- 7.03.08 Walter L. Williams
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have been operating a demonstration Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program in a number of states. Legislation enacted in 2006 makes the RAC Program permanent and directed expansion into all fifty...
- 7.02.08 Karen E. Kahle
U.S. Supreme Court reduces punitive damages award after finding unfairness and unpredictability in award ratio – reduces compensatory/punitive ratio to 1:1 in a maritime case. This ruling may fuel future challenges to damage awards.
The following is...
- 6.25.08 James J.A. Mulhall
Lawsuits, including class actions, have been filed in California, Connecticut and Missouri based upon alleged exposure to BPA; increased litigation and legislation may follow.
The following is provided by the Toxic Tort practice team of Steptoe &...
- 6.13.08
On May 22, 2008, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia voted to refuse the appeal of a $404 million verdict rendered by a Roane County jury against NiSource Inc., Columbia Energy Group, and Chesapeake Appalachia LLC. Both plaintiffs and defendants...
- 5.22.08 Greg Goodykoontz and Misty Heitz
The three are related, at least when it comes to West Virginia mass litigation. Mass litigation in West Virginia began with asbestos and has spread to areas such as hearing loss litigation, tobacco litigation, and pharmaceutical litigation. In 2002...
- 5.05.08 Compiled from staff reports
Profile: John C. Stump
Compiled from staff reports
If a person is defined by what he or she does, then John Stump’s roles in life depict what a caring and devoted person he is to his family, his community, and his job. By day, he serves as a member...
- 4.23.08 Heidi Kossuth
At 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989, an estimated 10.8 million U.S. gallons (40.9 million liters) of crude oil were spilled into Prince William Sound when the Exxon Valdez, a single hulled oil supertanker was maneuvered out of the shipping lane to avoid...
- 4.21.08 Gordon H. Copland & Charles A. Sinsel
Recent governmental actions have further clouded the legal landscape for hospitals dealing with medical staff members who refuse to take call or demand pay for it. A brief summary of this recurring problem, and the legal issues bearing on a hospital’s...
- 4.18.08
Profile: Susan S. Brewer, Member and CEO-Elect
Compiled from staff reports
When Susan Brewer was named CEO-Elect by the membership of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, she joined an exclusive group of women in the country given that only eight percent of...
- 1.25.08 Walter L. Williams
The Federal Stark self-referral law has always presented potential issues insofar as the permissibility of amendments to existing contractual relationships. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has come out with recent guidance on...
- 1.07.08 Katerina E. Milenkovski
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently did something that no other governmental entity in the United States had done before – it denied a permit for a new coal-fired power plant because of the greenhouse gas emissions the project would...
- 1.05.08 Michael T. Smith
State research institutions enjoy a considerable advantage over their private sector counterparts in that states possess sovereign immunity. This means that a state, including its universities and colleges, cannot be sued in federal court without its...
