Biden taps Montana law professor to be 9th Circuit judge
Ethics
President Joe Biden nominated has nominated a University of Montana law professor to be a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Anthony Johnstone is a former solicitor for the state of Montana who has taught at the University of Montana since 2011. He previously worked at a private firm and clerked for Judge Sidney Thomas, who stepped down last year as chief judge for the 9th Circuit.
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester said in a statement that Johnstone had a track record of applying the law without personal bias.
His nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The 9th Circuit has 29 judgeships and is one the busiest federal appeals courts in the nation.
It handles thousands of cases annually from federal judicial districts in nine western states, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Related listings
-
Wisconsin court says gun site not liable in spa shooting
Ethics 04/27/2019The state Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging a firearms website that enabled a man to illegally purchase the pistol he used in a mass shooting at a suburban Milwaukee spa six years ago is liable in the killings, ruling that federal la...
-
Republicans pitch keeping Court of Appeals at 15 judges
Ethics 02/18/2019North Carolina Republican legislators now want to give up on the law they approved two years ago that reduces the number of Court of Appeals judges from 15 to 12 as retirements and other vacancies arise.A state Senate judiciary committee Tuesday reco...
-
Family's fight for liquor license leads to Supreme Court
Ethics 01/16/2019Doug and Mary Ketchum chose Memphis, Tennessee, as a place to live with their disabled adult daughter because it has clearer air than their former home in Utah.That was the easy part. Their decision to support themselves by buying a liquor store has ...
Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.