Client Alerts
Client Alerts
1244 items, 20 items per page
- On the popular business review website Yelp, it is no secret that many individuals post fake reviews and sometimes defamatory content. Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, Yelp cannot be held liable for false or defamatory statements made by its users.
- A positive about Yelp is that content can be removed and, thus, the impact it may have on businesses can be mitigated. This alert outlines the options available to businesses.
- A recent holding from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania contains some helpful analysis for defendants facing a fraud-in-the inducement False Claims Act (FCA) case. A fraud-in-the-inducement case is a rare sub-species of FCA cases, with different rules. Unlike a traditional FCA case, there is nothing “false,” factually or legally, on the face of the claims for payment at issue in a fraud-in-the inducement case. Instead, the otherwise unobjectionable claims are false by virtue of the fact that they were submitted under a contract that was procured through the use of false statements.
- Wikipedia is home to more than 30 million articles and has nearly 80,000 active contributors, according to the website. These figures are a product of its “openly editable model,” where virtually anyone with internet access can add or edit content on the website. The online encyclopedia’s strength relies in its founders giving their power to the people, but in doing so they opened the door to abuse.
- The Office of Inspector General posted OIG Advisory Opinion No. 14-01 on January 21, 2014 in response to a nonprofit senior housing and geriatric care provider’s question of whether it may pay an independent placement agency a fee for referring new residents to certain of its facilities. Despite concerns that the arrangement could potentially generate prohibited remuneration under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), the OIG found that the facts and circumstances of the arrangement sufficiently mitigated any fraud and abuse risks.
- In a recently published final rule, CMS established the requirements for settings that may be eligible sites for the delivery of reimbursable Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) provided under sections 1915(c), 1915(i) and 1915(k) of the Medicaid statute.
- Recently, the Fourth Circuit became the first court of appeals to address whether the public disclosure bar, as amended in 2010 by the Affordable Care Act, remains a jurisdictional defense to False Claims Act allegations. The opinion in U.S. ex rel. Radcliffe v. Purdue Pharma L.P. is significant because the district courts are divided on whether the public disclosure bar remains jurisdictional after the amendment.
- A Look Back... Before we delve into what we anticipate for Ohio’s taxes in 2014, the Vorys state and local tax team takes a look back at some of our Top Tax Topics to Watch for 2013. There were varying degrees of development with respect to the topics we identified last year, but several are worth noting.
- Summary: ACA mandates don’t apply to health plans classified as “excepted benefits.” The government has proposed regulations expanding the definition of excepted benefits to include self-insured dental and vision coverage even if that coverage is provided without employee contributions.
- The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently certified two important questions of law concerning the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (DMA) to the Supreme Court of Ohio.
- The Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision today confirming the constitutionality of the state's decision to expand the Medicaid program through an action of the Controlling Board. The Court rejected a constitutional challenge made by six legislators.
- On November 18, 2013, Columbus City Council passed Ordinance No. 2649-2013 (the Ordinance), which expands both the geographic area covered by the Downtown Community Reinvestment Area (the CRA) and expands the scope of real property tax exemptions available within the CRA.
- On December 4, 2013, House Bill 375 (the Bill) was introduced in the Ohio General Assembly. If enacted, the Bill would make several significant changes to Ohio’s existing oil and gas severance tax laws. The most significant proposed changes in the Bill are summarized in this alert.
- Most businesses use music in some capacity to create the right ambiance, draw a crowd or even to pacify holding telephone customers. The right music can influence purchasing decisions, how fast patrons at a restaurant eat and how satisfied customers feel in their dealings with your business. For these reasons, music is a valuable asset to your business. However, it is also a valuable asset to those that create it.
- On October 30, 2013, in a letter to Representative Jim McDermott, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius clarified that qualified health plans (QHPs) available in the health insurance Marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are not “federal health care programs.”
- The Vorys state and local tax group scored an important municipal income tax victory for taxpayers. The decision also helps clarify a complex area of Ohio Constitutional law. Gesler et al. v. City of Worthington Income Tax Board of Appeals et al. involved competing Ohio Constitutional provisions. On one hand, the Ohio Constitution confers upon home rule municipalities all powers of local self-government which includes the power to levy taxes. On the other hand, the Ohio Constitution confers upon the Ohio General Assembly the power to limit home rule municipalities’ power to levy taxes.
- New final regulations under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) apply to group health plans in plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2014 (January 1, 2015 for calendar year plans). The regulations generally incorporate the 2010 interim final regulations and subsequent FAQs, with some notable clarifications.
- A new Ohio House Bill (HB 72) adds a requirement that a lessor or surface owner record a “notice of failure to file” in connection with the statutory procedures used to forfeit an oil and gas lease; and abandon mineral interests to a surface owner. HB 72 focuses on the modernization of the county recorders’ offices and appears innocuous. However, it includes a new step to the procedures relating to the oil and gas lease forfeiture statute (Ohio Revised Code 5301.332) and to the Dormant Mineral Act (Ohio Revised Code 5301.56). As such, surface owners, lessors, lessees, operators, lawyers, landmen and the like should be aware of the additional step and incorporate it into their practices.
- The IRS has added a second exception to the use-or-lose rule for health flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Employers now have three alternatives for end-of-year health FSA credit balances...
- To expand the scope of their business – either geographically or into additional product categories – many companies license their trademarks. Company "A" sells milk, for instance, and shipping milk far from its source of production may not make economic sense. A restaurateur wishes to open restaurants in other states. Another company has expertise in selling men's clothes, but would like to expand to men's shoes.