Insights on Complex Litigation

In a highly anticipated decision, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Universal Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar that threw out existing law related to the implied certification theory of liability under the False Claims Act.

Complex Litigation partner Barbara Wahl published an article with Law360 on the Sumner Redstone litigation, in which the California trial court decided that the media tycoon had sufficient mental capacity to decide who should exercise his health care directive. 

The DOJ has finally acted on long-awaited website accessibility rules, though their approach was unexpected.

In fact, the House passed the DTSA by a vote of 410-2 on April 27, 2016, and today, May 11, President Obama signed it into law. The DTSA is codified at 18 U.S.C. 1836(b).

The Washington Business Journal announced that three projects that Arent Fox LLP advised on were honorees in its Washington-DC area’s Best Real Estate Deals of 2015.

The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 was voted and approved on April 27, 2016 and is now on its way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the President’s desk for signing.

In a surprising move that could dramatically impact government enforcement actions against life science companies, the health care industry, and government contractors, a federal board has increased federal False Claims Act penalties by more than 100 percent. 

The Department of Justice recently announced it has reached a more than $780 million settlement with Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Wyeth to resolve reported false pricing allegations.

Partners Jacques Smith and David Greenberg spoke with AHLA Weekly after the US Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 19 in a major False Claims Act case that has far-reaching implications for the health care industry and other highly-regulated sectors reliant on government funding.

Theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets, costs US businesses more than $300 billion a year, according to a 2013 report by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (a bipartisan group of high-ranking former US officials).

The US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on April 19 in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, a key case addressing the implied certification theory of liability under the False Claims Act. 

Arent Fox LLP Complex Litigation associate Temitope K. Yusuf was named a Rising Star by Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

Federal prosecutors appearing at the American Conference Institute’s 16th Annual Forum on Fraud and Abuse in the Sales and Marketing of Medical Devices earlier this month outlined recent enforcement trends that should catch the attention of the health care industry.

In a recent opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the developer of the highly-anticipated videogame Grand Theft Auto V.

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce the appointment of D. Jacques Smith and Kay C. Georgi to lead the firm’s internationally recognized Complex Litigation and  International Trade practices.

The year 2015 provided another bumper crop of decisions in trusts and estates disputes. While the courts generally experienced a nationwide decrease in the filing of civil lawsuits, trust and estate disputes continued to fill court dockets and a few noteworthy trends emerged.

Macy’s, Inc. and subsidiary Bloomingdale’s, Inc. were recently served with a class action complaint alleging that the retail chains misled consumers with a “phantom pricing scheme” that inflated the savings available on items marked for sale.

Arent Fox is pleased to announce that Managing Partner Cristina A. Carvalho and Complex Litigation partner Hunter T. Carter have been named to the Latin America’s 2016 Top 100 Lawyers list by Latinvex.

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce the election of its new partners and counsel, effective January 1, 2016.

The Supreme Court ruled interactive computer service providers like Yelp cannot be held legally responsible for info created and developed by third parties.

In an important development, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued additional final regulations implementing the Stark Law as part of the Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2016 (see 80 Fed. Reg. 70,886 (Nov. 16, 2015)).

On Monday, November 30, 2015, Nordstrom and denim manufacturer AG Adriano Goldschmied filed a motion to approve a settlement in California federal court, agreeing to pay more than $4 million to settle a consumer class action suit that accused them of falsely labeling jeans as “Made in USA.”

Arent Fox Health Care partner Debra Albin-Riley published an article in the November 5 edition of Bloomberg BNA’s Health Law Reporter that covers a recent California Supreme Court ruling that significantly impacts the Anti-SLAPP motion’s viability in cases involving hospital peer review actions.

The Department of Justice recently announced that Tuomey Healthcare System has agreed to pay $72.4 million and enter into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement to finally resolve the long-running U.S. ex rel., Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc. False Claims Act/Stark Law litigation.