Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to be the nation's top healthcare official cleared a key confirmation hurdle on Tuesday, setting the stage for the anti-vaccine lawyer and activist to take the helm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Party-Line Vote Sends Kennedy's HHS Nomination To Senate

By Yeji Jesse Lee

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to be the nation's top healthcare official cleared a key confirmation hurdle on Tuesday, setting the stage for the anti-vaccine lawyer and activist to take the helm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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9th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Over Military Meds Deliveries

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Express Scripts Inc. of defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense out of billions of dollars in unnecessary medications for military personnel, saying the lawsuit wasn't barred by any public disclosures of the alleged fraud.

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Trump Trans Care Order Usurps Congress' Power, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

The Trump administration overstepped when it issued an executive order cutting off gender-affirming care for people under 19, a group of transgender adolescents, young adults and their families told a Maryland federal court Tuesday, arguing the president is trying to usurp Congressional authority by forcing federally funded hospitals to discriminate.

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Doctors Org. Sues Over Health Agency Website Purges

By Ali Sullivan

An advocacy organization representing physicians sued the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in D.C. federal court Tuesday after it directed federal agencies to root out references to "gender ideology" on their websites — a move the physicians claim deprives doctors and researchers of needed information.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Calif. AG Gets $25M To Fund Legal Fights Against Trump

By Rachel Scharf

The California Legislature greenlighted a $25 million cash infusion Monday for the state attorney general's office in a strategic effort to bolster the state's legal defenses against President Donald Trump's policy agenda, including anticipated challenges to immigration and environmental regulations.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

4th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Alleging Faked Therapy Notes

By Dan McKay

The Fourth Circuit on Monday sided with a whistleblower who accused her former employer of creating fake notes about addiction therapy sessions that never happened, finding that she had sufficiently detailed the allegations and connected the dots to defeat a motion to dismiss.

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LITIGATION

Javice's Texts About Elizabeth Holmes Not Fair Game For Trial

By Pete Brush

Frank founder Charlie Javice's sympathetic texts about healthcare-sector fraudster Elizabeth Holmes won't be seen by the jury hearing charges that the education startup executive faked data to dupe JPMorgan into a $175 million acquisition, a Manhattan federal judge said Tuesday.

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Docs Say DEA Didn't Put All Documents In Pot Hearing Record

By Mike Curley

A group of doctors who had petitioned to halt the Drug Enforcement Administration's hearings on whether to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act are asking the D.C. Circuit to order the agency to add documents to the record that they say have been wrongly excluded.

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Tribe's IHS Debt Suit Cut But Overcollection Claims Remain

By Joyce Hanson

A Nebraska federal judge partly tossed a tribe's amended suit challenging the Indian Health Service's contention that it overpaid the tribe by $3.2 million due to an administrative oversight, finding the tribe waited too long to sue, but he allowed claims alleging overcollection of the debt to continue.

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'Sloppy' Work Hurts Lab's $20.6M Insurance Suit, Judge Says

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge said Tuesday that a contract lawsuit against insurer Aetna Inc. and its owner CVS Health Corp., seeking about $20.6 million in payment for laboratory services, seems to "suffer" from the fact that the plaintiff filed dozens of similar cases in short order.

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Attys Seek $1.25M From Shuttered Nursing School Settlement

By Aaron Keller

Attorneys with the Connecticut boutique firm Hurwitz Sagarin Slossberg & Knuff LLC are seeking a 25% cut of a $5 million class action settlement for students whose career paths were sent spiraling by for-profit nursing school Stone Academy's sudden shutdown in February 2023.

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DEALS

McKesson Paying $850M For Top Stake In Eye Health Co.

By Al Barbarino

Irving, Texas, healthcare services company McKesson Corp. said Tuesday it had agreed to buy a controlling interest in PRISM Vision, an ophthalmology services provider, from private equity firm Quad-C for $850 million. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Drug Pricing Policy Trends To Expect In 2025 And Beyond

Though 2025 may bring more of the same in the realm of drug pricing policy, business as usual entails a sustained, high level of legal and policy developments across at least six major areas, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Senate Confirms Pam Bondi To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi to be attorney general.

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'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."

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Trump Selects McKinsey CLO For Commerce Department GC

By Hailey Konnath

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated McKinsey & Co.'s Chief Legal Officer Pierre Gentin to serve as the next general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to congressional records.

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Haynes Boone Adds 7-Atty Seward & Kissel Team In NY

By Christine DeRosa

Haynes Boone has grown its fund finance and securitization practices with the addition of seven attorneys from Seward & Kissel LLP, including the head of the firm's asset securitization and CLO practice group.

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Former Conn. US Attorney Returns To McCarter & English

By Christine DeRosa

Vanessa Roberts Avery, who recently stepped down as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, has returned to her roots as a business litigator at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

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DOJ Criminal Division Leader Joins White & Case's DC Shop

By Jack Rodgers

White & Case LLP announced on Tuesday it was growing its white collar team with the addition of partner Brent Wible, who told Law360 Pulse that it was time for him to step back into private practice following a five-year stint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Trump Picks AG Paxton Atty For Homeland Security Dept.

By Catherine Marfin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's special counsel, who is also a former member of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, has been tapped for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Paxton announced Tuesday.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AbbVie Inc.

Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc.

Aetna Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Association for Justice

American Chemistry Council Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

American Petroleum Institute Inc.

Amgen Inc.

Ballard Partners Inc.

CVS Health Corp.

Campaign Legal Center

Chevron Corp.

Citadel Securities LLC

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington

Complete Genomics

Credit Suisse Group AG

Earthjustice

Eli Lilly & Co.

Epic Games Inc.

Express Scripts Holding Co.

Fordham University

Genesis Diagnostics

Google LLC

Griffin Hospital

IHS Markit Ltd.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JetBlue Airways Corp.

Johnson & Johnson

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

LegitScript LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

Major League Baseball Inc.

McKesson Corp.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Merck & Co. Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

National Association of Realtors

National Retail Federation Inc.

Natural Resources Defense Council

Payer Matrix

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America

Public Citizen Inc.

Rocket Mortgage LLC

SAP AG

Salesforce.com Inc.

Sanofi

Sierra Club

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Spectrum Management Holding Co.

Texas Bankers Association

The Cigna Group

The Geo Group Inc.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Kroger Co.

TransUnion LLC

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Uber Technologies Inc.

United Food & Commercial Workers International Union

United Natural Foods Inc.

Washington Legal Foundation

Zillow Group Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alioto Law Firm

Arnold & Porter

Bochner PLLC

Boies Schiller

Cahill Gordon

Clement & Murphy

Cooper & Kirk

Covington & Burling

Cowdery Murphy

Cummings & Lockwood

Davis Polk

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dechert LLP

Freshfields

Goldberg Kohn

Goodwin Procter

Haynes Boone

Healy LLC

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Holtzman Vogel

Hurwitz Sagarin

Izard Kindall

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Kobre & Kim

Kramer Levin

Law Offices of James Scott Farrin

Law Offices of Lawrence G. Papale

McCarter & English

McDermott Will & Emery

Mintz Levin

Morgan Lewis

Orrick Herrington

Pestotnik LLP

Quinn Emanuel

Robinson & Cole

Ropes & Gray

Seward & Kissel

Sparacino PLLC

Sullivan & Cromwell

Troutman

Veen Firm

Vinson & Elkins

White & Case

Wisner Baum

Yetter Coleman

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Colorado Division of Insurance

Congressional Research Service

Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Election Commission

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Health Resources and Services Administration

Indian Health Service

Library of Congress

National Labor Relations Board

Santee Sioux Nation

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court