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
Kean Miller
U.S. 5th Circuit Clarifies Presentment Requirements Under OPA 90 and Bars Fishermen’s Claims for Failing to Comply with 90-Day Waiting Period
In Nguyen v. American Commercial Lines, L.L.C., the U.S. Fifth Circuit clarified the presentment requirements set forth in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA 90”). Although the fishermen’s information submitted was sufficient to present a claim, the Court refused to allow some of the claimants from pursuing litigation because they failed to comply…
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…
EPA’s Proposed Revisions to RMP Rules have Arrived
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a Request for Information (“RFI”) on July 31, 2014 relating to possible changes to the Risk Management Program (“RMP”) rules codified at 40 C.F.R. Part 68. See 79 Fed. Reg. 44604 (July 31, 2014). On June 19, 2015, OSHA, the EPA, and the Department of Homeland Security held a…
CMS Issues Final Rule for Face-to-Face Requirements for Home Health Services Covered by Medicaid
The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) issued a final rule on February 2, 2016 regarding the requirements for a face-to-face encounter for patients receiving home health services payable by Medicaid. In order to ensure that states and providers appropriately implement the provisions in the final rule, CMS revised…
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…
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…
The Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Strong Guidance about Manifest Error Standard: Hayes Fund for the First United Methodist Church of Welsh, LLC v. Kerr McGee Rocky Mountain, LLC
On December 8, 2015 the Louisiana Supreme Court attempted to clarify the manifest error appellate review standard. Hayes Fund for the First United Methodist Church of Welsh, LLC v. Kerr McGee Rocky Mountain, LLC, 2014-2592 (La. 12/8/15); — So. 3d –, pitted plaintiff mineral royalty owners against mineral lessee and working interest owner defendants…
Proper Form and Content of a Louisiana Private Works Act Lien
By the Kean Miller Construction Team
Louisiana’s Private Works Act [1] allows an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier to file a “statement of claim or privilege” (i.e., lien) upon the property improved by their work or materials. A properly filed lien in the amount of the unpaid balance can then form the…