After a long delay, Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law the new federal estate and gift tax legislation. It has been very difficult for some individuals to prepare an appropriate estate plan not knowing what the potential federal estate and gift taxes will be. For the next two years, 2011 and
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The Cy Pres Doctrine: A Settling Concept
Following a class action or mass joiner settlement certain funds are often unable to be distributed to individual class members. Either class members do not come forward to file the necessary proof of claim to qualify for an allocation and distribution, the allowed claims do not equal the available settlement funds, reserves or allocations for…
Department of Justice Continues to Use Data Mining of Billing Errors in False Claims Act Settlements with Hospitals under Kyphoplasty Initiative
By Kean Miller
On January 4, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that seven additional hospitals had agreed to pay $6.3 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) related to overcharging Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures. These settlements are the fourth round of settlements with hospitals by the DOJ to resolve kyphoplasty-related claims under…
Six Myths of the Revocable Living Trust
By Kevin Curry
As estate planning attorneys, we receive calls from clients concerning the use of revocable living trusts in estate planning. The general public is invited to seminars on the subject, they receive literature in the mail, and, in some cases, receive in-home visits from parties, who are usually not attorneys, who advocate the use of…
Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Application of Subsequent Purchaser Doctrine in Oilfield Legacy Case
In a recent decision, the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the application of the longstanding subsequent purchaser doctrine to an oilfield legacy case. The decision Wagoner v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., et. al., No. 10-45507 (La. 2. Cir. 2010) affirmed the legal principle that the right to recover for property damages is a personal…
Pennsylvania’s State Water Plan and its Designation of Critical Water Planning Areas
Pennsylvania’s State Water Plan, and its ability to resolve water resource conflicts, is analyzed.…
State Tax Nexus Issues
As companies expand their operation into foreign states, it is essential to determine the potential tax liability for conducting business in those jurisdictions. Although states differ as to their treatment of out-of-state taxpayers, all states are bound by the U.S. Constitution and federal law and jurisprudence, which require a nexus between a taxpayer and a…
New View. Same Vision.
By Kean Miller
Kean Miller is pleased to announce the relocation of its downtown Baton Rouge headquarters from One American Place to 80,000+ square feet of re-imagined law office space in II City Plaza effective today, Monday, January 10, 2011. II City Plaza is the only Class A office space constructed in Baton Rouge in the last 25 years.…
A Recent U.S. Fifth Circuit Decision Shows the Importance of Including a Release of “Any and All Claims” in a Settlement Agreement
When drafting a settlement agreement, the parties almost always have competing interests. The Plaintiff will push for a vaguely-worded settlement in an attempt to take another “bite-at-the-apple” down the road; the Defendant will push for a broad, all-encompassing release of liability (i.e., “any and all claims”) in an attempt to “close-the-books” on the Plaintiff’s claims.…
Is the Limitation of Liability Act Going to Sink with the Deepwater Horizon?
The recent tragedy involving the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Deepwater Horizon has shed a very bright and very public light on a much and often litigated 159-year old law previously known to very few outside of the maritime industry—the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act, (“the Limitation Act”), 46 U.S.C. § 30505 (formerly 46 U.S.C. §…