The United States Supreme Court is set to decide whether a patent holder can pay to keep a challenger out of the market, or whether doing so violates antitrust laws. Drug manufacturers are granted patents on their products for 20 years, giving them an exclusive right to manufacture and market the patented drug. In order … Continue Reading
The recent case of St. Joseph Hospital, Augusta, Georgia, Inc. v. Health Management Associates, Inc., Case No. 11-13069 (decided January 24, 2013), is a warning for transactional lawyers to be careful how they describe a transaction in pre-closing filings with government agencies. St. Joseph Hospital (now known as Trinity Hospital of Augusta) sued HMA for … Continue Reading
In January, a Federal District Court in Oklahoma issued a ruling in favor of a former marketing representative of a medical equipment distributor. The Court determined that Gary Weaver was, in fact, engaged on an independent contractor basis, not as an employee, and therefore his employment agreement with Joint Technology, Inc. was an unenforceable illegal … Continue Reading
On February 11, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the largest settlement ever reached with an individual under the False Claims Act (FCA) in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The settlement is also one of the largest with an individual under the FCA in U.S. history. According … Continue Reading
