GOP states blocked from abortion pill fight, panel calls for the extension of Newman's suspension, Dentons names new global CEO and more ?
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
??GOP states' effort to restrict abortion pill rebuffed by appeals court
A unanimous 9th Circuit panel held that a group of seven Republican-led states do not have legal standing to try to get a court to impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, including a ban on prescribing it by telemedicine and dispensing it by mail.
In the ruling , the appellate court said the states cannot show that they are injured by the FDA’s decision to remove an in-person dispensing requirement for the drug. The states, which include Idaho, Iowa and Montana, had asked to intervene to oppose a lawsuit by 12 Democratic attorneys general seeking to lift existing restrictions on mifepristone, including a requirement that it be distributed only through specially licensed pharmacies.
The Republican-led states had argued that making mifepristone available by mail would result in more use of the drug under dangerous conditions, leading to more women seeking treatment for complications. The 9th Circuit panel said that the chain of causation linking the FDA's decision with higher costs was "highly attenuated.”
The decision comes the month after the U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to the pill by finding that anti-abortion groups and doctors in a separate case do not have standing to seek restrictions on it. The Supreme Court did not rule on the underlying merits of the case, leaving the pill open to future challenges.
Idaho, which led the Republican states' effort, is also pursuing claims in Amarillo, Texas federal court alongside Missouri and Kansas that similarly seek to reimpose the in-person requirement and other restrictions on mifepristone.
??Panel calls for suspension to continue for 97-year-old US appeals judge
Judges on a Washington-based federal court said in a filing made public on Wednesday that the court should maintain its 2023 suspension of their 97-year-old colleague, Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, for another year.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's judicial council, comprised of the court's active judges, suspended Newman last year , finding that she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her fitness after staff raised concerns about her mental health. She was barred from hearing new cases for at least one year or until she sits for court-ordered medical examinations.
The three-judge committee investigating Newman — consisting of Chief Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore and Circuit Judges Sharon Prost and Richard Taranto — said that she did not convince them that the suspension should be lifted.
Newman has separately sued the court's judicial council in Washington, D.C. federal court to end her suspension. That case was dismissed in an order that Newman has appealed .
??Former EY executive joins law firm Dentons as global CEO
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A former executive of auditing and consulting giant EY is joining global law firm Dentons as its next CEO, Dentons said Wednesday.
Kate Barton will join the firm in early September and take over from Elliott Portnoy as global CEO on Nov. 10, Dentons said. Barton worked at EY for over 25 years, most recently serving as its global vice chair.
Barton said that she plans to expand the firm, including by adding lawyers to key markets where it already has offices.
Dentons pushed aggressively in recent years to expand its presence in the United States by combining with smaller regional U.S. firms, but it has not announced a new U.S. combination since June 2021 .
Portnoy described the firm's U.S. expansion strategy as a success and did not comment on whether it had changed.
??Lyft officials settle lawsuit over sexual assaults by driver
Lyft will implement several safety and governance reforms to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing the ride-sharing company's officers and directors of not doing enough to stop drivers from sexually and physically assaulting passengers.
A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in the Oakland, California, federal court, and requires a judge's approval.
Lyft agreed to boost passenger awareness of the "Alert 911 Silently" feature on its app for reporting misconduct, and make it easier to report problems 24/7 to a live human. It also said it has also improved training and its code of business conduct and ethics.
The changes would last at least three years. Officers and directors would pay no money to the company, and their insurers would pay $700,000 to cover the plaintiffs' legal fees.
Shareholders claimed that Lyft's reputation suffered from the company's inadequate training and background checks for drivers, including those with histories of sexual misconduct.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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