SEC Won't Challenge Stimulus
Recent Cases
South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster says a lawsuit broughtagainst the state over federal stimulus money is flawed and premature.
But McMaster said in a filing with the Supreme Court on Monday that hewon't oppose the state Supreme Court taking up the challenge filed lastweek by a Chapin High School student.
McMaster says the timing may not be right to shift the issues raised in the case from a public policy debate to the courtroom.
McMaster says if the court takes the case he hopes the justices will apply principles that protect the state's rights.
Related listings
-
Texas Supreme Court Justice Sues over Ruling
Recent Cases 01/29/2009Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht sued the Texas Ethics Commission over its ruling that reduced legal fees constitute a political donation. Hecht says the Jackson Walker law firm represented him in a 2006 proceeding "that affected the free spe...
-
EU court: Ryanair won't have to pay back subsidy
Recent Cases 12/16/2008Budget airline Ryanair may no longer have to pay back a euro4.5 million ($6.16 million) subsidy to the Belgian state after a court ruled Thursday against an EU order to refund the sum.The European Union's appeals court said antitrust regulators made ...
-
Lawyers: US to release 3 Gitmo detainees to Bosnia
Recent Cases 12/15/2008The U.S. is preparing to send three Guantanamo prisoners to Bosnia in the first detainee transfer ordered by a federal judge, attorneys for the men said Tuesday.A judge in Washington ruled last month that the government's case was not strong enough t...
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.