Quash Motions Partially Granted In FCA Vision Drug Pricing Suit Against Regeneron
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge on Aug. 24 granted in part nonparty pharmaceutical manufacturers’ motions to quash subpoenas in a suit against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act (FCA) and similar state laws for purportedly fraudulent sales price reporting for a vision impairment drug, finding that the evidence sought could be relevant to scienter.
Split 5th Circuit Debates Jurisdiction On Dismissed AWCPA, DMCA Claims
NEW ORLEANS — In an opinion that a split Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said involved multiple questions of first impression regarding the application of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA) and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and a “thorny” question of appellate jurisdiction, the judge that wrote the majority opinion said that a section of the AWCPA does not reach copyrights in architectural plans as pictorial, graphic and sculptural works and could not support a Texas federal judge’s dismissal of an architectural firm’s architectural-work claims when the complaint did not establish that the challenged uses occurred after construction.
9th Circuit Stays Mandate In ERISA Case Due To Cert Petition Citing Trauernicht
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has stayed issuance of its mandate for a July 30 ruling in a putative class case pending resolution of a certiorari petition that the appellants say they have already filed. In the petition, the appellants argue that the panel ruling deepens a 7-1 circuit split concerning the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, with the Fourth Circuit’s recent Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc. ruling standing alone on one side of the conflict.
Federal Circuit: Inventor Advocates Lacked Standing To Challenge Patent Covers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Virginia federal judge rightly dismissed a complaint brought by inventor advocacy groups against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and its director because the groups alleged neither a cognizable organizational injury nor an identified member facing imminent future harm in their suit claiming that the PTO violated rulemaking procedures by using misleading language in patent cover letters, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held.
4th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Constitutional Rights Suit By COVID-19 Protestor
RICHMOND, Va. — Finding no “reversible error,” the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a suit alleging federal and state constitutional violations arising from a woman’s arrest at a protest against North Carolina’s COVID-19 emergency orders.
Dismissal Mostly Granted In DoorDash, Uber And New York City Tipping Law Dispute
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge mostly granted the city of New York’s dismissal motion, leaving only a claim for compelled speech, in DoorDash Inc.’s and Uber Technologies Inc.’s suit alleging constitutional violations related to the city’s law requiring a tipping option of 10% or more for delivery workers before delivery is complete, finding in part that the plaintiffs failed to identify the property interest purportedly taken.
Delaware Supreme Court Set To Decide Asbestos Shotgun Shell Case
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Delaware Supreme Court is set to decide causation and whether to affirm a $9 million verdict for plaintiffs in an asbestos case involving shotgun shell wads after the parties recently wrapped briefing in the defendants’ appeal.
Countertop Fabricator’s Family Secures $7.1 Million Verdict In Silica Exposure Case
LOS ANGELES — A California jury returned a $7.1 million verdict for the family of a man who died at age 46 from silicosis after being exposed to silica through his work as a countertop fabricator, although the jury allocated only 3% of the fault to the defendants that remained at trial.
D.C. Circuit Applied Wrong Time Limit To $390M ICSID Award, Argentina Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Argentine Republic on Aug. 21 filed a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc with the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a panel decision finding that a petition to enforce an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award worth more than $390 million was timely under the District of Columbia’s 12-year statute of limitations for enforcement of money judgments, writing that the decision conflicts with governing precedent and misinterprets the law.
Louisiana Panel Vacates Order For Pollution Plan In Groundwater Contamination Suit
BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appeals court panel vacated judgment in a groundwater contamination lawsuit filed by a group of individuals and businesses that own property near the former Dresser Industrial Valve Operations Facility in Rapides Parish, La., that required the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to direct responsible parties to submit a plan addressing the alleged pollution, holding that the plaintiffs improperly sought declaratory relief through a summary proceeding and that the trial court imposed an unrequested mandatory injunction without an evidentiary hearing.
Federal Judge Denies California’s Injunction Request, Allows Pipeline To Operate
LOS ANGELES — In a minute order addressing multiple motions in four related suits, a federal judge in California denied the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block an order from U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright authorizing, pursuant to the Defense Production Act (DPA), the reopening and continued operation of pipelines that had been shut down after a 2015 oil spill and denied in part the state’s motion to enforce a 2020 consent decree governing the operation of the pipelines.