Gibson Dunn has a national and international health care and life sciences litigation practice.  Experienced litigators throughout the firm have represented industry clients in a broad array of matters.  We have successfully tried to verdict numerous high profile cases, and derailed others in advance of trial, often with skilled and well-known trial counsel as our adversaries.  We also have successfully argued many significant appeals on behalf of industry clients in state and federal court, including the United States Supreme Court.  In the precedent-setting Davila case, the Supreme Court reversed the Fifth Circuit and held that ERISA completely preempts state law causes of action based upon a plan administrator's denial of coverage for medical care.

Our health care and life sciences litigation clients include, among others, hospital and nursing home owners, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, biotechnology firms as well as HMOs and insurers.  In representing these clients, we are able to draw upon the vast resources of a global law firm, including litigators with substantial specialized experience in antitrust, securities, False Claims Act/qui tam actions, business crimes and other governmental investigations, consumer class actions, intellectual property (patent and trademark), bankruptcy, and ERISA and other labor and employment matters.

Governmental Investigations and Related Litigation

Gibson Dunn litigators have substantial experience representing health care clients in civil and criminal proceedings and investigations brought by governmental entities, including False Claims Act cases brought by the government and/or qui tam plaintiffs.  Drawing upon the collective experience of numerous former United States Attorneys and Assistants, as well as many other litigators with significant experience in defending health care entities, we have a deep bench ready to handle complex governmental investigations and related litigation.

Representative Governmental Investigations and Related Litigation (including False Claims Act Cases Brought by the Government and Qui Tam Plaintiffs)

• DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. - Deferred Prosecution Agreement:  Pursuant to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement ("DPA") between the U.S. Department of Justice and DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. ("DePuy"), a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Gibson Dunn partner Debra Wong Yang was appointed an Independent Monitor to oversee DePuy's compliance with the DPA and assist in restructuring the company's health care compliance program.  The case arose from a lengthy investigation into the nation's five largest orthopaedic implant manufacturers and allegations of violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute in connection with physician consultation and royalty agreements.  Ms. Wong Yang was assisted by a team of Gibson Dunn attorneys, led by Nick Hanna and Alex Southwell, which, among other things, reviewed all physician consultation agreements, oversaw the preparation of a consultant needs assessment, reviewed consultant payments and fair market value determinations, reviewed payments for honoraria, fellowships, and charitable contributions, reviewed and approved compliance training, conducted internal investigations of whistleblower complaints, and reported regularly to the DOJ.  The matter is ongoing. 
• National Medical Enterprises/Psychiatric Institutes of America:  We represented NME in parallel civil and criminal investigations across the United States arising out of allegations that its psychiatric subsidiary had paid illegal compensation to physicians.  We successfully negotiated a guilty plea by the subsidiary and corresponding civil settlement that resolved all pending investigations and assured the parent entity's survival.
• National Medical Enterprises - Private Plaintiff Proceedings:  Following the settlement described above, prominent plaintiff lawyers cross the United States began to file lawsuits on behalf of former psychiatric patients.  Referencing the guilty plea, the patients claimed to have been improperly hospitalized and treated due to a fraudulent scheme directed by NME.  Ultimately, several thousand former patients asserted claims.  We successfully tried to verdict the claims of nine former patients.  One of the trials was recognized by the National Law Journal as the Defense Win of the Year.  We also defended to successful verdict an antitrust claim brought by a competitor psychiatric hospital.  Following these courtroom victories, the remaining pending cases across the country were settled for nominal amounts.
• Parkshore Nursing Home:  We defended Parkshore in the largest Medicaid fraud case ever brought by the New York Attorney General's Office.  We negotiated a plea and civil settlement that permitted existing ownership to continue to operate the facility.
• Tenet Healthcare:  We have successfully defended Tenet (formerly NME) in a number of False Claims Act cases brought by the government and/or qui tam plaintiffs involving issues such as coding and whether physician contracts were in violation of Stark. We have also represented Tenet in antitrust representations on matters pending before the FTC and DOJ, and numerous other state and federal investigations.
• Other Governmental Experience:  We have represented many other health care entities and physician groups such as EmCare, Inc., Allergan, MedAmerica, Inc., and California Emergency Physicians in litigation with state and federal agencies over billing, reimbursement and compliance issues.

Intellectual Property Litigation 

Drawing upon the resources of the firm's intellectual property practice group, Gibson Dunn has successfully represented medical device manufacturers and other life sciences clients in important complex litigation.

Representative Intellectual Property Litigation

• St. Jude Medical:  Represented medical device manufacturer in a series of cases involving implantable defibrillators and other cardiac devices.  Trial and appellate victories resulted in invalidation of patents that had been widely licensed in the cardiac device industry.
• Columbia University:  Successfully defended Columbia in declaratory judgment action challenging validity of patent pertaining to fundamental recombinant DNA technologies; prosecuted counterclaim for $75 million arising out of patent license agreement.
• Metabolite Laboratories: Successfully represented client before the Federal Circuit and United States Supreme Courts on the "law of nature" patentability issue.
• Johnson & Johnson:  Represented client in patent litigation against Inamed pertaining to bariatric surgical devices and methods.
• Neutrogena:  Represented company in patent litigation pertaining to microdermabrasion technology.
• Spine-Tech:  Represented company in patent license litigation pertaining to spinal fusion devices.
• Wright Medical Technology:  Represented company in patent license litigation pertaining to orthopedic devices.
• Odyssey Medical:  Represented company in patent litigation pertaining to ophthalmological implants.
• Aventis S.A.:  Represented Aventis in breach of technology license and unfair competition action against generic manufacturer.
• Israel Bio-Engineering Project/Serono International S.A.:  Represented world's third largest biotechnology company in litigation pertaining to tumor necrosis factor binding proteins.
• Beverly Enterprises:  Defended theft with trade secrets, fraud and unfair competition case.
• ELA Medical: Defended client in a case that included various claims, including trade secrets, contract claims, and fraud. Obtained a motion to dismiss on the ground that a mandatory forum selection clause in the agreement between the parties made the California venue improper.   

Consumer Class Actions 

Gibson Dunn has a preeminent consumer class action defense practice.  The firm frequently defends health care and life sciences clients targeted by the plaintiff class action bar, including a number of pharmaceutical companies.

Representative Health Care and Life Science Consumer Class Actions

• Consumer Cause v. Ciba-Geigy:  Represented pharmaceutical manufacturer in defense of nationwide consumer class action alleging violation of California's Unfair Competition Law.
• Express Scripts:  Representing client in coordinated proceedings challenging prescription pricing practices of twelve national pharmacy benefits managers.  
• Johnson & Johnson:  Representing Johnson & Johnson in nationwide class action lawsuits alleging that company committed fraud on patent office, filed invalid FDA submissions and pursued baseless patent enforcement actions to block or delay entry by generic drug manufacturers.
• Tenet Healthcare Pharmaceutical Pricing Litigation:  Representing Tenet in several class actions regarding the pricing of pharmaceuticals and other products and services at Tenet hospitals.  A California court has recently approved a nationwide settlement of these cases.
• Aetna:  Presented oral argument on behalf of all defendants in opposition to certification of a putative national class of tens of millions of health plan members.  Plaintiffs were represented by David Boies and Richard Scruggs.  The motion was defeated, and the cases, through which plaintiffs sought billions of dollars in damages, were settled for a few thousand dollars each.
• Caremark Rx:  Defended client in class action alleging violations of fiduciary duty under ERISA.
• Tenet Healthcare:  Defended client in class action regarding unused vacation time.
• Other Managed Care Class Actions:  The firm has defended against numerous other putative class actions initiated against managed care companies by both health care providers and plan members.

Other Complex Litigation

Gibson Dunn is well known for the quality of its litigators, particularly in specialized practice areas such as securities and antitrust. We routinely draw upon the resources of those practice areas to represent health care and life sciences clients.

Representative Health Care and Life Sciences Securities and Antitrust Litigation

• Bon Secours:  Represented audit committee of $2 billion hospital chain regarding allegations of financial misrepresentation.
• Pfizer:  Successfully defended derivative claims related to the Shirley Heart Valve.
• Tenet Healthcare:  Obtained summary judgment for Tenet in securities fraud case brought by former Tenet Vice President.  This victory was affirmed on appeal in 2007.
• Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center:  Successfully defended hospital against antitrust, conspiracy and unfair competition claims attacking hospital's use of exclusive contracts with various medical groups.
• Medtronic MiniMed:  Represented client in connection with antitrust counterclaim arising from a patent infringement suit.
• Tenet Healthcare:  Defended Tenet in antitrust/RICO case brought by preeminent psychiatric hospital which alleged it had been driven into bankruptcy due to a scheme by Tenet and its subsidiaries to bribe the plaintiffs traditional referral sources and thus divert patients to Tenet-owned hospitals.  Obtained take-nothing jury verdict.