Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys reach settlement over law which critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

One of the biggest stories of 2022 is expected to make a comeback in 2024: The case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

Her twice delayed trial for her admitted actions in making copies of election equipment in an attempt to prove election fraud, which still is set for early February, likely will draw national attention, particularly with state and federal cases against former President Donald Trump unfolding in the first part of the new year.

That’s because Peters’ case has a nexus to the former president, in that it is related to unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election when Trump lost was somehow faulty.

Trials for both Peters and Trump also are expected to reverberate throughout the year, as the nation goes into another presidential contest, which will begin in March when Colorado holds its presidential primary.

Peters faces seven felony charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of criminal impersonation and one count of identity theft.

She also faces three misdemeanors: first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

Peters’ has repeatedly denied those charges, saying they are politically motivated.

In an attempt to block or delay that February trial, Peters filed a federal lawsuit in November against U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Mesa County District attorney Dan Rubinstein, saying they all violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by investigating her and then charging her with crimes.

That suit, which could be a preview of her defense in the February trial, says that as a whistleblower she is protected from any charges being filed against her.

Tina Peters waits in the hallways of the Mesa County Justice Center just before being sentenced on a felony charge of defying an affidavit for her iPad in April.

Scott Crabtree

As a result, Peters’ attorneys are trying to use that lawsuit to get the federal court to intervene in the state case, saying the charges against her don’t provide her the right to properly defend her actions.

“The Mesa County District Court will not provide Peters with an adequate opportunity to litigate the federal constitutional issues essential to prevailing on her First Amendment claim,” her Virgina-based attorney, Robert Cynkar, wrote in a brief to the federal court.

“In a June 2, 2022, ruling, the state court rejected any application of the statutory choice-of-evils defense,” Cynkar added. “That deprives Peters of due process by preventing her from asserting her Privileges or Immunities Clause defense, and her right and duty to take action to preserve the election records as required by federal statute.”

Under state law, a defendant can use a choice-of-evils defense if they can show that an illegal act was necessary to avoid or prevent a more serious illegal act.

But in his motions to dismiss the federal case, Mesa County attorney Todd Starr, representing Rubinstein, argues that Peters expressly told the state court that they didn’t plan to use the choice-of-evils defense.

Additionally, Starr wrote that the remedy for any ruling by a state judge, in this case District Judge Matthew Barrett, isn’t through the federal courts, but through the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court.

“Criminal defendants typically assert many federal constitutional rights as defenses to state-law criminal charges,” Starr wrote. “Ms. Peters just did not like his ruling. It is outside the province of this (federal) court to overturn state court evidentiary decisions. Instead, Ms. Peters’ remedy is an appeal before the state appellate courts.”

The federal court is expected to rule on motions to dismiss the case soon, or if that doesn’t happen, to consider granting a preliminary injunction to stop or delay the state case.

Prosecutors in the state case are expected to present evidence that Peters took no official steps to report problems with election equipment used when she served as Mesa County clerk and recorder, but instead acted entirely on her own and solicited the aid of some co-workers and unauthorized outside help.

According to court records and affidavits, Peters used the identity of a Fruita man to gain access to computer hard drives that ended up in the hands of election security conspiracy theorists. She did so without prior approval from the Secretary of State’s Office, which gave similar approval to the Larimer County clerk’s office for the 2020 election.

Those records also say that Peters had done that late on a Sunday night, after ordering surveillance cameras inside her office be turned off, and presented a California man as a clerk employee using the identity of the Fruita man when neither were actual employees.

Two of her subordinates, former Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley and former Elections Manager Sandra Brown, have already been convicted in their roles in the scheme, and according to terms of their plea agreements are to testify against her.

The Fruita man whose identity she allegedly stole, Gerald Wood, also is expected to testify against Peters.

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Peters’ attorneys working to block or delay state trial | Western Colorado appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

One of the biggest stories of 2022 is expected to make a comeback in 2024: The case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

Her twice delayed trial for her admitted actions in making copies of election equipment in an attempt to prove election fraud, which still is set for early February, likely will draw national attention, particularly with state and federal cases against former President Donald Trump unfolding in the first part of the new year.

That’s because Peters’ case has a nexus to the former president, in that it is related to unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election when Trump lost was somehow faulty.

Trials for both Peters and Trump also are expected to reverberate throughout the year, as the nation goes into another presidential contest, which will begin in March when Colorado holds its presidential primary.

Peters faces seven felony charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of criminal impersonation and one count of identity theft.

She also faces three misdemeanors: first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.

Peters’ has repeatedly denied those charges, saying they are politically motivated.

In an attempt to block or delay that February trial, Peters filed a federal lawsuit in November against U.S. attorney General Merrick Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Mesa County District attorney Dan Rubinstein, saying they all violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by investigating her and then charging her with crimes.

That suit, which could be a preview of her defense in the February trial, says that as a whistleblower she is protected from any charges being filed against her.

Tina Peters waits in the hallways of the Mesa County Justice Center just before being sentenced on a felony charge of defying an affidavit for her iPad in April.

Scott Crabtree

As a result, Peters’ attorneys are trying to use that lawsuit to get the federal court to intervene in the state case, saying the charges against her don’t provide her the right to properly defend her actions.

“The Mesa County District Court will not provide Peters with an adequate opportunity to litigate the federal constitutional issues essential to prevailing on her First Amendment claim,” her Virgina-based attorney, Robert Cynkar, wrote in a brief to the federal court.

“In a June 2, 2022, ruling, the state court rejected any application of the statutory choice-of-evils defense,” Cynkar added. “That deprives Peters of due process by preventing her from asserting her Privileges or Immunities Clause defense, and her right and duty to take action to preserve the election records as required by federal statute.”

Under state law, a defendant can use a choice-of-evils defense if they can show that an illegal act was necessary to avoid or prevent a more serious illegal act.

But in his motions to dismiss the federal case, Mesa County attorney Todd Starr, representing Rubinstein, argues that Peters expressly told the state court that they didn’t plan to use the choice-of-evils defense.

Additionally, Starr wrote that the remedy for any ruling by a state judge, in this case District Judge Matthew Barrett, isn’t through the federal courts, but through the Colorado Court of Appeals and the Colorado Supreme Court.

“Criminal defendants typically assert many federal constitutional rights as defenses to state-law criminal charges,” Starr wrote. “Ms. Peters just did not like his ruling. It is outside the province of this (federal) court to overturn state court evidentiary decisions. Instead, Ms. Peters’ remedy is an appeal before the state appellate courts.”

The federal court is expected to rule on motions to dismiss the case soon, or if that doesn’t happen, to consider granting a preliminary injunction to stop or delay the state case.

Prosecutors in the state case are expected to present evidence that Peters took no official steps to report problems with election equipment used when she served as Mesa County clerk and recorder, but instead acted entirely on her own and solicited the aid of some co-workers and unauthorized outside help.

According to court records and affidavits, Peters used the identity of a Fruita man to gain access to computer hard drives that ended up in the hands of election security conspiracy theorists. She did so without prior approval from the Secretary of State’s Office, which gave similar approval to the Larimer County clerk’s office for the 2020 election.

Those records also say that Peters had done that late on a Sunday night, after ordering surveillance cameras inside her office be turned off, and presented a California man as a clerk employee using the identity of the Fruita man when neither were actual employees.

Two of her subordinates, former Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley and former Elections Manager Sandra Brown, have already been convicted in their roles in the scheme, and according to terms of their plea agreements are to testify against her.

The Fruita man whose identity she allegedly stole, Gerald Wood, also is expected to testify against Peters.

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Peters’ attorneys working to block or delay state trial | Western Colorado appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Farm attorneys see opportunity to advance agricultural policies in court appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

St. Louis’ largest health system, BJC HealthCare, plans to merge with Kansas City’s second-largest, Saint Luke’s Health System, uniting more than 28 hospitals on both sides of Missouri by the end of this year.

The merger, which would span markets 250 miles apart and include facilities in neighboring Kansas and Illinois, is just one of the latest in a quickly consolidating hospital industry. Cross-market deals accounted for more than half of all hospital mergers and acquisitions during the last decade, according to a paper from experts on antitrust law. Today, nearly 60% of health systems operate multiple hospitals in different geographic markets.

Not only are such deals more common, they can increase costs for patients. Merged hospitals in the same state but in different markets raised prices as much as 10% compared with other hospitals, researchers found after analyzing past deals. A separate study found stand-alone hospitals raised prices 17% after they were acquired by a hospital company in another market.

But for some 50 years, federal regulators have not stepped in to prevent hospitals from merging with systems in other markets, according to antitrust law experts. Without federal intervention, states that have seen such megamergers, such as Michigan and California, are often left to wrestle with the complex question of how to respond, given the likelihood of higher prices for their residents.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are reviewing public comments on draft merger guidelines designed to crack down on mergers in multiple sectors, including health care. It’s not yet clear if or how cross-market hospital mergers within a state could be affected. Still, the draft says consolidation should not “entrench or extend a dominant position” by extending into “new markets.”

But such cross-market mergers aren’t quite a textbook case of a monopoly. When hospitals have bought up local rivals, knocking out their competition, federal regulators have intervened to block these traditional mergers to protect patients from the resulting loss of competition. In recent years, they helped stop proposed mergers in New Jersey, Utah, and Rhode Island. The thinking is that without local competition, prices increase and the quality of care decreases.

It’s harder to prove how cross-market mergers, like the one planned in Missouri, reduce competition if the hospitals do not operate within a single market, said Chris Garmon, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, who researches hospital mergers. Regulators would have to prove the mergers don’t just raise prices but also run afoul of the law by suppressing competition.

“That’s why we haven’t seen a cross-market merger challenge yet. It’s because it’s hard to tell the story of why this would be a problem,” he said.

The Federal Trade Commission did not answer questions from KFF Health News on its broader strategy around such deals or the BJC-Saint Luke’s merger. Whether an investigation is underway is not public information, said Mitchell Katz, an agency spokesperson.

After the FTC didn’t stop cross-market hospital mergers in California and Michigan, those states landed poles apart in handling the deals. California won concessions after challenging a deal, while Michigan did not intervene.

The FTC did closely examine the 2020 deal in Michigan between Spectrum Health, based in Grand Rapids, and the Detroit area’s Beaumont Health. Still, it ultimately didn’t oppose the marriage that created the state’s largest hospital chain, Corewell Health, with 22 hospitals in regions more than 150 miles apart.

The lack of intervention frustrated some, including Bret Jackson, CEO of the Economic Alliance for Michigan, a nonprofit that helps employers wrangle health costs. Spectrum was already the more expensive operator, said Jackson. He worries Beaumont prices will rise to match Spectrum’s once the insurance contracts with the individual hospital systems expire.

“They’re not going to want to take a pay cut,” Jackson said of Spectrum. “We’re really concerned about it.”

Jackson said that he was already fed up with rising hospital prices and that so are the automotive companies and laborers he represents. Health costs consume about 10% of a typical U.S. family’s income.

Ellen Bristol, a Corewell Health spokesperson, did not address KFF Health News’ questions about patient costs but said that the collaboration is improving quality statewide and creating efficiencies that help the company navigate economic headwinds.

Even though regulators did not step in, FTC staffers and Michigan’s Department of the attorney General volleyed emails back and forth for months, according to communications obtained by KFF Health News through a public records request from the state.

The FTC asked the attorney general’s office to connect its staffers to employers and state officials, plus provide information and data on the health care landscape in the state, the emails show. The FTC interviewed executives from BorgWarner, an automotive supplier, and CMS Energy, a utility company.

Jackson said he, too, was interviewed by the FTC, which he said was less interested in his thoughts on the deal than in Michigan’s market dynamics.

Story continues below video

It’s hard to glean much from the FTC’s assessment of the merger because many of the emails the state supplied to KFF Health News are redacted. But they do illustrate what information and which people the FTC consulted to reach a decision.

The emails also suggest state officials were made aware of the FTC’s findings. On the evening of Jan. 13, 2022, an assistant AG sent a lengthy email to Michigan attorney General Dana Nessel about the FTC’s review of possible antitrust implications, according to the subject line. In the version provided to KFF Health News, though, the entire email — except for the greeting and the signature — was blacked out.

The next day, other emails show, hospital officials began discussing final language with the AG’s office for a press release announcing the deal would soon close.

Michigan did not move to block the deal or investigate further. Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for Nessel, a Democrat, said the deal fell outside the authority of her office, further frustrating Jackson, of the Economic Alliance for Michigan.

“We need to give state regulators the tools to at least assess mergers in the health care system,” Jackson said.

Nessel’s position is not the attitude taken in all states. A 2020 merger agreement in California between Huntington Hospital in Pasadena and Cedars-Sinai Health System, with its flagship hospital in Los Angeles, attracted the attention of then-state attorney General Xavier Becerra, who imposed conditions, such as price caps to protect consumers.

Becerra, a Democrat who is now Health and Human Services secretary, had argued the cross-market merger would lead to higher prices.

Employers relied on having both Cedars-Sinai and Huntington Hospital in their networks to ensure adequate access to all employees scattered across the massive Los Angeles region — with a population larger than that of most states — which California officials said has several distinct markets serving patients. If the two were to combine, employers would have to accept price hikes to maintain access to both entities, according to an analysis the AG’s office commissioned. Health systems can “threaten to create important holes in a health plan’s provider network,” the analysis said, by refusing to include all hospitals, giving the system greater leverage to extract higher prices from the health plan.

Cedars-Sinai and Huntington sued the AG over the conditions imposed on the merger.

Ultimately, the parties settled on revised conditions, which included a 10-year ban on all-or-nothing contracting with insurers and a cap on price increases for five years.

The settlement allowed Cedars-Sinai to expand access while reflecting a shared goal of “keeping healthcare affordable,” said Duke Helfand, a spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai. Still, it was considered a win for antitrust enforcers, with implications that could reverberate across the country, some health economists said.

In Missouri, the key question is whether state officials will intervene. attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, is reviewing the merger, which requires his office’s approval before it can close, said Madeline Sieren, a spokesperson for the AG.

Neither BJC nor Saint Luke’s answered questions from KFF Health News about potential price increases or plans to improve quality. The hospitals have estimated the merged system will generate annual revenue topping $10 billion.

The Missouri systems ought to explain how this merger will benefit patients by lowering costs and improving quality, Garmon said.

“Whether they actually do them or not depends on whether they actually have the incentive to do them,” Garmon said.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Who polices hospitals merging across markets? States give different answers | Local News appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

By the Editorial Board

Where were three successive Missouri attorneys general as a medical insurance entity here was allegedly ripping off its customers all over the country for years? Federal authorities earlier this year finally shut down the Missouri-based Medical Cost Sharing Inc. But complaints about the company had come to the state attorney general’s office as early as 2017, when Josh Hawley held the post. Those complaints elicited vague assurances that Hawley’s office was “mediating” the issue. Two attorneys general later, the response is the same shrug-off.

Perhaps Hawley and his successor, Eric Schmitt, were both too busy with national ideological crusades designed to get them both to the U.S. Senate. Current attorney General Andrew Bailey — apparently having learned well from his fellow Republican predecessors — is now busy meddling with school policies that don’t even fall under his purview but are great outrage fodder for the right.

People are also reading…

As The Kansas City Star reported, Medical Cost Sharing Inc. was essentially a health insurance company. Members paid premiums in exchange for the promise that any future medical bills would be covered — but under the auspices of a Christian-focused nonprofit.

The Justice Department alleges that, using various excuses, the organization routinely refused to pay claims for long-time members who had in some cases been paying as much as $750 a month in premiums for years. Many were left holding five-figure medical bills as the company’s owners pocketed millions. Following FBI raids of the company in December, a judge in January issued an injunction freezing the company’s finances pending further investigation.

The allegations, around for years, sound custom-made for action from the Missouri attorney general, the state’s top legal official. But Hawley, who won the office in 2016 with a campaign decrying “ladder-climbing” by politicians, was busy climbing toward the Senate (in large part, ironically enough, by joining a partisan lawsuit against the federal government that would have limited Missourians’ health care options).

After Hawley left for Washington halfway through his term, Schmitt stepped in and began filing showy lawsuits against Missouri school districts, China and others over pandemic issues, while doing nothing substantive to confront the alleged insurance fraud happening under his nose. Now that Schmitt, too, has ladder-climbed to the Senate, Bailey is directing the power of his office at non-issues like a silly controversy over a drag show during a school diversity event in Columbia.

As for the fraud victims, Bailey’s office says he’d “be happy to look into their specific complaints.” How big of him.

So it took the feds to do the job that three Republican state attorneys general couldn’t be bothered with, because they were too busy feeding red meat to the base. What a perfect illustration of how ill-served Missourians are by an important office that seems more focused on electioneering than upholding the law.

Have you ever wanted to submit a letter to the Editorial Board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? Learn how in just a few simple steps, then use this form.

Catch the latest in Opinion

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Three state attorneys general stoked partisan flames, ignoring signs of fraud appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

By the Editorial Board

Where were three successive Missouri attorneys general as a medical insurance entity here was allegedly ripping off its customers all over the country for years? Federal authorities earlier this year finally shut down the Missouri-based Medical Cost Sharing Inc. But complaints about the company had come to the state attorney general’s office as early as 2017, when Josh Hawley held the post. Those complaints elicited vague assurances that Hawley’s office was “mediating” the issue. Two attorneys general later, the response is the same shrug-off.

Perhaps Hawley and his successor, Eric Schmitt, were both too busy with national ideological crusades designed to get them both to the U.S. Senate. Current attorney General Andrew Bailey — apparently having learned well from his fellow Republican predecessors — is now busy meddling with school policies that don’t even fall under his purview but are great outrage fodder for the right.

People are also reading…

• Atlantic 10 Conference basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info
• St. Louis Battlehawks’ trainer Ben Siegfried dies
• Teachers leave classrooms after safety concerns at McCluer High in Florissant
• Editorial: Cold-blooded killer of two gets a 15-year sentence. Justice, Kim Gardner style.
• Illinois coach Brad Underwood reacts to Bill Self health news — ‘puts this in perspective’
• Feds probe St. Louis-area church, nonprofit that claimed millions in federal food aid
• Missouri attorney general subpoenas case dismissal list as part of Kim Gardner probe
• Mizzou’s Dennis Gates on senior day moment with Isiaih Mosley: ‘I’m by my players’ side every day’
• Big Ten basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info, scores, results
• How new CBA shapes chances of now-injured Jordan Walker starting season with Cardinals
• Runner shot on public trail in St. Charles County sues turkey hunter, state
• New rating system shows decline for Missouri schools as open enrollment gains support
• Poll shows low approval ratings for St. Louis circuit attorney, mayor
• Top trial attorney leaving St. Louis Circuit attorney Kim Gardner’s office
• 2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 others alive

As The Kansas City Star reported, Medical Cost Sharing Inc. was essentially a health insurance company. Members paid premiums in exchange for the promise that any future medical bills would be covered — but under the auspices of a Christian-focused nonprofit.

The Justice Department alleges that, using various excuses, the organization routinely refused to pay claims for long-time members who had in some cases been paying as much as $750 a month in premiums for years. Many were left holding five-figure medical bills as the company’s owners pocketed millions. Following FBI raids of the company in December, a judge in January issued an injunction freezing the company’s finances pending further investigation.

The allegations, around for years, sound custom-made for action from the Missouri attorney general, the state’s top legal official. But Hawley, who won the office in 2016 with a campaign decrying “ladder-climbing” by politicians, was busy climbing toward the Senate (in large part, ironically enough, by joining a partisan lawsuit against the federal government that would have limited Missourians’ health care options).

After Hawley left for Washington halfway through his term, Schmitt stepped in and began filing showy lawsuits against Missouri school districts, China and others over pandemic issues, while doing nothing substantive to confront the alleged insurance fraud happening under his nose. Now that Schmitt, too, has ladder-climbed to the Senate, Bailey is directing the power of his office at non-issues like a silly controversy over a drag show during a school diversity event in Columbia.

As for the fraud victims, Bailey’s office says he’d “be happy to look into their specific complaints.” How big of him.

So it took the feds to do the job that three Republican state attorneys general couldn’t be bothered with, because they were too busy feeding red meat to the base. What a perfect illustration of how ill-served Missourians are by an important office that seems more focused on electioneering than upholding the law.

Have you ever wanted to submit a letter to the Editorial Board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? Learn how in just a few simple steps, then use this form.

Catch the latest in Opinion

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Three state attorneys general stoked partisan flames, ignoring signs of fraud appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

By the Editorial Board

Where were three successive Missouri attorneys general as a medical insurance entity here was allegedly ripping off its customers all over the country for years? Federal authorities earlier this year finally shut down the Missouri-based Medical Cost Sharing Inc. But complaints about the company had come to the state attorney general’s office as early as 2017, when Josh Hawley held the post. Those complaints elicited vague assurances that Hawley’s office was “mediating” the issue. Two attorneys general later, the response is the same shrug-off.

Perhaps Hawley and his successor, Eric Schmitt, were both too busy with national ideological crusades designed to get them both to the U.S. Senate. Current attorney General Andrew Bailey — apparently having learned well from his fellow Republican predecessors — is now busy meddling with school policies that don’t even fall under his purview but are great outrage fodder for the right.

People are also reading…

• Atlantic 10 Conference basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info
• Teachers leave classrooms after safety concerns at McCluer High in Florissant
• St. Louis Battlehawks’ trainer Ben Siegfried dies
• Editorial: Cold-blooded killer of two gets a 15-year sentence. Justice, Kim Gardner style.
• Illinois coach Brad Underwood reacts to Bill Self health news — ‘puts this in perspective’
• Missouri attorney general subpoenas case dismissal list as part of Kim Gardner probe
• Feds probe St. Louis-area church, nonprofit that claimed millions in federal food aid
• Mizzou’s Dennis Gates on senior day moment with Isiaih Mosley: ‘I’m by my players’ side every day’
• Big Ten basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info, scores, results
• Runner shot on public trail in St. Charles County sues turkey hunter, state
• New rating system shows decline for Missouri schools as open enrollment gains support
• Poll shows low approval ratings for St. Louis circuit attorney, mayor
• How new CBA shapes chances of now-injured Jordan Walker starting season with Cardinals
• Top trial attorney leaving St. Louis Circuit attorney Kim Gardner’s office
• 2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 others alive

As The Kansas City Star reported, Medical Cost Sharing Inc. was essentially a health insurance company. Members paid premiums in exchange for the promise that any future medical bills would be covered — but under the auspices of a Christian-focused nonprofit.

The Justice Department alleges that, using various excuses, the organization routinely refused to pay claims for long-time members who had in some cases been paying as much as $750 a month in premiums for years. Many were left holding five-figure medical bills as the company’s owners pocketed millions. Following FBI raids of the company in December, a judge in January issued an injunction freezing the company’s finances pending further investigation.

The allegations, around for years, sound custom-made for action from the Missouri attorney general, the state’s top legal official. But Hawley, who won the office in 2016 with a campaign decrying “ladder-climbing” by politicians, was busy climbing toward the Senate (in large part, ironically enough, by joining a partisan lawsuit against the federal government that would have limited Missourians’ health care options).

After Hawley left for Washington halfway through his term, Schmitt stepped in and began filing showy lawsuits against Missouri school districts, China and others over pandemic issues, while doing nothing substantive to confront the alleged insurance fraud happening under his nose. Now that Schmitt, too, has ladder-claimed to the Senate, Bailey is directing the power of his office at non-issues like a silly controversy over a drag show during a school diversity event in Columbia.

As for the fraud victims, Bailey’s office says he’d “be happy to look into their specific complaints” How big of him.

So it took the feds to do the job that three Republican state attorneys general couldn’t be bothered with, because they were too busy feeding red meat to the base. What a perfect illustration of how ill-served Missourians are by an important office that seems more focused on electioneering than upholding the law.

Have you ever wanted to submit a letter to the Editorial Board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? Learn how in just a few simple steps, then use this form.

Catch the latest in Opinion

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Three state attorneys general stoked partisan flames, ignoring signs of fraud appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

By the Editorial Board

Where were three successive Missouri attorneys general as a medical insurance entity here was allegedly ripping off its customers all over the country for years? Federal authorities earlier this year finally shut down the Missouri-based Medical Cost Sharing Inc. But complaints about the company had come to the state attorney general’s office as early as 2017, when Josh Hawley held the post. Those complaints elicited vague assurances that Hawley’s office was “mediating” the issue. Two attorneys general later, the response is the same shrug-off.

Perhaps Hawley and his successor, Eric Schmitt, were both too busy with national ideological crusades designed to get them both to the U.S. Senate. Current attorney General Andrew Bailey — apparently having learned well from his fellow Republican predecessors — is now busy meddling with school policies that don’t even fall under his purview but are great outrage fodder for the right.

People are also reading…

• Atlantic 10 Conference basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info
• Teachers leave classrooms after safety concerns at McCluer High in Florissant
• Editorial: Cold-blooded killer of two gets a 15-year sentence. Justice, Kim Gardner style.
• Illinois coach Brad Underwood reacts to Bill Self health news — ‘puts this in perspective’
• Feds probe St. Louis-area church, nonprofit that claimed millions in federal food aid
• Missouri attorney general subpoenas case dismissal list as part of Kim Gardner probe
• Mizzou’s Dennis Gates on senior day moment with Isiaih Mosley: ‘I’m by my players’ side every day’
• St. Louis Battlehawks’ trainer Ben Siegfried dies
• Big Ten basketball tournament 2023 bracket, schedule, game times, TV info, scores, results
• Runner shot on public trail in St. Charles County sues turkey hunter, state
• New rating system shows decline for Missouri schools as open enrollment gains support
• Poll shows low approval ratings for St. Louis circuit attorney, mayor
• Top trial attorney leaving St. Louis Circuit attorney Kim Gardner’s office
• 2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 others alive
• St. Louis’ Stifel sues breakaway Indianapolis office; says it staged a ‘coup’

As The Kansas City Star reported, Medical Cost Sharing Inc. was essentially a health insurance company. Members paid premiums in exchange for the promise that any future medical bills would be covered — but under the auspices of a Christian-focused nonprofit.

The Justice Department alleges that, using various excuses, the organization routinely refused to pay claims for long-time members who had in some cases been paying as much as $750 a month in premiums for years. Many were left holding five-figure medical bills as the company’s owners pocketed millions. Following FBI raids of the company in December, a judge in January issued an injunction freezing the company’s finances pending further investigation.

The allegations, around for years, sound custom-made for action from the Missouri attorney general, the state’s top legal official. But Hawley, who won the office in 2016 with a campaign decrying “ladder-climbing” by politicians, was busy climbing toward the Senate (in large part, ironically enough, by joining a partisan lawsuit against the federal government that would have limited Missourians’ health care options).

After Hawley left for Washington halfway through his term, Schmitt stepped in and began filing showy lawsuits against Missouri school districts, China and others over pandemic issues, while doing nothing substantive to confront the alleged insurance fraud happening under his nose. Now that Schmitt, too, has ladder-claimed to the Senate, Bailey is directing the power of his office at non-issues like a silly controversy over a drag show during a school diversity event in Columbia.

As for the fraud victims, Bailey’s office says he’d “be happy to look into their specific complaints” How big of him.

So it took the feds to do the job that three Republican state attorneys general couldn’t be bothered with, because they were too busy feeding red meat to the base. What a perfect illustration of how ill-served Missourians are by an important office that seems more focused on electioneering than upholding the law.

Have you ever wanted to submit a letter to the Editorial Board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch? Learn how in just a few simple steps, then use this form.

Catch the latest in Opinion

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Three state attorneys general stoked partisan flames, ignoring signs of fraud appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman

OKLAHOMA CITY — Two attorneys who made millions of dollars representing the state in legal actions against opioid companies have been fired.

In a sharply worded letter, Oklahoma’s new attorney general terminated the contract with Michael Burrage and Reggie Whitten on Feb. 14.

“While your efforts under the Contract have certainly succeeded in enriching yourselves far beyond what you deserve, those efforts have fallen far short of delivering the results that Oklahomans are entitled to receive,” attorney General Gentner Drummond wrote.

Their Oklahoma City-based law firm, Whitten Burrage, will pocket over $34 million in fees under the arrangement, according to the letter.

The attorneys said Monday they are very proud of the work that helped the state recover more than $900 million in settlements to fight the opioid crisis.

People are also reading…

“Our Contract complied with Oklahoma law and we fully performed the services provided for in the Contract,” they said. “Courts have approved our fees multiple times and found them to be fair, reasonable and compliant with both the Contract and Oklahoma law.”

The termination of the contract was expected because Drummond criticized it when he first ran for attorney general in 2018 against Mike Hunter.

Drummond denounced the no-bid contract at the time as a political payoff to campaign donors. He also complained there was no limit on how much the attorneys could make.

“Opioid crisis victims lose. Taxpayers lose. Mike Hunter’s political cronies win millions,” a narrator said in a TV ad. “It’s time to stop insider deals.”

In his letter, Drummond wrote: “I was not the only Oklahoman to find the whole arrangement objectionable. The Legislature and Governor wisely took action to ensure that such a back-room deal could not be struck again.

“What should have been common sense then is law now.”

Whitten and Burrage, a former federal judge, turned for help in the litigation to a Texas-based law firm, Nix Patterson. It also made millions of dollars for its efforts.

The last attorney general, John O’Connor, praised the outside attorneys in a news release Jan. 4 “for their professionalism, hard work and dedication over the past five years.”

Oklahoma reached a number of settlements in its opioid litigation, most notably in 2019 when Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, agreed to pay $270 million.

It also won a trial against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries. The pharmaceutical giant in 2019 was ordered to pay the state $465 million to combat the opioid crisis.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court threw out that verdict, though, two years later. Justices in a 5-1 decision found the company should not have been found liable for the opioid epidemic under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law.

In his letter, Drummond noted outside attorneys got $52.5 million in fees out of the Purdue settlement.

“Your firm’s staggering share of this settlement was over $16 million,” he wrote. “Had the Contract implemented even a 15% cap, as has been done in other similar opioid settlements, Oklahoma citizens would have benefited from an additional $12 million to fight the present and continuing effects of opioid addiction.”

He also blamed Whitten and Burrage for the loss at the Supreme Court in the Johnson & Johnson litigation.

“Your misguided efforts to hold Johnson & Johnson liable for its role in the opioid crisis solely through an untested use of Oklahoma’s public nuisance doctrine resulted in the squandering of a multi-million-dollar recovery for the State,” he wrote.

“Your firm had an obligation to provide competent representation, but by stretching the limits of settled law as the only foundation for recovery, you clearly erred and, in turn, failed in your obligations. In short, I believe that you cut corners for a quick pay day.”

He also complained the attorneys made an “unconscionable” deal with O’Connor on Jan. 6 to secure additional funding from a settlement that was “not negotiated by your firm.”

Drummond attached to his letter a Jan. 6 article from The Wall Street Journal about Burrage’s purchase of three condominiums last year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for $13.45 million.

“It is evident that each of you personally benefitted from the excessively profitable payment provisions of the Contract that I am terminating,” he wrote.

In their statement to The Oklahoman, Whitten and Burrage said they voluntarily waived substantial fees and expenses so the state would have more money for the opioid fight.

They said the more than $900 million in settlements put Oklahoma in the top 10 of all states in per-capita recovery. They said the dedication to the fight in Oklahoma “paved the way for leaders across the country to recover billions for their own states.”

“The State’s settlement with Purdue was groundbreaking. Four years later, Oklahoma is still the only state to have ever received a penny from Purdue.”

They said they remain available to help the state if and when called upon.

Hunter in 2018 said he picked Whitten and Burrage because they were two of the state’s most successful lawyers. He also said they were committed to the opioid fight because of personal tragedies.

“They are pouring their hearts and souls into this case because they want the deaths of their loved ones to mean something,” said Hunter, who resigned in 2021.

Whitten and Burrage did not get paid anything for their months of work against Johnson & Johnson because the Supreme Court threw out the verdict.

January 2023: Oklahoma’s fight against the opioid epidemic reaches new settlements worth $226 million

On January 4, Oklahoma agreed to settlements with three major pharmacy chains and an opioid manufacturer. ABC News reports that the settlements total over $226 million.

Be the first to know

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Source link


Attorneys and law firms can elevate their online presence with professionally written content from SEO Content Writing Services monthly plan. Our team of experienced writers specializes in crafting blog posts, articles, and written content that accurately reflect the expertise and knowledge of our clients in the legal field. With a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of legal terminology, we provide high-quality writing that helps our clients stand out from their competition and engage with their target audience. Trust SEO Content Writing Services for one time article writing or monthly written content to handle all of your written content needs and showcase your law firm's expertise.
If you need written content, blog posts, or articles professionally written for your website, we can help. Go HERE to find out more.
or email us here: myseowritingservices@gmail.com
To find out more about our article writing or blog post services, fill out the form, thank you.

Name *

First

Last

Business Name

Email *

What type of articles are you intertested in?

Submit

The post Oklahoma AG fires outside attorneys from opioid crisis litigation appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.