Montana Signs COVID-19 Immunity Provision into Law
Written by: Sandra Mekita Cianflone, Esq. On February 10, 2021 Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 65 which revises some Montana Civil Liability Laws surrounding COVID-19. This law is effective from February 10, 2021 through Janua
Federal Court Denies Remand and Grants Dismissal Based upon PREP Act
Written by: Sandra Mekita Cianflone, Esq. and Laura Hall Cartner, Esq. On February 10, 2021, James V. Selna in the Central District of California denied Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand and granted Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in Garcia
Seniors Impacted by Dual Health Crises: COVID & Opioid Misuse
Elderly people are facing a confluence of health crises right now: COVID-19 and opioid misuse. Seniors are already the most heavily impacted population for COVID-19 hospitalizations and death rates, and a concurrent acceleration of opioid misuse
5th Circuit Overturns $4.3 Million HIPAA Penalty
Written by: Brett Lawrence, Esq. On January 14, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit overturned a $4.348 million fine issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) for alleged HIPAA violations against
FTC Settles Two Data Privacy Allegations
Written by: Brett Lawrence, Esq. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settled two allegations against two companies surrounding the unfair and deceptive use of facial recognition software and disclosure of health data. Everalbum,
States Introducing Privacy Legislation
Written by: Charles R. Langhorne IV, Esq. 2021 is off to a hot start with many states introducing private sector privacy legislation. In this article I will outline: Virginia Washington Oklahoma New York Minnesota Virginia Virginia seems to be o
What Is The Status Of Personal Data Transfers Between the EU and the UK?
Written by: Richard Sheinis, Esq. On December 24, 2020, the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement was announced. This Agreement contained an adequacy “bridge” so that the EU will treat the UK as an adequate jurisdiction for purposes of
H-1B Lottery System To Remain Unchanged for 2021
Written by: Ashik R. Jahan, Esq. On Jan. 7, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the H-1B Selection final rule, which amended the regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for the filing o
Major EHR Vendor Settles False Claims Act Allegations
Health IT company Athenahealth, a major developer and vendor of electronic health record (EHR) services, agreed to pay over $18 million to settle federal False Claims Act allegations related to purported kickbacks from 2014 to 2020...
Who Gets Custody?
Written by: Kaitlin Romanelli Myers, Esq. The answer is, it depends. In North Carolina, there are two ways custody can be decided, by consent, or by a judge following a custody hearing. North Carolina strongly favors parents working together to