US Judge Rejects Drugmakers’ Bid to Disqualify Former Prosecutor in Price-Fixing Lawsuits

In an order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe ruled that attorney Joseph Nielsen and his law firm, Lowey Dannenberg, may continue representing insurers Humana and Molina in several cases tied to the broader generic pharmaceuticals pricing litigation, according to Reuters. The drugmakers had argued that Nielsen’s previous role with the Connecticut attorney general’s office could give him access to confidential information that might disadvantage the defendants.

Rufe, who is overseeing a group of antitrust lawsuits accusing numerous pharmaceutical companies of coordinating to inflate generic drug prices, determined that the companies failed to demonstrate that Nielsen possessed information that would unfairly harm them if he continued working on the cases, according to Reuters. As a result, the court denied the companies’ requests to remove Nielsen and his firm from representing the insurers.

Nielsen spent nearly two decades as an assistant attorney general in Connecticut, where he focused on antitrust matters. During that time, he helped lead investigations and lawsuits brought by U.S. states accusing multiple generic drug manufacturers of conspiring to raise prices on widely used medications, per Reuters. He joined Lowey Dannenberg, a plaintiffs-focused law firm with offices in New York and Pennsylvania, last year.

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After joining the firm as a partner, Nielsen began representing Molina Healthcare and Humana in lawsuits seeking damages related to alleged overcharges for prescription drugs, according to Reuters. Lowey Dannenberg promotes its work assisting major insurers pursuing claims tied to the alleged price-fixing scheme.

The pharmaceutical companies contended that Nielsen’s transition from government service to private practice violated professional rules governing attorneys who move from public positions to representing private clients. They argued that his prior role could expose sensitive information obtained during state investigations.

“He brought with him to private practice a trove of knowledge and information gained by wielding government authority, and he concedes that some of that material is confidential and could harm defendants if he shared it with his new partners and new clients,” the drugmakers told the court.

Lowey Dannenberg responded by assuring the defendants that Nielsen would not share confidential information obtained during his time with the Connecticut attorney general’s office, according to Reuters.

In her ruling, Rufe concluded that the pharmaceutical companies had not shown that Nielsen currently holds confidential information that could be improperly used against them. She also determined that his participation in the cases does not violate Pennsylvania’s professional conduct rules for attorneys, according to Reuters.

The broader litigation, known as In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under case number 2:20-cv-00695-CMR. The lawsuits involve allegations that dozens of generic drugmakers coordinated price increases across a wide range of medications.

Source: Reuters