The United States Attorneys Office for The Eastern District of California released a statement that they have secured the nation’s first False Claims Act (FCA) settlement to resolve claims of fraud against the Paycheck Protection Program of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a lawsuit alleging Endo entered into a second anticompetitive agreement with Impax in 2017, designed to prevent competition for Opana ER. The FTC had previously sued, alleging a 2010 agreement concerning the same product was anticompetitive. Endo settled that earlier matter while Impax continues to litigate before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Gilead mediation deadline delayed after Gilead fails to meet court ordered discovery deadlines. The Court previously entered an Order on August 13, 2020 stating that the court-ordered mediation should commence no later than January 15, 2021. The Court entered an Order on December 17, 2020 extending all deadlines in the case schedule by six months.

On January 15, 2021, Judge Chen accepted the parties’ joint stipulation requesting a delay in the date for the parties to commence mediation. The mediation deadline for the parties in litigation over Gilead’s cART regimen for treating HIV has been extended to June 22, 2021.

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ranking Member Ron Wyden of Oregon launched a bipartisan investigation two years ago into insulin prices. The investigation was part of the Senate Finance Committee’s broader effort to examine drug pricing and rising costs for purchasers and taxpayers.

On January 14, 2021, the Senate Finance Committee issued a bipartisan staff report based on the findings of its two-year probe. The report details how manufacturers aggressively raised the list prices of their insulin products for decades, despite absence of significant advances in the efficacy of the drugs.

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky announces it has filed a class action lawsuit against Apple alleging material defects in Apple’s new AirPods Max headphones. The plaintiffs allege that the AirPods Max was manufactured with a latent and material defect that causes condensation to accumulate inside the ear cups of the AirPods Max, often after only an hour of normal use.

The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court on February 1, 2021 and is brought on behalf of consumers who purchased the AirPods Max headphones.