Agency Must Pay Hospital’s Legal Fees

Appeal Dismissed in Medicaid Cutback Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 14, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

In this case involving a cutback in Medicaid services to a class of North Carolina recipients with severe developmental disabilities, the 4th Circuit dismisses an appeal of a preliminary injunction ordering the state Medicaid agency not to reduce services without a hearing; the state agency that administers the Medicaid program has not joined in this [...]

Nurse Aide Denied Certification

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 9, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge William G. Petty, Virginia Court of Appeals

On nurse aide’s appeal from the circuit court decision upholding the Virginia Board of Nursing, the Court of Appeals affirms denial of reinstatement of her Virginia certification nearly 11 years after she allowed it to expire following multiple findings of neglect and misappropriation of patient property; nurse did not appeal those findings and cannot circumvent [...]

‘Exhausted’ Litigant Exhausted His FOIA Remedy

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 7, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

Despite a statutory mandate requiring federal agencies to respond to FOIA requests and appeals within 20 working days, defendant Drug Enforcement Administration ultimately took two and one-half years to respond to plaintiff’s request for documents concerning the federal government’s regulation of the drug carisoprodol, and the 4th Circuit says the exhausted plaintiff has exhausted his [...]

State Gets Hearing Before Federal Fund Cut-Off

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

The 4th Circuit has jurisdiction to hear a state’s challenge to a the federal Department of Education’s refusal to waive the entire amount of money the state owed for failing to match federal special education funds with state funding; the State of South Carolina is entitled to notice and a hearing before the federal agency [...]

Court Won’t Review Security Clearance Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 3, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

An employee of a federal intelligence agency who alleges he lost his top-secret security clearance and his job after he married a Muslim woman cannot sue the agency for violation of his constitutional rights, reinstatement and back pay; the 4th Circuit says plaintiff was merely restating “speculative and conclusory” allegations of constitutional violations which the [...]

Agency Wins Provider Reimbursement Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 22, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge D. Arthur Kelsey, Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals affirms a decision requiring a mental health services provider under contract to receive Medicaid payments to reimburse DMAS for services provided by four employees who did not have properly documented qualifications. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services entered into an agreement with appellant Family Redirection Institute Inc. (FRI) to provide [...]

Restaurant Smoking Ban Applies to Hookah Lounge

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 16, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge Teresa M. Chafin, Virginia Court of Appeals

A hookah lounge that features onsite smoking of flavored tobacco through a hookah, but also sells food and beverages, is subject to state regulation under the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act, the Court of Appeals says. The Virginia Department of Health cited the restaurant for two noncritical violations of the VICAA: an individual was smoking [...]

Fibromyalgia Claimant Wins Remand

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 29, 2013
Tags: Administrative, Judge B. Waugh Crigler, U.S. District Court - Western District

The record does not support the administrative law judge’s finding that claimant, who suffers from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety disorder, degenerative disc disease and irritable bowel syndrome, was not credible in her account of her condition and limitations on her daily activities, and the magistrate judge for the Charlottesville U.S. District Court recommends granting [...]

Medicaid Recipients Win Injunction With Remand

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 14, 2013
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Administrative, Judge Henry F. Floyd

The 4th Circuit says a district court did not err in granting a preliminary injunction to a class of Medicaid recipients challenging the state legislature’s decision to limit their access to in-home Personal Care Services, but the case is remanded for the district court to spell out details – including the need for security – [...]