The Lighter Side of Health Law - June 2022

AHLA's monthly podcast featuring health lawyer and blogger Norm Tabler's informative and entertaining take on recent health law and other legal developments. 

To learn more about AHLA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit americanhealthlaw.org.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

This episode of ALA, speaking of health law is brought to you by HLA members and donors like you. For more information, visit American health law.org.

Speaker 2: 0:22

Hi, I'm norm Taber with this month's vision of the lighter side of health law breach of warranty. Baby, you've heard the term breach baby. This concerns a breach of warranty, baby. Wendy Norman was inseminated with sperm that she acquired from ZEC sperm bank. When the resulting child developed impairments inherited from the donor, she sus Zytech the trial court dismissed most of the claims ruling that they were essentially wrongful life claims, which Georgia law does not recognize. And the court of appeals affirmed, but the Georgia Supreme court said, hold on a minute. It's true that we can't allow a wrongful life claim, but that doesn't mean a sperm bank is immune from consumer protection claims. If Wendy is correct in alleging that the sperm bank lied about the donor and his background and withheld information, she was entitled to, then she has a valid claim and can proceed to trial dismissal reversed. The case is Norman versus Zytech Georgia Supreme court ever been stung by a trout. Have you ever been stung by a trout? Impossible. You say, well, maybe not impossible. In California, a California appeals court has ruled that bumblebees are fish. Yes, bumblebees are fish. An environmental group sued to have bumblebees declared a protected species under a section of the California endangered species act that protects fish. Strangely the trial court ruled that a bumblebee is not a fish, but now the appeals court has reversed ruling that a bumblebee is indeed a fish under the act. Why? Well, because the definition of fish and the act includes vertebraes and the definition of vertebra does not include any requirement that it live in the water. So if you get stung by a Bumble, be in California, don't kill it because remember fish are protected. The decision is almond Alliance versus fish and game commission, California court of appeals, giving Satan a bad name. The lawyers for the satanic temple in Boston are giving Satan a bad name. The Boston city council opens each session with a prayer council members take turns, choosing who delivers the prayer, but strange as it seems, they never pick the satanic temple. So the satanic temple sued in federal court, nothing wrong with that. In fact, federal judge angel Kelly says it's an important, constitutional issue. That's why she was so annoyed with a publicity stunt by the Temple's lawyers. It seems they decided to take the deposition of council member, Michelle woo, who was then the front runner and the mayor's race. And they insisted the deposition beyond November two, which just happens to be election day. When Ms. Woo was pretty busy, by the way she won, the council offered a list of 47 other people who had the relevant information, but no said the temple. It had to be the front runner on election day. The judge granted the council in emergency protective order and quashed the deposition notice, as I said, they're giving Satan a bad name right down there with lawyers. The case is satanic temple versus city of Boston district Massachusetts. One thing Hal cannot do remember Hal in the movie, 2001 space Odyssey. Hal was the ship's computer system and could talk how began acting strangely more and more taking control of the ship and generally scaring the bejesus out of millions of movie goers. Well, I know one thing Hal cannot do at least for now, Hal can't be awarded a patent. I know because the other day in oral argument, three federal circuit judges, heaped scorn on the lawyer for the artificial inventor project who argued that an artificial intelligence system, AI for short called D was the true inventor of the neural flame and fractal container. They harped on the fact that the patent act says that a quote individual can get a patent and only a human being can be an individual. An AI system cannot be an individual, even if it has a human name, like Hal, let alone a name like Davis in short, it looks like the application is going nowhere, both Hal and Robbie, the robot were asked to comment on the case, but declined. The case is Fowler versus Vidal, federal circuit telling it like it is judge Jonathan Young, presiding over the huge opioid case in Tennessee believes in telling it like it is telling anyone and everyone just how he feels about companies that produce opioids as well as their lawyers in a hearing on sanctions against one of the defendants for alleged discovery violations. Judge young said he would declare the company in default. And he went on. If their former lawyers showed up at the hearing, they quote, might be going to jail with or without their toothbrush. Then he gave law 360 an interview in which he declared the company guilty of quote, the worst case of document hiding I've ever seen. It was like a plot out of a John Grisha movie, except that it was even worse than what he could dream up. And then he took the Facebook to complain that the local media were not paying enough attention to his case. And less anyone wonder about his motives. The Facebook page carried the subtle message reelect judge young. Well, for some reason, the company thought he might be prejudiced against it and filed a motion requesting that he recused himself. He responded by ruling against the company on the discovery motion and entering a default judgment against the company. That's right. Default the death penalty only then did he turn to the recusal motion, denying it on the grounds that golly, there's no reason to believe he's prejudiced? Well, the Tennessee court of appeals begged to differ ruling that he should have recused himself and vacating his sanctions order, including the default judgment judge young will be on the sidelines watching another judge preside over the case. The case is clay county versus Purdue pharma, Tennessee court of appeals. You'd be depressed too poor doctor Andrew Berkowitz. He's been sentenced to 20 years in prison order to pay$4 million in restitution, find$40,000 and ordered to forfeit 3.4 million all because of his guilty plea to healthcare fraud and illegal drug distribution. What had Andy done? Well, he ran a plus pain management and no patient ever left a plus without receiving with a doctor term day goodie bag Chuck full of prescription drugs. But just as there's no such thing as a free lunch, there's no such thing as a free prescription drug. Dr. Berkowitz was charging Medicaid, Medicare and insurance companies for the contents of these goody bags, which the government thinks of as bad bags. Andrew tried for two years to withdraw his guilty plea claiming he had not been competent when he made it. Why? Because he had been all drugged up to fight depression. The judge denied the motion to withdraw the guilty plea, but probably agreed that Andrew had a right to be depressed. The case is us versus Berkowitz Eastern district Pennsylvania. Sometimes there is harm in asking everyone says there's no harm in asking, but here's a case that disproves the maximum defendant. Jason Owens appeared in DC, federal court, following arrest on felony charges in connection with the January 6th assault on the capital. He was granted pre-trial release on conditions that included a prohibition on travel outside the us on may 23 of this year, he filed a quote emergency motion for permission to travel to Mexico for a quote corporate meeting and work related conference. Noting that the event was just two weeks away and flights had already been booked. The court denied the motion. If that's all there was to it. You could say there had been no harm in asking, but that was not all there was to it. The court was so furious that it issued what may fairly be termed a shaming order in elaborate and to Jason humiliating detail, the order documented the contrast between Jason's representations and the facts Jason had known about the trip for over a month before filing his emergency motion and the business meeting. Well Jason's big pharma employer had declared him winner of the coveted president's club recognition, titling him and his wife to a five night son and fund getaway in Cabo San Lucas. The order included Jason's registration form, providing what the judge sarcastically called business critical data t-shirt size, men's large shoe size, men's 10 and a half favorite color blue. And my favorite dietary requests vegan, but not too crazy strict. The judge ended by observing that Jason must have thought his travel restrictions were not too crazy, strict. He was wrong. So you see there can be harm and ask holding in Texas. The big news in loving county, Texas is that a man has been arrested for illegal stock transfers. You're wondering why is that big news? Well, three reasons first, the man is a judge and not just any judge, he's the only judge in the entire county. Second, the stock, he transferred wasn't shares in a corporation. It was stock as in livestock, namely cattle third, the illegal transfer was theft from the rightful owner to himself. Yes, judge Skeete Jones has been arrested for the crime of cattle rustling only in Texas. Well, that's it for this month's edition. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll be back next month with another edition of the lighter side of health law.

Speaker 3: 8:54

Thank you

Speaker 1: 8:54

For listening. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to ALA speaking of health law, wherever you get your podcasts to learn more about ALA and the educational resources available to the health law community, visit American health law.org.