Blog Post
Published 09/21/2020
By Lisa M. Koblin, Lauren F. Schoeberl
Alert
Published 09/18/2020
By Joshua W.B. Richards, Tricia Kazinetz
Industries Higher Education
On September 9, 2020, after receiving more than 17,000 public comments to its notice of proposed rulemaking (the “NPRM”), the United States Department of Education (the “Department”) published the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Final Rule (the “Final Rule”). The Department describes the Final Rule as reinforcing First Amendment freedoms and equal treatment of religious student organizations at public institutions and ensuring that private institutions adhere to their stated institutional policies regarding free speech and academic freedom. The Final Rule also purports to provide clarity...
Alert
Published 09/17/2020
By Bruce Armon, Samantha R. Gross
Industries Health Care
On September 15, 2020, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it had settled five investigations under its HIPAA Right of Access Initiative. The settlements are part of OCR’s efforts to ensure individuals can access their health records in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost under the Health Insurance Portability and accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. OCR previously completed two other enforcement actions under the Right of Access Initiative against Korunda Medical, LLC and Bayfront Health St. Petersburg . Each...
Blog Post
Published 09/17/2020
By Gary B. Eidelman, Lelia F. Parker
Alert
Published 09/16/2020
By Jonathan Havens, Lauren Farruggia, Bruce Armon
Industries Health Care | Life Sciences
On September 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that, if finalized, would establish a Medicare coverage pathway to provide Medicare beneficiaries with faster access to new, innovative medical devices designated as “breakthrough” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This proposed rule follows the October 3, 2019 Executive Order that requested CMS clarify coverage standards and consider adopting market-based policies. If/when the proposed rule is finalized, the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT)...
Blog Post
Published 09/15/2020
By David G. Shapiro
Alert
Published 09/11/2020
By Michael A. Finio, Alex P. Ferraro
Services Antitrust | Mergers and Acquisitions
On September 3, 2020, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “ Division ”) updated its 2004 “Policy Guide to Merger Remedies,” which had been reinstated when the Division withdrew the 2011 version of that guide in September of 2018. The Division’s issuance of the new Merger Remedies Manual (the “ Manual ”) provides much-needed guidance to businesses and lawyers concerning the Division’s approach to seeking remedies when a merger is likely to violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, or Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The stated goal of the Manual “is to provide...
Article
Published 09/11/2020
Alert
Published 09/10/2020
By Melissa A. Clarke
Services Environmental
This Alert provides an update on (1) the process to extend permits and approvals from a broad range of New Jersey state and local entities that would otherwise expire during the “COVID-19 extension period” and (2) NJDEP’s extension of certain site remediation deadlines by 270 days, based on the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. I. Permit Extension Act of 2020 – REGISTRATION NOW OPEN By notice in the NJ Register (52 N.J.R. 1682(b)) on September 8, 2020, any government approvals eligible for tolling of running periods under the Permit Extension Act of 2020 may now...
Article
Published 09/08/2020
Alert
Published 09/04/2020
By Thomas K. Prevas
Services Environmental | Litigation
The Court of Appeals Opinion Closes Procedural Gaps and Aligns Legal Standards with Scientific Analysis The Court of Appeals of Maryland adopted the Daubert standard, overturning Maryland’s long held Frye-Reed precedent for determining the admissibility of expert opinion. Rochkind v. Stevenson , No. 47, September Term 2019 (Aug. 28, 2020); Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , 509 U.S. 579 (1993). While the change may seem sudden, the decision should be welcomed as the end to the three decades of confusion about how to simultaneously apply both Frye-Reed and Maryland Rule 5-702 (...
Alert
Published 09/04/2020
This month’s Friday Five discusses cases that address the admissibility of an expert opinion, the calculation of pre-disability earnings, the definition of disability earnings, circumstances where a court will transfer venue in an ERISA case, and the standard for liability on the basis of a misrepresentation by an insurer or plan administrator. The Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Employee Benefits/ERISA Litigation Team September 4, 2020 | By Amy Kline , Caitlin Strauss and Angella Middleton When is an expert not an expert? If an ERISA case is not resolved on summary judgment and proceeds to...
Alert
Published 09/03/2020
By Kevin M. Levy, Gregory L. Waterworth
Industries Real Estate
As landlords and tenants, lawyers and lawmakers alike struggle to contend with the ever-changing patchwork of state and local moratoria on residential evictions, a new sweeping federal policy is poised to redefine the housing landscape. Building on a presidential executive order to research methods to reduce or prevent evictions, on September 1, 2020, in an unprecedented move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued an Agency Order for the Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19 (the “Order”). The Order was issued pursuant to a...
Alert
Published 09/03/2020
By Carolyn M. Toll, Joshua W. B. Richards
Industries Higher Education
Late last week, with no apparent public discussion, the Department of Education (the “Department”) withdrew a number of Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) guidance documents relating to Title IX in the wake of the new Title IX regulations governing institutions’ policies and procedures for adjudicating Title IX sexual harassment. In light of the Department’s previously articulated intention to move away from guidance documents, the Department’s move to withdraw existing guidance is not all that surprising. The Department had previously withdrawn guidance related to transgender students and...
Alert
Published 09/01/2020
By Kathryn Beaumont Murphy
Industries K-12 Schools
Parents forming “Learning Pods” to complement or facilitate their children’s virtual schooling should consider a few simple contracts and compacts to ensure smooth sailing – and, most important, to prioritize everyone’s health and safety. A basic agreement among families, and with the teacher/facilitator, can go a long way to preventing disagreement in an environment of unknowns. For example: What happens if a family member of a pod-student tests positive for COVID-19? Families will want an agreed-upon protocol for testing and isolation. What if the state or local government instates strict...
Article
Published 09/01/2020
