Author: JGL Law

ROCKVILLE, MD — Joseph Greenwald & Laake P.A. is pleased to announce that Rama Taib-Lopez has been elevated to Senior Counsel.

“We are delighted to promote Rama to this highly responsible position,” said Burt Kahn, Managing Director. “In addition to her deep understanding of family law in general, she is one of a small number of attorneys who is fully versed in the interplay between family law and federal immigration laws. She is a dedicated advocate, counselor and litigator who will go above and beyond to ensure that her clients’ rights are enforced and protected to the maximum extent allowable under the law.”

Rama Taib-Lopez is a member of the firm’s Family Law practice group. She focuses on representing people throughout Maryland in complex family law disputes and related immigration matters that arise involving non-citizen spouses and special immigrant juveniles. She has extensive courtroom and alternative dispute resolution experience in every type of family law dispute and immigration proceeding her clients may encounter, with a particular focus on divorce, alimony, and child custody and visitation.

Rama earned her J.D. in 2010 from the University of Maryland School of Law and in 2007 received a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland.

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake​

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

My previous blogpost talked about an opportunity to get an extra $250-$500 in your child’s 529 courtesy of the State of Maryland.  The deadline for applying to that program, “Save4College State Contribution Program.”, was May 31, 2019.  If you missed the opportunity to participate this year, set a reminder for next year! 

Divorce is expensive, and individuals with significant student loan debt feel the financial pressure from all directions.  For many, a divorce means supporting two households on the same income that previously supported just one. It can also significantly change what you are paying in taxes.  The State of Maryland has another opportunity to up your tax return in 2019.  

If you have student loan debt, find out if you qualify for the Maryland Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit. You can check the Maryland Higher Education Commission website to see if you qualify for the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit. The application period opens on July 1, 2019 and runs through September 15, 2019. If you qualify you could get up to a $5,000 tax credit on your Maryland State return.  If you owe less than the credit, you’ll get a tax refund in the amount of the difference (i.e. if you owe the State $500 in taxes, you will get a $4,500 refund on your state taxes).

This credit has some pretty specific requirements so visit their website to see if you qualify, and consult with a tax professional to determine if this credit is your best option. Generally you need to have incurred at least $20,000 in undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt, and still owe at least $5,000 on that debt when applying for the tax credit. You then have to submit your application to the Maryland Higher Education Commission by September 15, 2019. Don’t wait until the last minute to get this one in – you need to submit your loan information, college transcript(s) and your income tax information with the application. Give yourself some time to get everything together. 

If you receive the credit you then must show that you repaid the amount of the credit in student loan payments within two years. If you fail to do this and/or submit proof of this, there will be a recapture of the credit back to the State. So if you receive a $500 credit, you must submit proof that you made at least $500 in payments to pay down the balance of the student loan debt. The only “proof” needed is a copy of a transaction log, listing the borrower and lender, that shows the amount paid to the lender. This last step can be easy to miss – just to be safe set yourself a reminder (or a couple) to mail it in. If you have questions about this program you should consult with a tax professional.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any discussion in this blog concerning tax or legal considerations is for information purposes only and not intended to serve as a formal tax opinion or otherwise as tax or legal advice.

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake is delighted to announce that it has named principal Jerry Miller to its Executive Committee.

Mr. Miller is a principal in the firm’s Business Services Group. He helps his clients, large and small, tackle the legal challenges of owning and operating a business, from choosing the correct corporate structure and working out a first lease, to advising seasoned entrepreneurs on a wide variety of complex business issues and, ultimately, helping clients transition their business to a succeeding generation of ownership.

“I am very pleased to serve on the firm’s Executive Committee,” Mr. Miller said. “I look forward to helping the firm move forward and face the challenges of practicing law in a new decade.”

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

First, it’s not like an episode of Law & Order Special Victims Unit, but it can be!

Over the course of my legal career I’ve had hundreds of clients call me before, during, and after meeting with Child Protective Services (“CPS”) investigators.  Without a doubt, a client that called me before speaking with CPS, came out much, much better for it … regardless of whether they had done anything at all based on a malicious report from a bitter spouse, something was misinterpreted, or they really had done something inappropriate and truly needed legal representation.

First, CPS has three (3) findings it will make at the conclusion of it’s investigation with substantial consequences:

At the completion of every CPS investigative response, a determination is made as to whether the reported abuse or neglect is “indicated” or “unsubstantiated” or “ruled out”. Anyone believed responsible for an “indicated” or unsubstantiated” finding of child abuse or neglect is entered into a central confidential state database that includes the names of all individuals who have been named as responsible in an indicted or unsubstantiated finding as well as a person in an unsubstantiated finding who, while not named as a person responsible, is associated with the finding. These individuals are eligible to seek an appeal of the finding. To apply for appeal, the individual must complete the appeal form that is provided at the completion of the investigation and return it to the address noted on the form within the required timeframe.

For unsubstantiated findings the first level of appeal is a meeting with the local department supervisor. If not satisfied at the conclusion of the first meeting, the appeal moves to the Office of Administrative Hearing for a formal court hearing.

For indicated findings the Appeal Request is made directly to the Office of Administrative Hearing.

 http://dhs.maryland.gov/child-protective-services/appealing-child-protective-services-findings/

It may seem burdensome to hire an attorney for those who ultimately came out of the process without a finding of fact or “ruled out.”  But, what typically transpires is those individuals believe they have nothing to hide and they enter this arena pitted against cynical, highly experienced investigators who routinely see abuse (and abusers) on a daily basis.  Meaning, it is much more common in their world and the actual abusers usually protest that they didn’t do anything – as the innocent client likely plans to do. 

What they soon learn is that they have been cross-examined, possibly coerced into a lie-detector test and made to look somewhat worried (at best) and possibly culpable (at worst) and now they feel they should contact a lawyer.  [Do they now have a reason to contact a lawyer?]  In essence, the innocent, unexperienced parent unnecessarily lengthened the process and increase his or her legal fees by not contacting an attorney initially.

First, CPS is intentionally ambiguous and vague when they contact you in every case, without exception, by design.  CPS will not tell you the basis of their initial meeting.  The reporter of information is confidential by state law.  The information they have received does not have to be disclosed to you, even if it is your own child, except to ask you questions.  Their only goal in the interview is to get information from you. 

Most clients are surprised (or shocked) to learn that CPS, the police officers, and sheriff’s department detectives may give you intentional misinformation or outright lies and it is legal for them to do so.  I have sat in interviews where they have made misrepresentations of what my client’s child said, claiming the child explicitly named the parent in order to see if the parent would confess.  Then asked, is your child a liar?  Did you raise your child to be dishonest?  Then why would she be so brave and come in here and tell us this?  It was heart breaking and excruciating.  Only afterwards did they share that she said no such thing. In addition to preparing my client, I was there as a moral support during a highly charged, emotional interview where he was berated and besieged. 

An attorney can defuse a CPS investigation quickly and expeditiously and, as the result, save clients the emotional stress, time away from his or her child(ren) and the additional legal expenses of an appeal of a full CPS investigation and (if it is not a favorable result) a criminal defense should CPS make a findings, and other legal fees such as custody modifications resulting from a CPS investigation.

Darin L. Rumer is a partner in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s Family Law practice group.  Mr. Rumer has successfully tried multiple divorce, custody and child support cases throughout the state of Maryland and routinely provides counsel to clients as they navigate a difficult and stressful time in their lives. Mr. Rumer routinely advises and represents clients in family law matters including child custody and divorce litigation, separation agreements, child support and alimony issues, property distribution issues, domestic violence, and other areas of family law.

Tax Day 2019 has passed and most people don’t even want to think about tax returns for another nine months.  If you’re going through, or recently went through, a divorce, filing taxes is one of the many simple things in your life that has changed.  You no longer get the tax benefits of filing as a married couple.  You are now filing single, with fewer or no dependents, might no longer have a mortgage interest deduction, etc.  This year we saw great change as the taxability of alimony completely changed, eliminating the one tax advantage (commonly known as the “divorce subsidy”) that the government provided to divorced couples. 

There are some things that divorced couples should know about, that can potentially put some money back in their pockets.  But it cannot wait until next year during tax time.  One must act now to take advantage of many programs. 

If you have children, there are multiple tax benefits attached to 529 plans.  If you are negotiating a child support agreement, consider having some support paid into a 529 on behalf of the minor child(ren).  That arrangement will allow the payor to deduct the amounts paid into the 529 on their Maryland Tax Return.  Think carefully about who will be the Account Holder of the 529.  The Account Holder of the 529 must be an adult – the child is only a beneficiary.  And the owner can change the Beneficiary at any time. 

This can also result in an added bonus to the child, if properly done.  Maryland has rolled out a program called “Save4College State Contribution Program.”  (https://maryland529.com/Save4College) Qualified applications can receive up to a $500 contribution from the State into their child’s 529 plan.  The Maryland 529 website lists several requirements for the program, including that the Account Holder’s Maryland taxable income cannot exceed the maximum household income range ($112,500 as an individual or $175,000 as a married couple filing jointly based on the prior year).  Further the account must have been opened after December 31, 2016 (you can open a new account).  The application only takes a couple minutes to complete, and applications must be turned in by May 31, 2019.  If you do participate in the program, and receive a State contribution, there are restrictions on your ability to take a deduction on your State taxes for your contributions. 

If you have questions about this program you should consult with a tax professional. Having an extra $500 growing in your child’s 529 can help give you piece of mind about their future.  If you are more concerned about your student loans than a 529, but especially if you’re concerned about student loans and 529s, there is a Maryland tax credit that can get you up to a $5,000 refund.  The application period for that tax credit doesn’t even open until July 1, 2019 – so focus on the 529 first!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Any discussion in this blog concerning tax or legal considerations is for information purposes only and not intended to serve as a formal tax opinion or otherwise as tax or legal advice.

Represented two surgeons in a False Claims Act case alleging that a fellow surgeon received kickbacks by performing medically unnecessary spinal surgeries on elderly patients. After the government intervened in 2019, the large hospital system settled its portion of the case for over $20 million and entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government, requiring continuing federal compliance monitoring. After more litigation, the surgeon also settled, including a monetary fine and a disbarment from Medicare.

Washington DC – The 2019 edition of Washington DC, Super Lawyers magazine recently named twelve Joseph Greenwald & Laake, P.A. attorneys to its annual Washington DC, Super Lawyers lists.

The Washington DC, attorneys who made this year’s Super Lawyers list, including their primary practice areas as identified by Super Lawyers, are:

GREENBELT, MD –

• Andrew E. Greenwald – Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury
• Burt M. Kahn – Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury
• Jay P. Holland – Whistleblower, Labor & Employment, Civil Rights
• Steven M. Pavsner – Appellate, Civil Litigation, Medical Malpractice
• Timothy F. Maloney – Appellate, Civil Litigation, Civil Rights
• Walter E. Laake – Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury

ROCKVILLE, MD – 

• David M. Bulitt – Family Law, Alimony, Child Custody, Support and Visitiation 
• Jeffrey N. Greenblatt – Divorce, High Asset Divorce, Family Law
• P. Lindsay Parvis – Family Law, Alimony, Child Custody, Support and Visitiation 

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

About Joseph Greenwald & Laake

For more than 40 years, Joseph Greenwald & Laake has worked with individuals and businesses in Maryland and the District of Columbia, taking on the most complex of legal issues with sophisticated counsel and a personal touch. JGL serves clients in virtually all areas of the law.

On the weekend of April 27 and 28, 2019, many lawyers participated in the Maryland State Bar Association’s first Maryland Lawyers’ Day of Service. The MSBA teamed up with different bar associations throughout the State, including the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association, to give back to the community.

On Saturday, Maritza Carmona, as a member of the MSBA and MHBA, teamed up with several attorneys and Judge Cathy Serrette to give a “Know Your Rights” presentation to foster youth at Promise Place, which is in an emergency youth shelter in Prince George’s County.

“Everyone has certain basic rights, and ‘Know Your Rights’ presentations are a great way to educate the public about how to exercise them” said Ms. Carmona.

Ms. Carmona spoke about protections afforded under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. She also discussed how to handle interactions with law enforcement in various scenarios, such as if you are stopped by officers in a public place, your vehicle is pulled over, or officers show up at your residence. Ms. Carmona also spoke about the right to take videos and photographs during police encounters, and possible civil remedies that may be available if an individual has been subjected to police misconduct.

Last week, Ms. Carmona also participated in the Maryland Judiciary’s “Take your Son or Daughter to Work Day.” Ms. Carmona and several attorneys performed a mock trial of State v. Goldilocks for elementary school children at the Maryland Court of Appeals. The case focused on the allegations that Goldilocks entered the home of the Three Bears without permission, ate all the porridge, and broke Baby Bear’s chair. 

“Mock trials are a helpful tool to expose students to the court system.” The students served as jurors and Ms. Carmona served as defense counsel for Goldilocks. Luckily, the jury found in Goldilocks’ favor at the end!

Each year, the Maryland Court of Appeals establishes an aspirational goal of 50 hours of pro bono work for members of the Maryland Bar. “Volunteerism is a critical component of the legal profession and I’m glad to have the opportunity to give back to my community in different ways.” They are a variety of ways in which attorneys can volunteer. For example, attorneys may represent clients in pro bono cases, which means they do not charge for their services. Others may participate in legal clinics and provide legal advice to walk-in clients. Still others may give presentations to the public about their legal rights. The opportunities to volunteer are vast and limitless.

Ms. Carmona is a trial lawyer in the firm’s Civil Litigation practice group with strong experience in protecting the rights of victims in Maryland and the DC area who have suffered injustice resulting from a variety of civil rights violations, including police misconduct and excessive force.

           

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake partners Tim Maloney and Veronica Nannis were appointed as Liaison Counsel and Steering Committee plaintiffs’ counsel to represent the consumer class in the Marriott Data Breach Class Action.

The case is being litigated in federal court in Greenbelt. Maloney and Nannis were chosen to be part of a leadership team of 14 lawyers, from applications by dozens of law firms and over 300 highly qualified lawyers throughout the country.

Judge Paul Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, where the case is pending, appointed this leadership team, as well as others to lead cases against Marriott brought by financial institutions and shareholders. This is believed to be the largest data breach case to date, with potentially over 300 million class members.

More than 80 lawsuits were filed over the data breach, which Marriott International Inc. announced Nov. 30 and that compromised the personal data of 500 million guests of its Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide properties.

“We look forward to working with the other plaintiffs’ leadership counsel to bring about a fair result for the millions damaged by this data breach,” said Mr. Maloney as he and Ms. Nannis gear up help the consumer victims and hold Marriott accountable for its actions.

To read more click here.

This week, the Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis handed Joseph Greenwald & Laake’s Timothy Maloney and Alyse Prawde a victory for their client Albert’s Food Stores in a contentious contract dispute with Subway Development Corporation.

The dispute arose after Subway tried to terminate its long-standing contracts with Albert’s. Refusing to fold, Albert’s filed its own lawsuit seeking the Court’s intervention and injunctive relief. JGL argued in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County that the contract could not be terminated as Subway wanted. The trial court agreed with JGL. After the trial court opinion, Subway appealed to Maryland’s intermediate appellate court.

The Court of Special Appeals issued its opinion on April 22nd, concluding that there was no material breach by Albert’s and no basis for Subway to terminate its contracts. “Albert’s stood its ground. The Court was careful, deliberate and got this one right in favor of the little guy,” Maloney commented.

JGL is known for its civil litigation and appellate attorneys. Tim Maloney is a preeminent trial lawyer who has obtained millions of dollars in recoveries for his clients in a wide variety of matters, including civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower actions and high-stakes business litigation. He is a committed advocate for the public good who has held leadership roles with many civic and charitable organizations.

Alyse Prawde is a former judicial law clerk and an associate in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s Civil Litigation group who has significant appellate experience.

JGL attorneys, Darin Rumer & Rama Taib-Lopez are volunteers with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) and act as a resource for family law (and other) clients who are being served through the Human Trafficking Prevention Project taking the cases of survivors of human trafficking on a pro bono basis in the local Courts where JGL attorneys regularly practice law.  

The Human Trafficking Prevention Project is launching a campaign soon to highlight the intersectionality between human trafficking and the various areas of civil law that can impact a survivor’s ability to safely and successfully move forward with their lives.

Human trafficking is a horrible crime that exists in Maryland and affects all parts of the State. Three major airports, inexpensive bus transportation, train service along the east coast, large sporting events and disposable income makes Maryland an attractive destination for traffickers. We at JGL are glad to extend our support on this important issue.

Here are some links to resources and information, as well as a video from actual survivors of human trafficking, narrated by Mira Sorvino: https://youtu.be/BmmRTjoL3R0

Darin L. Rumer is a principal in the firm’s Family Law practice group who is dedicated to providing compassionate and strategic counsel to spouses, parents and children involved in stressful family disputes throughout Maryland and the Washington, DC area. He has deep trial, appellate and settlement negotiation experience in every type of emotionally-charged family controversy his clients may encounter. He can be reached at drumer@jgllaw.com

Rama Taib-Lopez represents individuals throughout Maryland in complex family law disputes and related immigration matters that often arise involving non-citizen spouses and special immigrant juveniles. She has extensive courtroom and alternative resolution experience in every type of family law dispute and immigration proceeding her clients may encounter. She can be reached at rtaiblopez@jgllaw.com

Hotlines

• BeFree Textline
  Text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE)
  Confidential, 24/7
• National Human Trafficking Hotline
  1-888-373-7888 (TTY: 711)
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

Websites

• Maryland State Police
• National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC)

Resources

• Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) website
• 2016 Human Trafficking Resource Directory (pdf via MHTTF)
• Workgroup to Study Safe Harbor Policy for Youth Victims of Human Trafficking
• Office for Victims of Crime “Faces of Human Trafficking” video series

Lawsuits Accused MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Surgeon of Performing Unnecessary Stent Surgeries and MedStar Health of Paying Unlawful Kickbacks

GREENBELT, MD – March 21, 2019 – MedStar Health Inc. and two of its hospitals in Baltimore, Md. have agreed to pay the United States $35 million dollars to resolve two qui tam lawsuits filed by two sets of relators. The lawsuits alleged that MedStar Union Memorial Hospital surgeon John Wang, M.D. performed medically unnecessary stent surgeries that should not have been billed to Medicare; and that MedStar paid kickbacks to a cardiology group in exchange for referrals. 

The whistleblower lawsuit alleging unnecessary stent procedures by Dr. Wang was filed by Towson, Md. based law firm, Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, and Greenbelt, Md. based law firm, Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A. That lawsuit was brought by former patients of Dr. Wang, and asserted that Dr. Wang, MedStar, and Union Memorial Hospital engaged in a practice of performing medically unnecessary coronary stent surgeries, and then submitted false claims for payment to Medicare for those procedures. 

“Coronary stent procedures are very serious and have inherent risk. They should never be performed on a patient whose medical condition does not require it,” said Jay P. Holland, a partner at Joseph, Greenwald & Laake and the lead attorney representing the whistleblowers in the case along with his partners Tim Maloney and Veronica Nannis. “The decision to perform any medical procedure, and especially a coronary procedure, should always be made based solely on the medical needs of the patient, and never on an illicit profit incentive,” added JGL’s Veronica Nannis, who along with Mr. Maloney and Mr. Holland has handled several high profile kickback cases in the past, including class actions and health care kickback qui tams.

The lawsuit alleged that symptoms and tests were fraudulently overstated in order to  justify the unnecessary stent procedure. The procedure should only be performed on patients who have a very high level of diagnosed stenosis – over 70% blockage of the arteries.

Attorney Michael Paul Smith, a partner at Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, said “the lawsuit our clients filed alleged that MedStar falsely represented the level of stenosis in patients, in order to justify performing unnecessary stent procedures, and bill Medicare for those procedures.” Smith further stated that “we are very pleased that the efforts of our clients put a stop to this dangerous practice and returned funds to the Government.”

The law firms worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore, led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roann Nichols and Matthew P. Phelps. “Participation from the private bar and the federal government made this case an exemplar of the kind of private-public partnership the False Claims Act is meant to foster,” Mr. Holland said. “We are grateful for the hard work put in by all of the government attorneys and agents who brought about this resolution.”

The other connected lawsuit settled by the Government was filed by Steve Simms, Bill Gately and Al Brault on behalf of their three heart surgeon / Relators – Drs. Lincoln, McDonald and Horneffer.

Jay Holland is a Principal with the Firm, and is Chair of the Firm’s Labor, Employment and Qui Tam practice. His False Claims Act cases have resulted in recoveries of over $630 Million for the United States. His recent publications include articles for The National Law Journal, Trial Magazine, DC Trial Lawyer, and the Maryland State Bar Association Employment Law Deskbook, and has been named a Super Lawyer in DC and Maryland for the last several years. He can be reached at jholland@jgllaw.com.

Veronica Nannis is a Principal with the Firm and serves as the Chair of the Firm’s civil litigation department. A Super Lawyer’s Rising Star in DC and Maryland for the last several years, she was also awarded the Maryland Association for Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 2011 with the team from Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. Recent publications include those for Law 360 and the The Daily Record. She can be reached at vnannis@jgllaw.com.

Tim Maloney is a preeminent trial lawyer who has obtained millions of dollars for his clients in a wide variety of complex matters, including civil rights, employment discrimination, class actions, and business litigation. He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Mr. Maloney has served on both the Md. Appellate Nominating Commission since 2007 and has been a member of the Ethics Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association. He has been named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine since 2008, and one of the Best Lawyers in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine in 2011. He has been a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2008. He can be reached at tmaloney@jgllaw.com.

Michael Paul Smith is an active trial lawyer whose practice concentrates on areas of complex civil litigation, including personal injury, class action consumer claims, individual claims against colleges and universities, products liability, medical malpractice, and business litigation. He also has numerous business clients to whom he provides business advice. Mr. Smith has successfully obtained tens of millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards in his litigation career. Mr. Smith serves on the legislative committee of the Maryland Association of Justice and lectures to other attorneys nationwide regarding trial techniques and skills. He can be reached at mpsmith@sgs-law.com.