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Health
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September 06, 2024
PruittHealth Enabled Antigay Abuse, Fired Nurse Says
The former nursing director of a PruittHealth facility in northwest Georgia has sued his former employer claiming a homophobic work environment, alleging that he was subjected to antigay abuse from his coworkers and patients alike before eventually being fired on bogus grounds.
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September 06, 2024
4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September
The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.
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September 06, 2024
Atty Loses Bid To Revive NJ Malpratice Suit Against 2 Firms
A New Jersey state appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of an attorney's common law fraud and negligence claims against two law firms for allegedly misrepresenting a debt he owed.
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September 06, 2024
Glioblastoma Org. Wants End To Rival's Use Of 'GBM'
The Glioblastoma Foundation has hit a competing nonprofit with a suit alleging that the group's use of the initials "GBM" in its name has ripped off its trademark and sown confusion among donors who can't tell the two organizations apart.
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September 05, 2024
Ohio Justices Craft New Jury Rule For Negligence Trials
An Ohio state appeals court on Friday reinstated a jury verdict clearing a hospital and others of liability in a suit accusing them of negligently causing a patient's death, and it set new guidelines for jury deliberations in all negligence cases.
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September 05, 2024
Law Firms Appeal Atty Fee Denial In Opioid Settlements
Two law firms, Goldstein & Russell PC and Kelley & Ferraro LLP, have claimed in an appeal to the Sixth Circuit that they were improperly shut out of the $2.13 billion attorney fee pool created by recent national opioid settlements with major pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains.
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September 05, 2024
NC County Says Hospital 'Monopoly' Led To ER Understaffing
A North Carolina county has accused an Asheville hospital of driving up taxpayer-funded ambulance expenses by understaffing its emergency department and forcing paramedics to step into the roles of emergency physicians.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Rewrites 'Unfair' Missouri Abortion Ballot Language
A Missouri judge on Thursday found that the Republican secretary of state's language used to describe an abortion amendment set to appear on the state's November ballot is "inaccurate" and "unfair," and he must replace the language with the new statement from the court.
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September 05, 2024
Conn. Dentist Admits To Reaping $2.2M Through Kickbacks
A Connecticut dentist has pled guilty to paying $360,000 in kickbacks to recruiters who corralled Medicaid patients into her practice, pocketing $2.2 million in government payments in the process, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut announced Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
Judge Orders Jury Trial Over Arbitration Bid In TCPA Fight
An Ohio federal judge declined to rule on whether a proposed Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action against a Maryland-based healthcare company should go to arbitration, ordering that a jury should decide whether the plaintiff had an applicable arbitration agreement.
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September 05, 2024
Referral Model Means No Tax Exemption For Texas Health Co.
The commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service told a Fifth Circuit panel Thursday that the U.S. Tax Court got it right when it barred a Texas company that coordinates healthcare for chronically ill patients from claiming tax-exempt status, telling the court that secondary social welfare effects of the company's business model aren't enough to establish tax-exempt status.
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September 05, 2024
9th Circ. Says Court 'Lost The Letter' In ERISA Coverage Row
A California federal court "lost the letter" in remanded proceedings over allegations that United Behavioral Health improperly denied nearly 70,000 claims for mental health coverage, the Ninth Circuit has said in a new memorandum.
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September 05, 2024
Texas Says New HIPAA Rule Obstructs State Abortion Laws
Texas has hit the federal government with a suit challenging a new privacy rule limiting the disclosure of reproductive health information to law enforcement, arguing the rule was designed to obstruct the state's ability to enforce its own laws on abortion.
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September 05, 2024
FTC Staff Opposes Indiana Hospital Merger
Federal Trade Commission staff on Thursday urged Indiana's health department to reject Union Health's planned purchase of Terre Haute Regional Hospital LP from HCA Healthcare Inc.
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September 05, 2024
Lupin Infringes Exeltis Contraceptive Patents, Judge Finds
Mumbai-based generic-pharmaceuticals company Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has infringed five patents of the estrogen-free contraceptive Slynd, a Delaware federal judge said Wednesday, finding in favor of Spanish pharmaceutical company Insud Pharma and its New Jersey-based division Exeltis USA Inc. on all asserted claims.
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September 05, 2024
PE Firm Argues Tossing of FTC Case Also Ends Workers' Suit
The dismissal of a government antitrust action against Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe warrants the dismissal of a second lawsuit brought by a Houston workers' benefit fund since the complaint is "unapologetically based" on the parallel Federal Trade Commission action, the private equity firm told a Houston federal judge in a hearing Thursday.
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September 05, 2024
ER Doctors End Surprise Billing Battle With Harvard Pilgrim
A medical group that staffs the emergency departments at several Connecticut hospitals on Thursday dropped a lawsuit accusing Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. of improper billing practices and agreed to pay the insurer some of the costs of the litigation that was doomed by a recent Connecticut Supreme Court opinion.
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September 05, 2024
Feds Ask Justices For 'GVR' In Abortion Guidance Case
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is urging the nation's high court to simultaneously grant its certiorari petition, vacate a Fifth Circuit decision blocking guidance for hospitals to provide emergency abortions, and remand the case to lower courts in light of new developments.
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September 04, 2024
Albertsons Denied Texas Court Remand In Opioid MDL
An Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over accusations that drug distributors contributed to the opioid epidemic denied a motion to transfer to Texas a portion of the dispute involving pharmacy company Albertsons.
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September 04, 2024
Ill. Panel Backs Atty's Bid To Litigate Medical Record Fee Suit
An Illinois attorney looking to hold document delivery service Ciox Health LLC liable for charging allegedly illegal fees can pursue those claims in court since there is no evidence he ever agreed to arbitrate disputes with the company, a state appellate panel said Tuesday.
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September 04, 2024
Leech Tishman Combines With Calif. Firm Nelson Hardiman
Leech Tishman is set to add California-based healthcare and life science law firm Nelson Hardiman's 17 attorneys to its Los Angeles office this fall and will do business in the Golden State under the combined name Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, the firm announced Tuesday.
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September 04, 2024
Medical Cos. Must Provide Doctor Names In Fla. Qui Tam Suit
A Florida federal judge has ordered several medical companies accused of fraudulently obtaining more Medicare funding than they were owed to produce the names of doctors associated with the companies, saying the difference between employed and affiliate providers isn't relevant.
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September 04, 2024
10th Circ. Partially Nixes Insurer Win In Liposuction Death Suit
The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday revived a health provider's bad faith claim against its insurer over coverage for a $60 million judgment stemming from a woman's fatal liposuction surgery, finding the claim fell within a four-year period of limitations for insurance bad faith claims.
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September 04, 2024
Judge Recommends Not Tossing UMiami Doctor's Bias Suit
A Florida federal magistrate judge has recommended against dismissing a suit by a former University of Miami surgery chair who says she was discriminated against because of her race and gender and demoted because she complained about it.
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September 04, 2024
UBH Wins On Parity In Family's Mental Health Benefits Fight
A Utah federal judge has handed mixed results to United Behavioral Health and a father whose child was partially denied coverage for mental health treatment at two residential treatment centers.
Expert Analysis
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April
Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Opinion
USPTO's Proposed Disclaimer Rule Would Harm Inventors
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s recently proposed rule on terminal disclaimers will make the patent system less available to inventors and will unfairly favor defendants in litigation, say Stephen Schreiner at Carmichael IP and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
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Series
Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.
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How HHS Discrimination Rule Affects Gender-Affirming Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule, which reinterprets the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination provision, greatly clarifies protections for gender-affirming care and will require compliance considerations from sponsors and administrators of most group health plans, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Opinion
'Natural Person' Or Not, AI-Made IP Deserves Protection
The entire legal edifice rests on a determination that an artificial system is not a so-called natural person, and although this may appear to be straightforward on its face, rapid advances in technology may soon force us to revisit our understanding of a natural person, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.
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Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony
In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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FTC Noncompete Rule's Impact On Healthcare Nonprofits
Healthcare entities that are nonprofit or tax-exempt and thus outside of the pending Federal Trade Commission noncompete rule's reach should evaluate a number of potential risk factors and impacts, starting by assessing their own status, say Ben Shook and Tania Archer at Moore & Van Allen.
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Cell Therapy Cos. Must Beware Limits Of Patent Safe Harbors
Though developers of gene and cell therapy products commonly assume that a legal safe harbor protects them from patent infringement suits, recent case law shows that not all preapproval uses of patented technology are necessarily protected, say Natasha Daughtrey and Joshua Weinger at Goodwin.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe
A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.
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Opinion
State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E
Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.
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Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests
Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.
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Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Assessing HHS' Stance On Rare Disease Patient Assistance
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent advisory opinion, temporarily blessing manufacturer-supported copay funds for rare disease patients, carves a narrow path for single-donor funds, but charities and their donors may require additional assistance to navigate programs for such patients, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.