In the Gulf of Mexico, helicopters have replaced seagoing vessels as the primary mode of transporting workers from shore to their jobs on offshore platforms and rigs. It is black letter law that a seagoing vessel in peril that is rescued is subject to an award for salvage. Since helicopters have replaced vessels in the
Louisiana Law Blog
Insight and Information on Louisiana Law, Litigation, and Legal Culture
Latest from Louisiana Law Blog - Page 25
“Responsible Party” Liability Under OPA 90 Not Unlimited
In the most recent ruling of the BP DEEPWATER HORIZON/Macondo Well blowout and spill, Judge Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana recently dismissed certain claims made by the plaintiffs under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or “OPA 90.”
On April 20, 2010, the BP’s Macondo Well suffered a tragic blowout resulting in an…
Attorneys’ Fees Awards – A Rare Exercise of a Right
Contrary to courts across the pond, rare is the case in American courts where attorneys’ fees are awarded to the prevailing party. This notion is often referred to as “the American rule” of each party bearing its own costs. But in Dr. George T. Moench, et al. v. M/V Salvation, et al., no. 12-1536 the…
Website Accessibility and ADA Litigation
Think Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) access litigation is limited to sidewalks, restrooms and physical barriers to the disabled in “brick and mortar” establishments? Think again.
A growing number of lawsuits are being filed against businesses under Title III of the ADA alleging that that the business’s website does not provide adequate accessibility to the…
CMS Issues Final Rule for Reporting and Returning Overpayments
On February 12, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) promulgated the final rule on the requirement that providers and suppliers receiving funds under the Medicare program report and return overpayments by the later of sixty (60) days after the date on which the overpayment was identified…
Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal Rejects Disguised “Primary Purpose” Test for Application of the Further Processing Exclusion from Sales Tax to Dual Purpose Materials
Kean Miller partner Linda S. Akchin represented Graphic Packaging International in its initial trial and appeal.
Since 1948, Louisiana’s General Sales Tax Law has provided an incentive to the manufacturing industry in the form of an exclusion from tax for materials purchased for further processing into tangible personal property for sale at retail. Undoubtedly, this…
Terminating Corporate Life in Louisiana
The Louisiana Business Corporation Act (“LBCA”) became effective on January 1, 2015. The changes to Louisiana corporation law embodied in the LBCA are extensive, especially in the areas of dissolution and termination of a corporation.
Simplified Termination
The LBCA allows corporations to terminate by simplified articles of termination if the corporation: (1) does not owe…
Low Energy Prices, Low Interest Rates, Rise in Federal Estate Tax Make Estate Freeze Transactions Attractive
The recent downturn in energy prices has given consumers a welcomed break at the gasoline pump. The people producing the energy, however, from landowners, to oil companies, to oil field service providers, have felt the full negative effects of the steep price decline. Those producers are seeing price pressure at every turn, reducing their net…
Court Rules Clean Power Plan Implementation Can Continue
President Obama’s centerpiece of his climate policy agenda, the “Clean Power Plan,” has become one of the most heavily litigated environmental regulations ever. Twenty-seven states and numerous industry groups have filed more than fifteen separate lawsuits challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) statutory authority to promulgate the regulations. Seventeen states, the District of Columbia, the…
2016: Resolve to Consider Joint Employment Issues… the Department of Labor Has Already Done So!
This New Year, many employers have resolved to examine their employment relationships to determine if any joint employment relationships are lurking. On January 20, 2016, the United States Department of Labor issued an administrator’s interpretation on joint employment and confirmed that the DOL has resolved to continue its program of pursuing issues related to joint…
