Local Law Blogs

How to Sell Your Business

Posted on April 12, 2010
Cordell and Brian Haymon are attorneys, which means the fine points of selling a business do not intimidate them. Yet when the time came to sell Petroleum Services Corporation, a firm their father started in 1952, they didn't try to do all the work themselves...

U.S. House of Representatives Approves Two Healthcare Reform Bills

Posted on March 22, 2010
By Clay J. Countryman On March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives on almost a straight party-line vote passed two final healthcare reform bills late Sunday night. Initially, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3950, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, by a vote of 219 to 212...

A Renewed Focus on Independent Contractor vs Employee Issues

Posted on March 12, 2010
By Dean P. Cazenave As discussed in the recent New York Times article, federal and state officials, many facing record budget deficits, are starting to aggressively pursue companies that try to pass off regular employees as independent contractors...

EPA To Move Forward With Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule

Posted on March 04, 2010
By Maureen Harbourt In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies on March 3, 2010, Administrator Lisa Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency indicated that EPA plans to move forward with adopting the Greenhouse Gas ('GHG') Tailoring Rule (74 Fed...

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EPA Recognizes That Baton Rouge Area Attained the 1-Hour Ozone Standard

Posted on February 10, 2010
By Maureen Harbourt The February 10, 2010 Federal Register contains a notice of EPA's final decision that the Baton Rouge ozone nonattainment area 'has attained the 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)." (The Baton Rouge area consists of the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, and West Baton Rouge...

Securities and Exchange Commission Issues Interpretive Guidance for Reporting Risks Due to Climate Change

Posted on January 28, 2010
By Maureen Harbourt On January 27, 2010, the SEC voted 3-2 to issue an interpretive guidance 'on existing SEC disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change.' Chair Mary Shapiro emphasized that the interpretive release is not intended to create new legal requirements, but is to clarify the requirements already applicable for reporting material risks on public disclosure statements...

Cash Donations for Haiti Relief Made Before March 2010 May Be Deducted on 2009 Income Tax Returns

Posted on January 27, 2010
By Kevin C. Curry On January 22, 2010, President Obama signed a law which allows taxpayers to claim a charitable deduction in the 2009 tax year for cash donations made through March 1, 2010 for the relief of victims in areas affected by the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti...

Office of Conservation Proposes Rules for Groundwater Evaluation and Remediation at Exploration and Production Sites

Posted on January 26, 2010
By Len Kilgore and Esteban Herrera In the January 20, 2010 Louisiana Register, the Office of Conservation, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources issued a Notice of Intent to amend Statewide Order 29-B to incorporate new rules for the evaluation and remediation of groundwater conditions at exploration and production sites...

State of the State: Louisiana Government Active in Green Initiatives

Posted on January 23, 2010
By Tokesha Collins During the past few years, the Louisiana Legislature has adopted many 'green' initiatives as part of climate and energy policies. The state has placed a strong emphasis on increasing both renewable energy generation and energy efficiency...

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Expands Operations into Baton Rouge, Tampa, and Brooklyn

Posted on December 22, 2009
By Clay J. Countryman Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on December 15, 2009 the expansion of Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams to Baton Rouge, Brooklyn, Tampa in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases of a targeted criminal, civil and administrative effort against individuals and health care companies that fraudulently bill the Medicare program...

Changing Medical Records Responsive to a Jury Subpoena Ruled an Obstruction of Justice In Health Care Fraud Case

Posted on December 14, 2009
By Linda G. Rodrigue In May, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that, among other things, a Florida dermatologist's failure to produce photographs, which were part of her medical records, in response to a grand jury subpoena constituted obstruction of justice...

Federal Court of Appeals Holds That Someone Other Than the Patient May Sue Under EMTALA

Posted on December 10, 2009
By Linda G. Rodrigue In April, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided in reviewing a Michigan case that the representative of a deceased woman could sue a hospital under EMTALA for allegedly releasing her husband after admission to the hospital, when he was then hallucinating, disoriented, and behaving in a threatening manner toward her when he was brought to the emergency department...

CCHIT Approves First Electronic Health Records Under Proposed 'Meaningful Use' Rules

Posted on December 08, 2009
By Clay J. Countryman On December 1, 2009, the Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) announced that it has certified the first group of Electronic Health Record (EHR) products that meet preliminary federal recommendations for "meaningful use...

Louisiana Warranty Statutes and Marine Products

Posted on December 08, 2009
By Jay M. Jalenak, Jr. The Louisiana Civil Code provides an implied warranty for all things sold.  Specifically, a seller warrants the buyer against all redhibitory vices and defects.  A defect is 'redhibitory' if it renders the item so useless or inconvenient that a buyer would not have purchased it or would have purchased it for a lesser price...

Declaratory Judgment Action Still Requires Case or Controversy

Posted on November 20, 2009
By Sonny Chastain The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the standard for a declaratory judgment action in the context of trademark rights. In Vantage Trailers, Inc. v. Beall Corporation, 567 F.3d 745 (5th Cir. 2009), Vantage filed civil action seeking declaratory judgment finding that its designed for a new aluminum bottom dump trailer would not infringe on any valid trademark rights of Beall Corporation...

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Plans to Audit All In-Home Direct Care Providers to Fight Medicaid Fraud

Posted on October 30, 2009
By Jennifer J. Thomas In the wake of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA), which was enacted by Congress on May 20, 2009 and expands the federal False Claims Act, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals ('DHH') announced on October 29, 2009, a new fraud initiative against agencies who deliver in-home direct care to Medicaid beneficiaries...

The Limits on E-Discovery

Posted on October 09, 2009
Nearly three years have passed since electronic discovery was formally introduced into the realm of discovery.  The scope of electronic discovery is broad- it includes discovery of 'any information that can be stored electronically, including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or compilations—stored in any medium from which information can be obtained either directly, or if necessary, after translation by the responding party into a reasonably usable form...

Guidelines for Promoting Your Business Through Social Networking Websites

Posted on October 05, 2009
By Tara Madison Social networks like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are transforming the way companies communicate with consumers.  Facebook, YouTube and Twitter can be powerful business tools, but you must be mindful of certain legal limitations and guidelines...

Final Increase to Federal Minimum Wage in Effect Pursuant to the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007

Posted on September 28, 2009
By A. Edward Hardin, Jr. Effective July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage increased from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour for all non-exempt employees.  The 2009 increase in the federal minimum wage was the third and final increase to the federal minimum wage pursuant to Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007...

Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu Confirmed as Keynote Speaker for Louisiana Diversity Forum

Posted on September 21, 2009
On September 24, the Kean Miller Diversity Council will present the third-annual Louisiana Diversity Forum at the Baton Rouge Marriott Hotel.  Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu will serve as the keynote luncheon speaker.  The Louisiana Diversity Forum provides a platform for distinguished guest speakers to provide their own insights and ideas on diversity-related topics...

Louisiana Diversity Forum Scheduled for September 24

Posted on September 08, 2009
On September 24, 2009, the Kean Miller Diversity Council will present the third-annual Louisiana Diversity Forum at the Baton Rouge Marriott Hotel. The Louisiana Diversity Forum provides a platform for distinguished guest speakers to provide their own insights and ideas on diversity-related topics...

Louisiana Supreme Court Upholds Special Prescriptive Periods for Medical Malpractice Cases

Posted on August 28, 2009
By Jennifer J. Thomas The Louisiana Supreme Court has issued two decisions in the past year, Borel v. Young and Warren v. LAMMICO, which are favorable to Louisiana health care providers. In the Warren case, a potential plaintiff waited almost four years from the date of her father's death to file a wrongful death and survival claim against the health care providers...

Office for Civil Rights Issues "Interim Final" Regulations Requiring Individuals To Be Notified of Breaches of Their Health Information

Posted on August 21, 2009
By Clay J. Countryman The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new federal regulations on August 19, 2009 that requires health care providers, health plans, and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to notify individuals when their 'unsecured' health information is breached...

Federal Trade Commission Extends Enforcement Deadline of Red Flag Rules to November 1, 2009

Posted on July 31, 2009
by Clay J. Countryman The Federal Trade Commission ('FTC') announced on July 29th that the date on which the FTC will begin enforcement of the Red Flag Rules has been further extended to November 1, 2009. The Red Flag Rules, which are contained in regulations promulgated by the FTC under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U...

Louisiana's Coming Antidegradation Policy Implementation Procedures

Posted on July 24, 2009
By M. Dwayne Johnson The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is developing written procedures to implement Louisiana's antidegradation policy (1). These implementation procedures will significantly affect the permitting of wastewater discharges under the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (LPDES) program, especially the permitting of new or expanded discharges...

Patent Infringement Opinions Continue To Be Important

Posted on July 17, 2009
By Pamela A.  Baxter Recent court decisions show that patent infringement opinions are still important for any person or entity that becomes aware of a United States patent that is similar to their products, methods or processes. Under federal patent law, anyone who either makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention in the United States or actively induces another to do so is liable for patent infringement...

Definition of Component Parts Clarified for Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Purposes

Posted on July 10, 2009
By Jason R. Brown On July 7, 2009, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed Act 442 (SB 9) into law, preserving Louisiana's long-standing law excluding purchases, rentals and repairs of component parts of immovable property from state and local sales/use tax...

National Law Journal Names Kean Miller to Midsize "Hot List"

Posted on July 07, 2009
Kean Miller is pleased to announce that the firm is recognized by the National Law Journal in its inaugural "Midsize Hot List."  The 2009 'Hot List' honors law firms from 100 to 300 attorneys that demonstrate exemplary innovation in practice management, fee arrangements, attorney recruitment and retention, and business development, especially in the face of current economic challenges...

Louisiana Legislature Prepares the Way for Carbon Sequestration

Posted on June 29, 2009
by Maureen N. Harbourt Two days before the end of the 2009 Legislative Session, the Louisiana Legislature adopted the Louisiana Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act. Introduced as HB661, the final amended bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously...

U.S. Supreme Court Overrules U.S. Fifth Circuit Precedent and Holds that Punitive Damages Are Available in a Maintenance and Cure Claim

Posted on June 25, 2009
By Michael J. O'Brien In Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc., et al. v. Townsend, the United States Supreme Court held that punitive damages are available to a seaman if his employer/vessel owner has willfully failed to fulfill its maintenance and cure obligation...

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