The effect of a physician’s decision to deviate from the pharmaceutical company’s dosage instructions contained in a drug’s FDA approved package insert has been a recurring issue in medical malpractice litigation with many claimants contending that any deviation from the manufacturer’s instructions constitutes malpractice. In a recent case the Louisiana Fourth Circuit has now specifically…

Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s mid-biennium review plan calls for an increase in Ohio oil and gas severance taxes, as proposed in House Bill 472. These increased taxes would fund certain local governmental initiatives and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They also would help offset personal income tax cuts outlined in the mid-biennium plan.

The current production-based severance tax scheme does not distinguish between production generated by conventional oil and gas wells and production generated by horizontal wells. The current severance tax under R.C. § 5749.02 is levied at a rate of $0.10 per barrel of oil and $0.025 per thousand cubic feet (MCF) of natural gas.

For conventional oil and gas wells, the tax under H.B. 472 would remain a volume-based tax but the rates would increase to $0.20 per barrel of oil and $0.03 per MCF of natural gas. The tax would be imposed on the “severer,” defined for conventional wells as the person who actually removes the oil or gas from the ground. Other changes to the state’s regulatory scheme are intended to militate against this tax increase, however, resulting in no economic change to the costs of production for conventional wells.1 Moreover, low-producing conventional wells would be completely exempt from the severance tax.

Trying to follow the constant stream of press releases, government and EU consultations, guidance and debate regarding hydraulic fracturing (also referred to as “fracking”) can be tricky, but the issue in the UK remains as topical as ever.

Fit to Frack Report

The BBC reported on 13 March 2014 that research commissioned by leading wildlife…

If you have a Superfund cleanup obligation, you may want to collect on insurance (if you have any) and also to seek contribution from others responsible for the Site.  What happens to the contribution claim when you collect on the insurance?  In most Superfund matters, the parties have simply ignored insurance recoveries.  However, in those…

In its second advisory opinion of the year, issued February 12, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that it would not impose sanctions pursuant to the anti-kickback statute or civil monetary penalty law on a proposed arrangement involving a licensed offeror of Medicare supplemental health insurance…

As EPA continues to develop its policy on global climate change, significant questions remain as to the extent of the regulatory burdens that will be imposed on public utilities and private industry under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to address the predicted effects of global climate change on future weather patterns.  For years now, environmental…

In Protect Agricultural Land v. Stanislaus County Local Agency Formation Commission (filed January 28, 2014) (“Protect Agricultural Land”), the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Stanislaus County Local Agency Formation Commission (“LAFCO”), and squarely held that all “lawsuits seeking to set aside a LAFCO approval…