In Louisiana Generating LLC v. Illinois Union Ins. Co., No. 12-30651 (5th Cir. May 15, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a lawsuit brought by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") alleging violations of the Clean Air Act ("CAA") obligated an insurer to defend its insured ...
1 LegislationWhat legislation is applicable to insolvencies and reorganisations? What criteria are applied in your country to determine if a debtor is insolvent? The applicable law is Republic Act No. 10142, known as the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act of 2010 (FRIA). The FRIA took effect on 18 July 2010 ...
Important Considerations In Drafting An Arbitration Provision: With the continuing increase in cross-border investments, it bears reminding that companies must plan for the eventuality that parties may not see eye-to-eye in the future – something known but not always implemented ...
On May 28, 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft guidance entitled "Contract Manufacturing Arrangements for Drugs: Quality Agreements."1 The draft guidance describes FDA’s views on defining, establishing and documenting the responsibilities of parties that are involved in the contract manufacturing of drugs that are subject to current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements ...
Another natural disaster has devastated a community. By now, all are aware of the tragedy the tornado inflicted on residents of Moore, Oklahoma, destroying lives and property. We join in offering our condolences to those affected by the storm. Although there is no way to replace lost lives, as with other catastrophes, there are likely to be a myriad of financial issues that will need to be addressed to rebuild and replace property. Maximizing insurance recoveries is one component ...
Every year, tornadoes in the United States cause dozens of fatalities and inflict billions of dollars in property damage. The EF5 tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on May 20 was the most powerful and destructive storm yet of the 2013 season. Although the Moore tornado is only one of 343 tornadoes already reported nationwide through May 23, more than 1300 occur annually in the United States, based on a three-year average ...
Here are select February 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on legal and judicial ethics: Attorney; confidentiality of proceedings against attorneys; exception. Atty. Fortun filed a petition for contempt against respondents for publicizing the disbarment case against him in media. Section 18, Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court states that “proceedings against attorneys shall be private and confidential ...
Here are select March 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on criminal law and procedure: 1.REVISED PENAL CODE Rape; medical examination of victim not indispensable to prove rape. An inconclusive medical report does not negate the finding that the accused (Penilla) raped AAA ...
After the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the UK, it is now France’s turn to impose Sunshine-like obligations on the pharmaceutical industry. Soon, similar obligations will apply to all EU countries, after EFPIA, the European trade association for the pharmaceutical industry, adopts a code of conduct on disclosure of transfers of value between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals or institutions ...
Economic torts provide relief in relation to intentional interference with economic interests. This collection of torts can be divided into two categories: deceptive market practices and improper market practices. This paper concerns itself exclusively with the latter, examining the torts of inducing breach of contract, unlawful interference with economic interests and civil conspiracy ...
The Budget. The 83rd Texas Legislative Session convened on January 8th with news of a better-than-anticipated revenue estimate, an unusually high number of new and second-term legislators, and less controversy and fanfare than observers have come to expect at the start of the biennial, 140-day process. In mid-March, only days before the bill became due, lawmakers passed and the Governor signed legislation to fill the $4 ...
Earlier this month, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a suit against Vitas Hospice Services, L.L.C. and its subsidiary entities (“Vitas”) alleging that Vitas submitted false claims for hospice services which were excessive, unnecessary, or not provided, and also alleging that Vitas admitted patients to hospice who were not terminally ill ...
In a recent decision by the Court of Appeal of Québec, the Honourable Jacques Chamberland, J.C.A. reviewed the application of exclusion clauses contained in a home insurance policy in the context of criminal activities1. THE FACTSThe Appellant, Union canadienne compagnie d’assurance insured the building of respondent, Mrs. Lise Houle and her spouse, Christian Alexandre. The latter was growing cannabis in the insured building ...
Last week, a federal jury in South Carolina found that Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc. violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by submitting false claims for reimbursement to the United States, resulting in $39 million in damages to the government. United States ex rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare Sys., Inc., No. 3:05-2858-MBS (D.S.C. May 8, 2013) ...
Following a month-long retrial, a South Carolina jury has concluded that Tuomey Healthcare System, Inc. (Tuomey) violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act by illegally paying referring physicians. The jury found that Tuomey’s compensation arrangements with referring physicians were impermissible under the Stark Law, resulting in almost 22,000 false claims and more than $39 million in overpayments ...
Today the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an Updated Special Advisory Opinion addressing the recommended scope and frequency of exclusion checks of employees and contractors. The Advisory Opinion provides important and practical guidance to assist healthcare providers seeking to protect their businesses against the risk of employing or contracting with excluded individuals and entities ...
In recent months, high profile M&A warranty claims1 and falling premiums have dramatically increased the utilization of "representations and warranty insurance" (RWI), also known as "warranty and indemnity insurance," in mergers, acquisitions and related transactions. By one account, demand for transactional risk insurance policy limits in North America grew by eighty-six percent (86%) in 2012 ...
Here are select February 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on criminal law and procedure: 1. REVISED PENAL CODE Conspiracy; joint purpose and design. Conspiracy may be deduced from the mode, method, and manner in which the offense was perpetrated; orinferred from the acts of the accused when those acts point to a joint purpose and design, concerted action, and community of interests ...
1 The regulator The Insurance Commission is the insurance regulator. It is a government agency under the Department of Finance. The Commission supervises and regulates the operations of insurance and reinsurance corporations, which need to be authorised ...
On April 17, 2013, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an Updated Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP), which replaces the original SDP published in 1998. The SDP is used by providers and suppliers to voluntarily disclose violations of the fraud and abuse laws. According to the OIG, it has received more than 800 disclosures since the SDP’s inception, resulting in more than $280 million in recoveries ...
It is not surprising that there has been so much discussion and debate surrounding the saga of Eric and Lola and the debate surrounding the saga of Eric and Loa in the past few years. Indeed, this litigation raises issues that directly affect a large number of Quebec couples who live in De facto Unions ...
The decision of the Indian Supreme Court to deny Novartis’s application for patent protection for an improved version of its patented Glivec drug – the culmination of a seven-year battle - has certainly made the headlines. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Glivec is a well-known drug – described by some as a ‘wonder drug’ – that’s used to combat cancer, including leukaemia and gastro-intestinal cancer ...
