Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP has been fired by Biovail Corp. Kasowitz is the law firm that filed its lawsuit claiming that several hedge funds worked together to bring down the drug company’s stock price, according to The AP.

The New York-based law firm is in the middle of a legal controversy over whether it willfully violated a protective order when it used information subpoenaed from New York-based Banc of America Securities in a shareholder suit in New York Federal court.

As reported, the information was used to draft Mississauga, Ontario-based drug maker's February 2006 complaint against SAC Capital Management LLC; Woodridge, N.J.-based Sigma Capital Management LLC; Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Gradient Analytics Inc.; Gerson Lehrman Group; former Banc of America Securities analyst David Maris and others.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. downgraded Biovail from “neutral” to “buy” noting shares are up 28% since November and approaching target price, according to another Associated Press report.

Analyst Randall Stanicky reaffirmed his price target of $24, saying that while shares should see support from current levels, more meaningful gains will be linked to growth, the report stated.