Media Mentions
2011
“Class Certification in Merger Lawsuit, Timing of Daubert Hearing Contested”
BNA Health Law Reporter, February 10, 2011
David Hanselman commented on a Seventh Circuit appeal of a case involving class certification for an antitrust lawsuit over a hospital merger. He said the decision will be important because “courts across the country have raised the bar for plaintiffs to obtain class certification, particularly in antitrust cases,” and because of a related “simmering debate … about how closely district courts must look at expert testimony on a motion for class certification.” Mr. Hanselman added, “It will be interesting to see how far the court gets into the merits of class certification and whether it articulates any standards for proving common impact in antitrust class actions.”
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation
2010
Russell Hayman as quoted in an extensive March 15 Modern Healthcare article about the role of whistle-blowers who raise Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement concerns under the False Claims Act. Although saying that “there are whistle-blowers who from time to time uncover true misconduct, and they serve an important public function,” Mr. Hayman added that “most persons who style themselves whistle-blowers fall short of that” level of significance. More often, he said, whistle-blowers “don’t have a full understanding of the subject matter, so they take a few facts and conclude from those facts that they are true whistle-blowers uncovering misconduct. They’re feeling the leg of an elephant and pronouncing it to be an oak tree.”
Russell Hayman, Health Care Litigation, White-Collar - Hospitality
David Hanselman spoke to the National Law Journal on February 22 regarding a settlement that Chicago area hospitals reached with a group of nurses who had alleged the hospitals conspired to depress their wages. A federal court had denied class certification to the plaintiffs last fall, and Mr. Hanselman, who represents one of the hospitals, stated that the case was “settled for a very small fraction of what it would have cost to defend the case going forward.” He explained that “the defendants felt we had a good chance of winning on summary judgment, but the amount that we settled for was far less than the amount it would cost to draft a summary judgment [motion].”
David L. Hanselman Jr., Class Action, Health Care Litigation
Reed Stephens told Law360 on January 1 that Bates and Patrick v. Unnamed Defendant will be a particularly important health law case in 2010. The case involves a nationwide Department of Justice investigation into false Medicare claims for kyphoplasty spinal surgery, and Mr. Stephens said that it “highlights the real risk associated with the relationship between pharmaceutical and device manufacturers and hospitals and doctors.” He added that providers must be able to prove that the procedures they bill for are medically necessary. Mr. Stephens represents a provider client in a similar case, which he sees either moving toward a “reasonable” resolution or to trial if the government is too aggressive.
T. Reed Stephens, Health, Health Care Litigation, Life Sciences & Medical Products, Trial
2009
David Hanselman was quoted in an October 5 Modern Healthcare story about a federal judge’s denial of class action status for a lawsuit by 19,000 Chicago area nurses who alleged that hospitals conspired to depress their wages. The judge held that granting class status based on an “average loss” theory would obscure the wide differences in pay and circumstances among individuals, leading Mr. Hanselman (who represented one of the hospital defendants) to comment: “District judges can no longer rubber-stamp the opinions of plaintiff’s experts at the class certification stage.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
David Hanselman was quoted by Global Competition Review on October 2 concerning U.S. District Court Judge John Grady’s refusal to grant certification to a lawsuit by Chicago area nurses alleging that several hospitals conspired to suppress their pay. Mr. Hanselman identified the Judge’s rejection of averages to determine class-wide antitrust impact as the key to the decision. “In this case the [plaintiffs’] expert had used an econometric model that had used a single average percentage of wage suppression,” Mr. Hanselman stated. “The judge was highly critical of the use of averages because it does not show whether each class member had suffered an antitrust injury.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
The National Law Journal quoted David Hanselman (October 1) concerning a Chicago federal court decision that denied class certification to a group of nurses who had alleged that hospitals had conspired to depress their wages. The Illinois plaintiffs sought over $1 billion in lost wage claims, but U.S. District Court Judge John Grady held that they did not demonstrate that common questions of law or fact predominated. Mr. Hanselman, who represented one of the hospitals, called the decision "a significant victory for the defendants because often in class actions the denial of class certification sounds the death knell of the litigation." He also represents defendants in several similar cases being heard in other federal courts, "We are hopeful that Judge Grady's well-reasoned opinion has persuasive impact on those courts."
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
David Hanselman was noted by West’s Andrews Litigation Reporter – Antitrust in October 2009 as counsel for one of several Chicago area hospitals in a federal antitrust case where the court denied class certification to a group of nurses that alleged a conspiracy by the hospitals to keep wages low. Mr. Hanselman said the ruling may provide guidance in nurse wage-fixing class actions pending in federal courts in New York, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas, adding that the ruling shows that courts beyond the Third Circuit are looking to the “rigorous analysis” standard of In re Hydrogen Peroxide Antitrust Litigation when making class certification rulings.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health Care Litigation, Trial
David Hanselman, Jr., spoke to Law360 on September 29 about a federal judge’s denial of class certification to a group of nurses who alleged that four Chicago area hospital systems violated antitrust law by colluding to suppress the nurses’ wages. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have a viable method of showing classwide injury, which Mr. Hanselman, who represented one of the hospital systems, said “constitutes the death knell” for the litigation. “I can’t say that this effectively ends the case because plaintiffs’ lawyers can be creative,” he noted, “but it certainly is a significant blow to the plaintiffs’ case, and we’ll be anxious to see what they do from here.” Click here to read the full article.
David L. Hanselman Jr., Antitrust & Competition, Class Action, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Thomas Ryan was quoted in an August 24 Law360 story about a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado that dismissed counterclaims of antitrust violations in breach of contract litigation brought by Total Renal Care Inc. against a rival kidney dialysis clinic. Mr. Ryan, who represented Total Renal Care, was pleased with the ruling, and stated, “[A]t the end of the day we believe that our case has merit and the antitrust claims against us lack merit.”
Tom Ryan, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Jon Dean was quoted on March 2 in The National Law Journal regarding the spike in employment litigation. In 2009, job layoffs and a sharp rise in unemployment rates will likely increase employment litigation. Mr. Dean is seeing a rise in the number of employment cases brought in tandem with False Claims Acts suits. "There seems to be an increasing number of whistleblower claims combined with employment litigation, particularly in health care," he said. He continued, "Medicare regulations are very complicated. As you have more people who know the inner workings of a company who are laid off in a soft economy, you will see more of them piecing together circumstances to support a whistleblower claim."
Jon Dean, Health Care Litigation, HR & Employment Litigation, Trial
Ankur Goel was quoted in the February 2 issue of Modern Healthcare in an article regarding Attorneys General authorities and their abilities to garner change and achievement. "If there's any connection, it's one of timing and the broad array of authorities attorneys general possess. In general, the intense political focus and concern about healthcare, as well as the increasing role of healthcare in the economy, are likely to be reflected in the level of government activity," Mr. Goel said.
Ankur J. Goel, Health, Health Care Litigation
2008
Russell Hayman was quoted in the December 8 issue of American Medical News in an article regarding physicians being seldom named in false claims cases but are often in a position to blow the whistle on fraud that they observe. "Health care services account for roughly 10% of the nation's gross domestic product. Put that together with the fact it is so heavily regulated by the federal government and states, and you have a recipe for False Claims Act activities on the scale we've seen in recent years," Mr. Hayman said.
Russell Hayman, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Michael W. Peregrine was quoted in the August 29 issue of BNA's Health Care Daily Report in an article regarding the U.S. Department of Justice's revisions to its corporate charging guidelines, which will have particular relevance for health care organizations being investigated by federal prosecutors. While the new privilege policy is significant, Mr. Peregrine said health care organizations should pay special attention to the discussion in the guidance on the role of effective corporate compliance programs in prosecutors' decisions to prosecute health care-related cases. Mr. Peregrine also said that changes announced by DOJ are "excellent reminders that the attorney-client privilege, when properly applied, remains a valuable concept."
Michael W. Peregrine, Corporate Responsibility and Governance, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
McDermott Will & Emery was mentioned in the July 2008 issue of DTC Insights – DTC Forecast in an article summarizing McDermott's recent White Paper on Merck settling the Vioxx Litigation with State Attorneys General.
Paul W. Radensky M.D., T. Reed Stephens, Health, Health Care Litigation, Life Sciences - Health
Phyllis Kupferstein was quoted in the January 2008 issue of Workforce Management Online in an article regarding health issues in the hiring process. "Recruiters should be wary of any situation where a candidate provides health information in case there is a later charge that the information colored the offer decision," Ms. Kupferstein said. She notes that when faced with coverage questions without full information during the hiring process, "Recruiters should be very general in any discussion of the health plan and defer any questions to the post-offer phase."
, Employee Benefits, Health Care Litigation, HR & Employment Litigation
2007
Steven E. Siff and Justin B. Uhlemann were mentioned in the April 4 issue of Mealey's Managed Care Liability Report in an article regarding a health insurance policy benefits clause that was challenged as unenforceable in the Florida Court of Appeals. McDermott represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. in this notable victory.
Steven E. Siff PC, Justin B. Uhlemann, Appellate, Health Care Litigation, Trial
2005
Russ Hayman was quoted in the June 13 issue of the National Law Journal in regard to corporate integrity agreements negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' office of the inspector general as a common form of corporation probation.
Russell Hayman, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Russ Hayman was quoted in the March 14 issue of Report on Medicare Compliance. In the article entitled "Nursing Home Was Sold Before Conviction," he commented on the government wielding multiple enforcement weapons at a wayward facility. Mr. Hayman stated, "It's just a question of how much the authorities want to pile on." The standard for proving a crime is the hardest to meet. He continued, "if that's met, they can pile on civil penalties and administrative penalties."
Russell Hayman, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
2004
Michael Peregrine was quoted in the July 15 issue ofBNA's Health Law Reporter in an article regarding the effects of Blakely v. Washington on the health care industry and corporate compliance guidelines. Mr. Peregrine doubted that there would be a lasting impact on the health care industry because "the value of an effective corporate compliance program goes well beyond providing a basis for a criminal sentence reduction, so it is hard to imagine a corporation abandoning efforts to revise its programs based on this development."
Michael W. Peregrine, Health, Health Care Litigation, Trial
Ankur Goel was quoted in the July 15 issue of BNA's Health Law Reporter in an article regarding the effects of Blakely v. Washington on the health care industry and corporate compliance guidelines. According to Mr. Goel, regardless of how Blakely affects sentencing guidelines, health care providers "still have a lot of incentives" to design and implement an effective compliance program. "At this point the underpinnings of compliance and compliance program guidance come from several places," Mr. Goel said.
