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The Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently released on August 8, 2006 final rules establishing new safe harbors and exceptions for the donation of items and services for e-prescribing and electronic health records to physicians and other providers. These safe harbors and exceptions establish certain conditions under which: (1) health care providers furnishing services that are subject to the Stark Law (e.g., hospitals) may donate to physicians (and certain other recipients) certain qualifying electronic prescribing technology that are necessary and used solely for electronic prescribing; and (2) hospitals and other providers may provide physicians and other providers who furnish services to federal healthcare program recipients with interoperable electronic health records software or information technology and training services.
Continue Reading The OIG and CMS Establish New Safe Harbors and Exceptions to Foster Electronic Prescribing and Electronic Health Records Arrangements

The Louisiana legislature amended Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:4207 to provide additional time delays in which judges must render a judgment in cases taken under advisement and rule on applications for a new trial, as well restrictions regarding the manner in which the judgment must be rendered.
Continue Reading Louisiana Legislature Sets Time Limits for Rulings on Cases Taken Under Advisement and Applications for New Trials

Baton Rouge, Louisiana – September 8, 2006 – Fifteen partners from Baton Rouge-based Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman (Kean Miller) will be listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward White, Inc.). Published biennially since 1983, The Best Lawyers in America is widely regarded as an important referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. The list is compiled through an exhaustive peer-review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

The referral guide is subscribed to by more than 4,000 of the leading law firms in the U.S. and abroad, and by more than 1,000 of the world’s largest corporations. Because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, Best Lawyers is a reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals.Continue Reading FIFTEEN LOCAL LAWYERS RECOGNIZED AS “BEST IN AMERICA” – National Peer Review Directory Lists Fifteen Partners at Kean Miller Law Firm

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1916 no longer applies strictly to jury cases. House Bill No. 414, effective August 15, 2006, amended Article 1916 to apply to judge and jury trials, and to establish time delays for the preparation and execution of judgments, including contradictory motions, exceptions and compromise agreements. (Link to House Bill)

Former Article 1916 made a distinction between jury trials in which a general verdict was reached and those resulting in a special verdict. In the case of a general verdict, the judge was required to sign a judgment within three days of the verdict. For special verdicts, the judge was allowed unspecified time for deliberation, but was required to sign a judgment.

Amended and reenacted Article 1916 extends the three day rule for judges in jury trials and no longer makes a distinction between general and special verdicts. Regardless of the nature of the verdict rendered, judges must prepare and sign a judgment within ten days of the jury’s verdict. Alternatively, amended Article 1916 gives judges express authority to order counsel for a party to submit a judgment for signature by the court within ten days of the verdict.Continue Reading Louisiana Legislature Enacts New Rules on the Preparation and Execution of Judgments

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) recently instituted a pilot program of making its Electronic Document Management System (“EDMS”) available on the internet for a six-month trial period. The EDMS is the electronic repository of official records that have been created or received by LDEQ.  All documents that are defined as “public records,” including e-mail, either created or received by any LDEQ personnel are placed in the EDMS and can be searched on the internet through LDEQ’s website. All public documents that have not been labeled as confidential pursuant to LDEQ’s confidentiality statute, La. R.S. 30:2030, and that are dated July 1, 2005 or later are part of the pilot. The only exception is documents concerning radiation media as LDEQ has asserted confidentiality of these pursuant to its authority to keep potentially sensitive national security information as confidential.
Continue Reading Will Your Settlement Negotiations With LDEQ Be Published on the Web?

In State of Louisiana v. All Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers Authorized and Licensed to Do Business in the State of Louisiana, 2006-2030 (La. 8/25/06), the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld Acts 739 and 802 of the 2006 legislative session.

Act 739 extends to September 1, 2007, the filing period for Katrina-related claims under homeowner, personal property, tenant, condominium and commercial insurance policies, with a similar extension to October 1, 2007 for Rita-related claims. Continue Reading Louisiana Supreme Court Upholds Acts Extending Prescription for Filing Hurricane-Related Insurance Claims

Gordon D. Polozola was awarded the Michaelle Pitard Wynne Professionalism Award at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana State Bar Association. The award was given to Gordon for his commitment to upholding the quality and integrity of the legal profession and his consideration toward peers and the general public. The award is presented annually…

The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal caused quite a stir in the Louisiana business community in December, 2005 when it rendered its decision in Doland v. ACM, 921 So.2d 196 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/30/05). In Doland, the Court was called upon to resolve a heated dispute over the termination of a lease of video poker machines. The video poker machines were being leased by ACM [FN1] for use in the Pat’s of Cameron Restaurant. Upon the expiration of the original three year term, written notice had been given of the restaurant’s desire to retain possession of the machines on a day-to-day basis, and to continue as such until the restaurant was able to obtain different machines, either through direct purchase or through another lessor. The restaurant had the machines disabled by the Louisiana State Police after ACM refused to remove the machines after removal was requested by the restaurant. Because of ACM’s refusal to remove them, the video poker machines remained disabled but on the premises of the restaurant, preventing the installation of new video poker machines, for roughly three months. During this time, the restaurant experienced a decrease in revenue not only from the lack revenue generated from the video poker machines themselves, but also from a decline in restaurant sales due to a lack of patronage.
Continue Reading A Sigh of Relief: Business Entities Enjoying Pass-Through Taxation Can Now Breathe a Little Easier Following the Initial Scare of Decision

On July 27, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a vote of 270-148 H.R. 4157, which is intended to promote the use of health information technology (HIT) to improve the safety and quality of the nation’s health care system. This legislation has several significant aspects affecting the use of HIT, including codification of the Bush administration’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. According to the legislation, some of the National Coordinator for HIT’s ongoing responsibilities shall include maintaining and updating a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of standards for HIT, serving as a principal advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on the use of HIT, and coordinating HIT policies and programs across federal agencies.
Continue Reading U.S. House of Representatives Passes Health Information Technology Legislation

In a recent Supreme Court decision, the Court held that Title VII’s requirement that a covered “employer” meet a minimum threshold number of employees is not “jurisdictional” but is part of the requisite elements of a claim for relief. Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., 126 S. Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097, 74 USLW 4138 (2006). The effect of holding that the threshold is not “jurisdictional” was to abrogate previous Fifth Circuit jurisprudence treating Title VII’s employee-numerosity requirements as a matter of federal court subject-matter jurisdiction that is not subject to waiver or estoppel.
Continue Reading Is It Jurisdictional?