May 30, 2013
Tennessee's "Guns in Parking Lots" bill was signed into law by Governor Bill Haslam on March 14 of this year. http://www.cbslawfirm.com/legal-updates/tennessee-law-signed-governor-haslam-allows-handgun-permit-holders-carry-guns-their-cars/ The law states that "the holder of a valid handgun carry permit recognized in Tennessee may transport and store a firearm or firearm ammunition in the permit holder's privately owned motor vehicle . . . while on or utilizing any public or private parking area." 2013 Tennessee Laws Pub. Ch. 16 (S.B. 142), Section 1. The firearm must, however, be kept from "ordinary observation," and if the permit holder is not in the vehicle, the firearm must be locked in the trunk, glove box, or interior of the vehicle or in a container securely affixed to the vehicle. Id. Read More
May 23, 2013
On May 22, 2013, the Tennessee General Assembly’s joint committee on government operations approved Tennessee’s first rules regulating the use of hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and natural gas from ... Read More
April 25, 2013
On April 1, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned an $11.1 million False Claims Act (FCA) judgment by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against MedQuest Associates, Inc., a large provider of diagnostic imaging services, and three of its Nashville, TN-area facilities. The decision, which analyzed Medicare regulations concerning conditions of participation and conditions of payment, further clarifies for health care providers that, in the Sixth Circuit’s view and similar to the views of some other circuits, violations of Medicare conditions of participation, absent violations of conditions of payment, are not a basis for FCA liability. Moreover, the decision clarifies the Sixth Circuit’s view that violations of certain Medicare requirements should not be construed as violations of Medicare conditions of payment. Read More
April 17, 2013
On April 8, 2013, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed Senate Joint Resolution 1 by a vote of 80-8, giving final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment to ban a ... Read More
April 17, 2013
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court’s decision to enforce a contract between a husband and wife to execute wills providing for all of their children and to ... Read More