WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission received a total of 334 whistle-blower tips during fiscal year 2011 as part of its implementation of its final rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and has yet to issue any rewards under the whistle-blower program, according to the SEC’s annual report, [...]

CHICAGO – A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 18 refused to adopt a rule agreed to by four other circuits that allows a plaintiff to move for class certification and avoid mootness even after being offered complete relief; instead, the Seventh Circuit opined that a named plaintiff in a class suit [...]

ROCKVILLE, Md. – The Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 18 revoked approval for Avastin to treat breast cancer after concluding that the drug did not slow progression of tumors and that any benefits did not outweigh the drug’s risks. LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Daily Legal News

NEW ORLEANS – Parties in the Chinese drywall multidistrict litigation on Nov. 16 announced a resolution to repair hundreds of homes constructed with defective drywall manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin (KPT) (In re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, No. 2:09md02047, E.D. La.). LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Daily Legal News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 14 agreed to review three cases challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) after considering five of six petitions challenging the act at its Nov. 10 conference (National Federation of Independent Business, et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius, No. 11-393; States of Florida, et al. [...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 7 ruled that it will not hear an appeal of a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that shareholders have properly pleaded scienter in making their federal securities law claims against two executive officers of Dana Corp. (Michael J. Burns, et al. v. Plumbers & [...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Saying graphic new cigarette pack warnings ordered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violate companies’ First Amendment rights by compelling speech, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction on Nov. 7 halting enforcement of the requirement in a case of first impression [...]

LONDON – GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) has reached an agreement in principal to settle three United States federal criminal and civil investigations for $ 3 billion, the company said Nov. 3 in a press release on its Web site. LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Daily Legal News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A federal prisoner suing over his alleged mistreatment behind bars has failed to show that the remedies provided in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics (403 U.S. 388 [1971]) are applicable, the attorney representing the prison management company and several of the company’s employees argued Nov. 1 [...]

DENVER – Lead plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation have failed to plead their claim under Section 13(a) of the Investment Company Act, but have properly pleaded all other federal securities law claims, a federal judge in Colorado ruled Oct. 24 in substantially denying defendants’ motions to dismiss (In re Oppenheimer Rochester Funds Group Securities Litigation, [...]