Associations Seek Role in Accounting Standard Reinterpretation
April 27, 2007
In a recent development in the ongoing reinterpretation of the accounting standard for commercial leases by the International Accounting Standards Board ('IASB') and the Financial Accounting Standards Board ('FASB'), The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association ('ELFA') has announced that six equipment finance representative associations from around the world have signed a joint communication seeking to have them play an instrumental and constructive role in the process. The joint communication by the ELFA, the UK Finance and Leasing Association, Leaseurope, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, the Australian Finance Conference, and the Canadian Finance & Leasing Association set forth 11 key principles that should be addressed as the IASB and FASB proceed with deliberations toward a single, efficient global leasing standard.
In the Marketplace
April 27, 2007
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
Personal Liability for Excess Verdicts
April 27, 2007
In today's litigious environment, physicians consistently struggle with rising malpractice premiums. For those inclined to stop reading here, this article will not attempt to rehash the contentious debate over why malpractice premiums continue to rise. Rather, we want to discuss a fairly new and rapidly growing problem for physicians: personal liability for excess verdicts.
Med Mal News
April 27, 2007
The latest happenings in the med mal arena.
The Dog Ate My Hard Drive
April 27, 2007
In recent years, electronically stored information ' or 'ESI' as it has come to be known ' has become an increasingly 'hot topic' during discovery. Many attorneys now include questions regarding ESI in their standard discovery requests, and several of the recently enacted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure address ESI-related discovery. Therefore, clients and counsel alike must have a clear understanding of their obligation to preserve ESI and the proper process for doing so.
Antitrust Scrutiny of Lyme Guidelines
April 27, 2007
A state attorney general's novel investigation into the development of treatment guidelines for Lyme disease should put health care and professional medical societies on alert to a possible new front in antitrust litigation, say antitrust lawyers and others. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal late last year issued a subpoena to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) for information on how it established its latest guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease ' guidelines that were subsequently adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While IDSA has responded to the subpoena, Blumenthal said his investigation is ongoing. 'We've reached no conclusion,' he said.
Medical Discounts and the Collateral Source Rule
April 27, 2007
When tortious conduct causes injuries, the plaintiff is allowed to recover as special damages the 'reasonable value' of the medical services needed to treat the injury. Today, determining what is the 'reasonable value' of health care services is becoming a more challenging task.