Two physicians who complained to a professional organization about a fellow doctor who testified in a malpractice case are liable for defamation, a Minnesota jury has found.

The jury in Yancey v. Weis (Court File No. 27-CV-07-15651) found the defendants defamed plaintiff Charles Yancey, M.D. when they claimed to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)…

Pittsburgh, PA —  The law firm of Tucker Arensberg, P.C. announced that Neil E. Hendershot has joined the Harrisburg office of the firm as a Shareholder.  Neil practices in the areas of elder law, personal and estate planning, family business succession, estate and trust administration, Orphans’ Court (PA probate court) litigation, real estate, and charitable organizations.  Neil authors the "PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog", and also the "PA HealthCare DecisionMaking" website.

Neil participates actively in state and local bar association activities.  Neil previously served as Chairman of the Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and has served as an Editor of that Section’s bi-annual Newsletter continuously since 1983. He is currently (2007-09) that Section’s elected delegate to the PBA House of Delegates, and is serving a three-year term on the RPPT Section’s governing Council.Continue Reading Tucker Arensberg Announces New Shareholder

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly referred to as the "Stimulus Bill", contains multiple provisions which affect the rights and obligations of certain parties under  the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. These changes relate to the application of the security and privacy provisions to business associates; the notification requirements in the event…

Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare, which administers the Medical Assistance or Medicaid Program for the Commonwealth, experienced a huge set back in its efforts to curtail the use of annuities in Medical Assistance Long Term Care (MA-LTC) Planning with the recent Weatherbee v. Richman opinion dated January 22, 2009. 

The Department contested the conversation of Mr. Weatherbee’s “excess resources”, those above the allowable limit, to an immediate, non-assignable annuity which provided an income stream to his non-institutionalized or community souse. The Department contended that this annuity could be sold on the secondary market and thus converted back into an available resource to Mr. Weatherbee, which resource would need to be spent down before MA-LTC benefits could be granted. The Department relied upon anti-assignment provisions in Pennsylvania law found at 62 P.S. Section 441.6. 

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania rejected the Department’s argument in ruling on its Motion to Dismiss Mr. Weatherbee’s action for declaratory and injunctive relief. The Court held that the anti-assignment provision in Section 441.6 is preempted by Federal MA-LTC law. Continue Reading Favorable Clarification on Annuity Use in Medical Assistance and Long Term Planning

Any Upside to Downtrodden Markets? Estate Planning has Never Looked Better

As recently noted in the Wall Street Journal (see the following link): http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249848140700515.html?mod=rss_Tax_Report), a combination of low interest rates and depressed asset values have caused the recent turn of events in the US economy to be one of the best times in history…

You might have a domain name or a pending or registered trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. If so, you may be a potential recipient of unsolicited e-mails from alleged Chinese domain name registrar and dispute resolution providers. 

Typically, the e-mail states that another company is attempting to register a domain name or…

The Department of Labor has issued new amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act that are effective January 16, 2009. We will shortly be sending out an explanation of the new regulations and how they may effect you. 

However, there is an immediate effect on employers, as the FMLA poster that you are currently displaying…