Firm: Waller
Practice Industry: All
Region: All
Country/ State: All
Tag: All
Waller | September 2016

With healthcare costs expected to soon exceed twenty percent of the United States economy, the healthcare industry represents fertile ground for innovation. From medical devices and pharmaceuticals to methods for managing patient data, new technologies continue to improve patient care and outcomes. Such innovation is vital for ensuring that the healthcare industry continues to meet the demands of aging populations in the 21st century.http://executivenashville ...

Waller | January 2017

The underlying technology behind the digital currency, Bitcoin, is piquing interest across Nashville’s healthcare industry, largely due to its potential to change the way data is shared. Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is a decentralized database that securely records transactions and can also allow for the transfer of an asset such as data or currency.https://nashvillemedicalnews ...

Waller | February 2019

The pressure of the 24/7 news cycle leaves media professionals with competing demands of getting the news out quickly and ensuring that the published/broadcast story is right. The “substantial truth” doctrine provides some comfort but is no guarantee against a lawsuit ...

Waller | February 2017

External pressures, such as lower reimbursement rates and an overall shift in policy by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and state Medicaid agencies have put significant financial and operational pressure on skilled nursing and other senior living operators in the United States ...

Waller | May 2018

The Madrid system for the International Registration of trademarks is a convenient and economical system for applicants in member countries to secure trademark registrations in other member countries throughout the world. There are 98 contracting parties to the Madrid Protocol, covering 114 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, China, and much of Europe and the Pacific Rim (http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/) ...

Waller | October 2016

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is ratcheting up surveillance of non-profit hospitals regarding their levels of community benefits and patient financial assistance. The IRS reviewed 692 hospitals in fiscal 2016, which ended late last month, Bloomberg BNA has reported. Of those, 166 were referred for a closer “field examination ...

Waller | April 2019

In the pre-digital age, companies that strategically focused on brand protection and promotion often included only those companies selling directly to consumers - typically through more limited print and radio/television media. Company lawyers and their marketing counterparts might communicate on an as-needed basis when direct legal threats to the brand arose (from customer class actions or competitor advertising claims) or for more routine trademark enforcement measures ...

Waller | August 2017

Provisions in a trust instrument can expressly limit and define the scope of the PFTC’s fiduciary duties, including the Prudent Investor Rule and the duty to inform and report. Generally, the ability to limit fiduciary duties is subject to “mandatory” rules dictated by state statutes or common law. Some states have stringent mandatory rules, while other states seek to maximize the trust settlor’s freedom of disposition and freedom of contract ...

Waller | October 2016

The February 2016 resolution of the five-year-old trademark dispute between Macy’s Inc. and Strategic Marks, LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Macy’s Inc. et al. v. Strategic Marks, LLC, Case No. 15-0612, N.D. Cal. 2016) is a reminder that zombie trademarks still walk among us ...

Waller | February 2019

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “TCJA”) created a new tax incentive designed to encourage long-term investment in low income communities, as defined in Code Sec. 45D(e),1 which are specifically designated as “qualified opportunity zones” (“QOZs”) in accordance with procedures set forth in Code Sec. 1400Z-1 ...

Waller | June 2016

A large percentage of closely held businesses restrict or even prohibit the owners’ ability to transfer their equity interests. Often these restrictions require the owner to sell the equity back to the entity or the other owners at a formula value, for example, book value, that is not anticipated to be a true fair market value. These and other permanent restrictions on equity interests are called nonlapse restrictions because by their terms they never go away or “lapse ...

Waller | August 2016

Generally when a successful business is acquired, whether by an asset acquisition or an equity acquisition, the assets will includeboth tangible and intangible property. When an entity conducting a business is liquidated, the tangible and intangible assets of the entity are distributed to the owners. Often, one very valuable intangible that does not appear on the balance sheet is goodwill ...

Waller | December 2016

Since 1999, when it was an early adopter of the state banking regulators’ model private trust company act, Tennessee has earned a reputation for responding to the sophisticated trust and financial needs of ultra-high net worth families and their private offices ...

Waller | October 2016

Institutions of Higher Education serve a key role in fostering new ideas and spurring innovation. Recognizing the value of such innovation, the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 permits universities to own patents directed to the technologies they develop. While some large research institutions pursue patents to protect their inventions, many colleges and universities forego patent protection based on the perception that patent applications are cost-prohibitive. http://www.ticua ...

Waller | August 2018

The skilled nursing sector has seen a significant number of facility divestitures and closures in the last few years. Quite frankly, this negative trend is due in part to a reluctance by some operators to implement clinical-based care standards and a lack of honest self-evaluation to improve the clinical care provided at skilled nursing facilities. Outdated operating models – solely meeting the basic needs of patients – does not bode well for SNF operators to survive ...

Waller | October 2016

The Series Limited Liability Company (“Series LLC”), a variation of the traditional limited liability company (LLC), is the newest entity enterprise on the business scene today.1 Within this legal entity, separate “series” or “cells” can be created and established under the umbrella of a single LLC ...

Waller | March 2017

Although its emergence on the business scene is fairly recent, the Series LLC has been gaining popularity as a business entity. Under the Series LLC umbrella, this entity is able to create multiple Protected Series, each with its own separate rights, powers, assets, obligations, business purposes and associated members ...

Waller | June 2018

It goes without saying that a lender must work to maximize its recovery when a borrower is in default and has no reasonably realistic or meaningful way to cure the default. This scenario far too often forces a lender to determine the most efficient and effective method to sell its collateral ...

Waller | December 2019

Governance and social factors play a significant role in determining a hospital’s openness to change and its ability to complete a business transaction, be that a merger, acquisition, or other strategic partnership. For government-owned hospitals, tension between the goals of government entities and the goals of a hospital’s board, in addition to added legal complexities, may result in failed or generally avoided transactions ...

Waller | November 2019

The application of distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology has permeated many industries. Since its debut through cryptocurrency, many companies have embraced its potential and many more are actively identifying and implementing novel use cases. The health care industry is no different, and blockchain technology is currently being used for physician and nurse credentialing, electronic medical records (EMRs), patient engagement, patient identity, and pharma supply chain management ...

Waller | September 2016

In a precedential decision (June 7, 2016), the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Board) held that when a petitioner files a petition to cancel an existing registration when the registration is less than five years old, the five-year bar in the Lanham Act Section 14 (15 U.S.C. Section 1064) is tolled for the purpose of adding an additional claim against that registration.Ashland Licensing & Intellectual Property LLC v. Sunpoint International Group USA Corp ...

Waller | May 2016

Vodafone Variance: The Commissioner's Power to Override the Rules Following the Tennessee Court of Appeals decision in Vodafone Americas Holdings, Inc ...

Waller | October 2016

I’ve had bad experiences with water. Pouring out of broken washers and gushing from burst pipes, water has repeatedly defied my attempts to keep it contained. But I need water, so I maintain my plumbing, use water sensibly, and, if I suffer a leak, I clean up the mess and go on. Why am I talking about water? Modern businesses need data, like we need water ...

Waller | October 2016

On May 5, 2016, the White House issued a report citing a variety of issues with the use of non-compete agreements advocating for non-compete reform at the state and federal level.1 According to the White House report, with respect to healthcare services (i.e., physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other medical professionals), noncompetes have the potential to interfere with the quality of care by restricting consumer choice ...

Waller | September 2017

At this year’s annual meeting of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers in Austin, there was a clear divide on display between the “old school” and the “new school” during a session on electronic marketing strategies. The number of residential addiction treatment providers operating in the United States has exploded since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010 ...

dots