Perspectives on Complex Litigation

From large corporations to small nonprofits, from urban centers to rural communities, the 2016 elections will have an impact across all sectors of the economy and globally as well.

On November 1, 2016, the Supreme Court heard argument in a False Claims Act case in which the defendant sought dismissal of a qui tam action after the whistleblower violated the FCA’s seal requirement and publicly disclosed the complaint.

At its monthly Open Meeting on October 27, the Federal Communications Commission adopted, but has not yet released, new privacy rules requiring retail broadband providers to offer consumers more choice over how their personal information is used.

Latinvex has rated Arent Fox a top international law firm for companies operating in Latin America. In addition, the publication named Arent Fox one of the best firms for Latin American businesses in need of arbitration, FCPA and fraud counseling.

On September 16, Arent Fox secured a favorable verdict for Lei Luo and LDJ Investments, Inc. following a week-long jury trial in the Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles.

Recently another federal district court ruled that text messages sent from a group messaging platform were not autodialed, even when transmitted in bulk, because of the significant human intervention required to initiate a text message campaign through the platform.

On September 22, 2016, the Supreme Court of Florida held that Florida law bars challenges to the validity of life insurance policies based on a lack of insurable interest once Florida’s two-year contestability period has expired.

Kindred Healthcare, Inc., the country’s largest provider of post-acute care, recently paid over $3 million for violating its Corporate Integrity Agreement, the largest issued for a violation of a CIA to date.

Long lines and waiting for security inspections are the new normal not only at airports and stadiums, but also at office buildings and theatres—just to name a few places.

In a ruling that could, if adopted by other courts, expose all pharmaceutical discount and rebate arrangements to anti-kickback liability, on August 23, 2016, Judge Rya Zobel in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied Omnicare, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment.

Life science companies, health care providers, and government contractors will be at risk for significantly larger penalties due to substantial increases to False Claims Act (FCA) penalties and civil monetary penalties (CMPs).

Forty-two Arent Fox LLP attorneys have been rated as leaders in their profession by The Best Lawyers in America 2017.

In a surprising and promising development, the Senate Finance Committee released a Majority Staff Report on June 30, 2016 that gives the health care industry some hope that Congress may finally address some of the serious concerns with the implementation and enforcement of the Stark law.

In St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company v. Tessera, Inc., the federal court held that a lawsuit against an insured alleging a breach of a license agreement did not constitute a violation of an intellectual property right.

In the newly implemented Regulation Crowdfunding rules, the SEC identified intermediaries as the gatekeepers through which all investments must pass.

Manufacturers were reminded recently why resale price maintenance policies can be risky.

The SEC has just revolutionized private financing with Title III crowdfunding regulations implemented last month, opening the investment landscape to a relatively untapped market - nonaccredited investors - and harnessing the power of online advertising and social media.

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 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.