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Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott”) recently announced that it will pay $1.6 billion to settle various federal and state claims that it improperly marketed the prescription drug Depakote for off-label uses. Abbott will pay $800 million to resolve civil claims brought by the federal government and states, $700 million in criminal penalties, […]

The Joint Policy Committee of the Societies of Epidemiology has issued a statement calling for a complete ban on the mining, export and use of asbestos. More than one hundred scientific, epidemiology and public health organizations have endorsed the statement. Unfortunately, despite the overwhelming knowledge in the medical and scientific […]

Rex Hospital, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to pay the federal government $1.9 million to settle Medicare fraud charges. The qui tam (or “whistleblower”) lawsuit alleged that hospitals were keeping Medicare patients overnight unnecessarily following a back procedure known as “kyphoplasty.” The action alleged hospitals encouraged overnight stays […]

Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) has purportedly reached a settlement with the Justice Department which will have the healthcare giant paying $2.2 billion to resolve unlawful marketing claims. The settlement would include a criminal fine of approximately $400 million for the unlawful promotion of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The final total […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has submitted a proposed rule to the Federal Register that would create plain-English, more transparent mortgage disclosures. The proposal follows more than a year of research and analysis of mortgage disclosures and the best ways to ensure that customers receive needed information to make […]

In a time when it gets increasingly difficult for politicians to agree on regulations, reign in the cost of healthcare or control financial institutions, one strong person can make a difference. Under the False Claims Act any person, business or entity that defrauds the federal government of the American taxpayers’ […]

American Banker, the nation’s leading publication dealing with the banking industry, reported on mounting challenges to lenders’ alleged self-dealing with force-placed hazard or homeowner’s insurance. In addition to a number of lawsuits filed against banks and mortgage servicers across the country, regulatory authorities are now investigating whether banks are unfairly […]

Asbestos fibers are tiny, so small that individual fibers cannot be seen by the naked eye. For asbestos fibers to be visible to the human eye, there must be thousands or even millions of fibers in the air. This typically happens in industrial environments, for example when a drywall worker […]

The British drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay $3 billion to settle claims related to illegal marketing of drugs. The U.S. government’s civil and criminal investigations of Glaxo related to multiple different drugs. The settlement includes resolution of allegations that Glaxo improperly marketed the drug Avandia, a drug whose use was […]

American Banker reported on a win for homeowners in a Florida class action against Wells Fargo & Co. and QBE Insurance, Inc. over their practices with force-placed insurance. In the force-placed insurance case, a Florida district court judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification for a class of Florida […]