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09.25.2015

Common Causes of Truck Wrecks in Kentucky and Tennessee

You aren't just imagining it. There are more commercial trucks on the road than ever before. According to statistics from the trucking industry, around two-thirds of the nation's freight is moved by semi-truck, and it takes about 3.5 million professional truck drivers to make it happen. Considering the tens of millions of hours these truckers spend on the road, it isn't surprising that truck accidents, too, are on the rise. Here in Kentucky and in neighboring Tennessee, news of a fatal truck accident, especially on an interstate highway, is a common occurrence. Yet, each commercial truck wreck is unique, with its own set of facts and likely causes. Read More

09.24.2015

IRS may lower threshold for reporting gambling winnings

By Nathan Vinson, attorney English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley, LLP The IRS is considering changing the way it taxes gambling payouts. Since 1977, the IRS has required those who won $1,200 or more from slot machines or $1,500 or more from Keno to report and pay taxes on those winnings. We wrote about this rule earlier this year as it pertains to horse racing, a subject near and dear to Kentucky hearts. After nearly 40 years of this practice, the IRS is considering changing that limit to $600, and casino gaming operators aren’t pleased. Read More

09.17.2015

Johnson and Johnson’s push for Risperdal sales overrode its public duty

The Huffington Post is in the midst of publishing a 15-part series that details Johnson & Johnson’s push of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. The drug was approved for sale in 1994 for patients with psychosis, but was not approved for use in adolescent or elderly patients. Skirting the Food & Drug Administration and the law became the crux of Johnson & Johnson’s aggressive marketing plan, which was designed to make Risperdal the best-selling anti-psychotic drug on the market. The series is a bombshell. Three chapters of the 15-chapter series have been published by The Huffington Post so far. Every day brings a new chapter – and more tales of how one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies pursued sales at all costs. Selling the drug to approved patient groups for FDA-approved uses wasn’t enough for Johnson & Johnson. Drug sales representatives pushed the drug onto doctors who dealt with psychiatric illnesses in children and elderly, and pushed them to prescribed the drug for symptoms such as agitation in the elderly, which is not an approved use. Read More

09.17.2015

FBAR filing date changed for 2016

If you have a financial account in a foreign country with $10,000 or more in it, you are required to report the amount to the IRS once a year. The deadline for filing IRS Form 114, the Foreign Bank Account Report (i.e. the “FBAR”), has always been June 30. Recent legislation that President Obama signed into law, the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act, had a provision to also change the FBAR due date. In addition to changing the date to April 15, which is more in line with other common due dates for various types of tax returns, there is a six-month extension available, making that deadline October 16. But just like other tax filing deadlines, you must request the extension. The new rule also waives any penalties for someone new to the process who is filing for the first time, a generous provision that will help anyone confused by the rules for FBAR filing. If you’d like to read the IRS guidance on FBARs, you can find it here. Read More

09.15.2015

Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Blankets are subject of lawsuits

By Jessica Surber Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP In the late 1980s, Dr. Scott Augustine, an anesthesiologist, invented what he thought would be a very helpful device for patients and doctors: a forced air warming blanket. The blanket is a single-use device that covers patients during and after surgery. It is hollow and filled with warm, forced air. The technology has become widely used throughout hospitals all over the country, and at least initially, was hailed as a way to help patients heal faster and bleed less during and after surgery. Since he invented this technology, Dr. Augustine stepped away from Arizant, the company that manufactures the device. The Bair Hugger forced air warming blanket is manufactured and marketed by 3M and its subsidiary, Arizant. 3M purchased Arizant in 2010. Read More

09.15.2015

Attorney Beth McKinney joins ELPO as a partner

Attorney Beth McKinney at ELPO's offices in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Local attorney Elizabeth McKinney joined our firm on September 1 as a partner and attorney. She will work primarily in the areas of estate, probate, wills and taxation. We're thrilled to have her on our team. Beth has been an attorney for 20 years. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant, working as an accountant prior to her career in law. Besides estate planning, wills, probate and taxation, Beth will work with business clients, such as corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships on a variety of business and corporate issues. She has advised numerous new business owners with respect to the choice of the entity formed for new businesses. In addition, she has represented business owners in the transition and continuation of closely held businesses in the preparation of asset purchase agreements, buy-sell agreements, shareholder or stock restriction agreements and other business succession planning matters. Before coming to ELPO, Beth had her own solo law practice, but decided she wanted to come back to a law firm environment. “There are very experienced staff here and terrific attorneys,” Beth says. “This is where I want to spend the rest of my career.” Read More

09.10.2015

Insurance company denied coverage in Kentucky car accident case

Do you have automobile liability insurance? You probably do. But do you really understand what is covered under your policy, including issues such as exclusions, policy limits, and the definition of an "insured" under the policy? Unfortunately, it is not always clear whether there is insurance coverage for a particular accident. In the recent case of Shelter Mutual Insurance Company v. Paragh, the Kentucky Court of Appeals reviewed a decision of the Fayette County Circuit Court in a declaratory judgment action between several parties involved in a car accident and an insurance company that had denied coverage of the crash. Read More

09.03.2015

FDA makes it clear: drug side effects must be disclosed in social media posts

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a not-so-friendly letter to to a drug manufacturer concerning a certain reality star's social media post about a medication she is allegedly taking to help her deal with morning sickness during her pregnancy. While it may seem like just another nugget of celebrity gossip, the FDA's letter is important because it brings to light the influence that so-called "celebrity endorsers" can have on their massive fan base.  The FDA calls the celebrity endorsers and the drugs' manufacturers to task for not mentioning drug side effects as required by federal law. Read More

08.18.2015

“Modified Comparative Fault” Rule Bars Recovery in Tennessee Car Crash

Car accidents fall under an area of tort law known as "negligence." To make out a successful case, a plaintiff must prove four things:  1) the defendant owed him or her a duty of care, 2) the defendant breached that duty, 3) the plaintiff sustained actual damages, and 4) the plaintiff's damages were caused by the defendant's breach of duty. It seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, many cases are not as simple as they initially seem. Issues such as comparative fault - an allegation by the defendant that the plaintiff is responsible for some part of the accident - can quickly complicate matters. The resolution of such issues often depends upon the law of the state in which the wreck occurred. This Tennessee car crash case is an example. Kentucky is one of about a dozen states that follow the "pure comparative fault" doctrine, under which a plaintiff's damages are reduced in proportion to his or her fault, but he or she is still allowed to recover against the defendant for the defendant's percentage of fault. In Tennessee, however, the rule is one of "modified comparative fault," with the plaintiff only being allowed to recover if his or her fault is less than 50%. If the plaintiff is found to be 49% at fault, he or she can recover 51% of his or her total damages, but there is no recovery at all if the parties are determined to bear equal fault. Read More

08.14.2015

Moving South doesn’t mean you outrun high estate taxes

By Nathan Vinson, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley Ah, Florida. It calls to retirees like the mythical siren calls to sailors. Warm weather, year-round golf, palm trees on every corner, not a flake of snow and the promise of lower taxes bring the 60-plus set to our Southern-most state at record rates. In fact, Florida is now the nation’s third most populous state. The Journal of Accountancy notes that 19 states impose an inheritance tax on top of other federal taxes. Both Kentucky and Tennessee have an inheritance tax, although Tennessee will eliminate its inheritance tax in 2016. This means if you inherit property from an estate of someone who moved to Kentucky or Tennessee and passed away in either state, you might be giving a portion of those proceeds from the estate to the respective state government – if the proceeds are above certain thresholds and, at least in Kentucky, depending on your relationship to the deceased. What complicates matters is that governments in some states seem highly suspicious of those who move away. Some put families who have inherited an estate through rigorous paperwork to try to get out of paying estate taxes in that state. Read More