Articles

02.25.14

Environmental Assessment Standard Just the Starting Point for Managing the Purchase of Contaminated ...

On December 30, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") adopted ASTM E1527-13, an updated Phase I environmental assessment standard for performing all appropriate inquiries to establish landowner liability protections under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation ...


02.24.14

Inside HHS Rule on Test Results From HIPAA-Covered Labs

On Feb. 6, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a final rule amending the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 ("CLIA") regulations and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") regulations to permit ...


02.19.14

Expansion of California's Anti-Deficiency Laws Means More Litigation For Creditors

Turning a narrow consumer shield into a potentially broad sword, this summer California expanded its anti-deficiency judgment laws to prohibit not only the judicial pursuit of mortgage deficiency balances, but also to declare that post-foreclosure deficiencies can be neither "owed" nor ...


02.14.14

Swipe Fee Settlement Yields More Litigation

Although the parties reached a $7.25 billion class action settlement of the antitrust suit brought by merchants against Visa and MasterCard over swipe fees, the case is far from over.The protracted legal battle centers on allegations by merchants that Visa and MasterCard engaged in a price-fixing ...


02.06.14

Key Nonprofit Corporate Law and Governance Developments in 2013

For a year seemingly dominated by Affordable Care Act topics, 2013 nevertheless included a substantial number of corporate law and governance developments of great significance to nonprofit hospitals and health systems. In the midst of consolidation, enforcement and other health-care industry ...


02.04.14

Why This Venture Capitalist Is Optimistic About the Music Business

February 4, 2014Despite talk of doom and gloom for the music business, the case for optimism -- and the prospects for massive growth in the overall music ecosystem -- is strong. Fairly straightforward "traditional" business models (primarily retail) have been disrupted, but a new, ...


02.03.14

The Management of Patient and Healthcare Data

The ACA is accelerating a reorganization of the healthcare delivery system from episodic, reactive, acute management of patients, to proactive, population-based delivery models. These changes, manifest as patient centered medical homes and accountable care organizations, require health plans and ...


01.31.14

Dodd-Frank Rules' Impact on Seller Financing

In 2014, new rules implementing amendments to the Federal Truth in Lending Act became effective as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Act"). These much anticipated rules have sparked lively discussion among investors, lenders and private ...


01.30.14

Time to Get Socially Compliant

On behalf of its members - the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - the FFIEC released final supervisory guidance in "Social Media: Consumer ...


01.03.14

CA's Title-24 Update…Are You Ready?

There is good news and bad news about the 2013 update to the Title-24 California Buildings Standards Code. The good news is that the California Energy Commission recently extended the effective date from Jan. 1, 2014 to July 1, 2014. The bad news is that, regardless of when the update becomes ...