New England Biz Law Update

White-collar lawyers say that federal prosecutors will have a tougher time getting convictions in public corruption cases if, as many predict, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the controversial “honest services fraud” statute.

White-collar lawyers say that federal prosecutors will have a tougher time getting convictions in public corruption cases if, as many predict, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the controversial “honest services fraud” statute.

A bankrupt airline could not be held liable to a former employee for handicap discrimination, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has found. The airline argued that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order disallowing the discrimination claim resulted in the employee being forever barred from suing the airline under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A judge’s decision to dismiss a plaintiff’s breach-of-contract lawsuit and sanction him $243,000 for destroying critical evidence in an employment dispute is a warning to civil litigants who do not cooperate during discovery, lawyers say.

Medical device-maker Boston Scientific will pay $22 million to resolve allegations its Guidant division paid kickbacks to doctors to get them to use its heart devices. The U.S. Department of Justice said Guidant paid physicians $1,000 to $1,500 each in ...

Initially sought $288K; awarded only $25,000

Decision by DIA clarifies question on workers

Involves ability of cos. to fight

Judge orders new trial in patent case

A 10-year battle over a novel drug treatment for a degenerative eye disease has settled for $20 million. Massachusetts General Hospital had sued Canadian drug company QLT to enforce a provision in a 1998 license agreement for Visudyne, a drug ...