Newsletters

03.23.17

Escobar's Impact: Recent Application of "Materiality" in Ninth Circuit

Last year, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decided Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar (Escobar), 136 S.Ct. 1989 (2016), creating important implications for Federal False Claims Act (FCA) cases and, in particular, their viability.


03.23.17

Repeal of Antitrust Immunity for Insurers: What Does It Mean?

Insurers are among a handful of industries, including Major League Baseball, that have a special exemption from the federal antitrust laws, the so-called "McCarran-Ferguson" antitrust exemption.


03.21.17

Defendant’s Calling System Ruled Not an Autodialer

A Telephone Consumer Protection Act defendant successfully persuaded a Michigan federal court judge that its calling system was not an automated dialing system because there was significant human involvement in dialing phone numbers.


03.10.17

Future of DOL's White Collar Overtime Rule Remains Unclear

The uncertainty surrounding the Department of Labor's (DOL) white collar overtime rule continues, with the agency requesting more time to continue its appeal of an injunction halting implementation of the rule.


02.27.17

Ninth Circuit Sends Employment Dispute to Arbitration

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sent an employment dispute to arbitration this week, reversing a denial of the employer's motion to compel arbitration.


02.22.17

DOJ Successfully Blocks Insurance Mergers: What Are the Takeaways?

In July 2016, following a lengthy review, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), together with several states, sued to block two proposed health insurer mergers: Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna.


02.22.17

HCQIA Preemption of State Physician Whistleblower Statutes

Medical professionals who are subject to adverse actions following peer review often seek to sue the peer review participants (including the individual peer-reviewing physicians, medical staff leadership and the hospital), casting themselves as quality-of-care advocates that have been mistreated or ...


02.17.17

Case Not Moot Even After Rule 67 Funds Deposited

Is a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action moot where a defendant actually deposits sufficient funds with the court to satisfy a plaintiff’s claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 67?


02.13.17

When Regulatory Failings Turn Criminal: Car Edition Redux

To paraphrase the famous quote from the film “All About Eve”: Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy car ride. In the first part of January 2017, the automotive industry saw two high profile resolutions—with combined criminal and civil penalties exceeding $5 ...


02.10.17

President Taps New Heads for Federal Employment Agencies

President Donald J. Trump appointed new leaders for the federal employment agencies during his busy first few days in office, tapping Victoria A. Lipnic as Acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Philip A. Miscimarra to lead the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).