Insights on Complex Litigation

In an unexpected development, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently proposed several changes that will generally add greater flexibility to Stark Law regulations in the proposed physician fee schedule for calendar year 2016, which was published on July 15, 2015.

On July 7, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled a 23-year-old False Claims Act precedent, relaxing its test for deciding when a whistleblower can overcome a motion to dismiss because the allegations in the complaint were publicly disclosed. 

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced the creation of a new litigation team focused solely on using the OIG’s authority to impose civil monetary penalties and exclude individuals and businesses from Medicare and Medicaid.

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit released a decision requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to reconsider a 2008 rule prohibiting certain per-click leasing arrangements under the Stark Law.

On Friday, June 26, the United States Supreme Court released its landmark decision on marriage equality, with the majority opinion citing arguments and amici briefs from two Arent Fox partners, Hunter T. Carter and Craig Engle.

On June 22, 2015, the FCC released an order authorizing interconnected VoIP providers to obtain telephone numbers directly from the Numbering Administrators, rather than through intermediaries or wholesale carriers.

The US Attorney General announced a “takedown” of 243 defendants over the last three days, representing the largest health care fraud enforcement effort in the Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s eight-year history and the largest criminal health care fraud action in the history of the Justice Department.

Partner Hunter Carter’s insights on the recently revealed and globally sensational FIFA corruption case were featured in the June 12 edition of Chile’s leading financial magazine, Capital.

The United States District Court in Nevada issued an Order on June 1, 2015 dismissing the complaint filed by alleged victims of a data security breach suffered by Amazon.com d/b/a Zappos.com (Zappos).

Arent Fox Complex Litigation partner Barbara S. Wahl recently published an article in Law360 that outlines key publicity rights issues that attorneys and their clients should consider when doing estate planning.

The 2015 edition of Legal 500 US has rated 50 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as national leaders in their field. In addition, 15 of the firm’s practice areas were ranked among the best in the country.

Last week, the US Department of Justice in New York unsealed a 47-count indictment against 14 defendants and at the same time numerous FIFA officials and other persons were arrested as they gathered for annual FIFA meeting in Zurich.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. (Medco) agreed to pay the government $7.9 million to resolve allegations that Medco’s arrangements with pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca violated the False Claim Act.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers could face a new line of attack related to Hatch-Waxman reverse payment settlement agreements (so-called, “pay-for-delay” settlements).

Arent Fox LLP Complex Litigation partner Debra Albin-Riley has been rated among the “Top Women Lawyers” in California by the Daily Journal for a second consecutive year.

In an unpublished opinion filed on May 8, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit sent trade secret owners a strong reminder of the important role written confidentiality agreements play in protecting valuable intellectual property.

Arent Fox LLP is proud to announce that, for the thirteenth year in a row, Health Care partner Linda A. Baumann served as editor-in-chief of a comprehensive desk reference focused on fraud and abuse for lawyers in the health care industry.

Arent Fox LLP is proud to announce the publication of a comprehensive and definitive book for health care industry leaders focused on risk management and litigation.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was enacted to protect consumers from abusive telemarketing practices by making it unlawful to initiate unsolicited telemarketing messages.

Intellectual Property partner Pamela Deese was featured by Inside Counsel for her work on a team from Arent Fox that recently secured a summary judgment of more than $69 million for SD-3C LLC.

An Arent Fox team led by noted commercial litigator Hunter T. Carter prevailed at the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

On April 16, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a contempt citation against social media company Yelp, Inc. (Yelp) in a closely watched case involving anonymous free speech rights on the internet.

Arent Fox secured a summary judgment of more than $69 million for SD-3C, LLC

Consumer class actions against fashion retailers are on the rise, and the most recent target is Saks Fifth Avenue.