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May 28, 2025
3rd Circ. Pauses J&J Unit Appeal In Talc Study Libel Case
The Third Circuit on Wednesday granted a bid by Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit to stay briefing in its appeal seeking to revive a libel case over a scientific article linking talcum power to mesothelioma.
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May 28, 2025
Amtrak Worker Admits To Part In $11M Benefits Fraud Scheme
A New Jersey-based Amtrak employee has pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the passenger railroad's health plan for an estimated $11 million in benefits, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced Wednesday.
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May 28, 2025
Mallinckrodt Investors Get Initial OK For $5.5M Settlement
Investors of drugmaker Mallinckrodt received preliminary approval of their $5.5 million settlement with two executives and a director of the company Wednesday, ending the investors' claims they were misled into believing Mallinckrodt had recovered from bankruptcy and would make a $200 million payment to opioid claimants.
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May 28, 2025
Fla. Ambulance Co. Must Make Missed Payments In OT Deal
An ambulance service will have to shell out the remaining $42,500 it owes to a group of emergency medical technicians and paramedics to settle their overtime after having missed payment deadlines several times, a Florida federal court ordered Wednesday.
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May 28, 2025
Vt. Judge To Order Release Of Harvard Researcher
A Vermont federal judge on Wednesday said a Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States is entitled to release from immigration custody while she challenges her detention.
Expert Analysis
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Size, Supply Schedules, SINs
In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo examines three recent decisions, two of which offer helpful reminders for U.S. General Services Administration schedule holders drafting blanket purchase agreement proposals, and one for small-business joint ventures to avoid running afoul of the U.S. Small Business Administration's two-year rule.
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$38M Law Firm Settlement Highlights 'Unworthy Client' Perils
A recent settlement of claims against law firm Eckert Seamans for allegedly abetting a Ponzi scheme underscores the continuing threat of clients who seek to exploit their lawyers in perpetrating fraud, and the critical importance of preemptive measures to avoid these clients, say attorneys at Lockton Companies.
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Only Certainty About FAR Reform Order Is Its Uncertainty
The president’s recent order overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which both contractors and agencies rely on to ensure predictability and consistency in federal procurement, lacks key details about its implementation, which will likely eliminate many safeguards that ensure contractors are treated fairly and that procurements are awarded in a reasonable manner, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
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Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Discovery
The discovery process and the rules that govern it are often absent from law school curricula, but developing a solid grasp of the particulars can give any new attorney a leg up in their practice, says Jordan Davies at Knowles Gallant.
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Takeaways From DOJ's Latest FCA Customs Fraud Intervention
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent intervention in a case alleging customs-related reverse False Claims Act fraud underlines the government’s increased scrutiny of, and importers’ corresponding exposure from, information related to product classification, country of origin and pricing, say attorneys at Bass Berry.
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Crisis Management Lessons From The Parenting Playbook
The parenting skills we use to help our kids through challenges — like rehearsing for stressful situations, modeling confidence and taking time to reset our emotions — can also teach us the fundamentals of leading clients through a corporate crisis, say Deborah Solmor at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Cara Peterman at Alston & Bird.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw
While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.
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Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them
Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.
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Compliance Lessons From Warby Parker's HIPAA Fine
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' civil money penalty against Warby Parker highlights the emerging challenges that consumer-facing brands encounter when expanding into healthcare-adjacent sectors, with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance being a potential focus of regulatory attention, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.
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How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients
Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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J&J's Failed 3rd Try Casts Doubt On Use Of 'Texas Two-Step'
A Texas bankruptcy court recently rejected Johnson & Johnson's third attempt to use Chapter 11 to resolve liabilities from allegations of injuries from using talcum powder, suggesting that the U.S. Supreme Court's limitations on nondebtor releases, from 2024's Purdue Pharma ruling, may prove difficult to evade, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law
Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.