Health Care Provider Liability under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.)

By Cliff Holmes, Esq.

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Upgrading Your Military Discharge after Adverse Action

Many recently discharged service members – especially those separated administratively with an Other Than Honorable (OTH) conditions discharge – are led to believe that their discharge will be automatically upgraded to Honorable (H) after six (6) months.  This is one of the most prevalent and widely held false beliefs within the military community, perpetuated by rumor that has been circulated throughout the military for years.  Victims of this widely spread rumor often suffer significant consequences as an adverse discharge carries with it many consequences that will have repercussions for years.  Discharge upgrades are never “automatic.”  It is much better  for a former service member to take proactive steps in an effort to obtain a discharge upgrade rather than making those efforts only after being rejected for federal employment or being turned down for a loan.   

First and foremost, in order to obtain an upgrade, a service member must request the discharge within fifteen (15) years of from the date of discharge.  In order to obtain an upgrade a former service member must convince the Discharge Review Board that his/her discharge was either (1) “inequitable” or (2) “improper.” 

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There are no specific requirements to become a sports agent, (other than having an athlete as a client), however in recent years a number of states have started requiring sports agents to register and similarly the NCAA has imposed some restrictions on agents and what they can do. That said, most sports agents are lawyers and have some financial background, as ultimately, law and business are two of the most important aspects of a sports agents duties and they are the two parts of the job that are the easiest to mess up. If you do become a sports agent and you are not a lawyer - get a lawyer on your team immediately, before your client signs a contract.

A sports agent's primary function is to negotiate contracts for the athlete and as such must be intimately familiar with the typical terms for such contracts and the status of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) for the particular athletes sport and organization. The CBAs change every few years so the agent has to stay very informed. Agents however, do more than handle contracts and promote the athlete. An agent is the athlete's advocate in a special position of trust with the duty of protecting the athletes present and future interests, including life after sports. We have all probably heard the joke about the meaning of the acronym NFL as "Not for Long." The agent has to consider this when the athlete does not and thus help prepare a financial plan and perhaps second career for the athlete for life after sports. I think an agent should consider educating their client as a primary responsibility, in addition to the primary responsibilities of negotiating individual and collective contracts for the athlete. Education should include:

• media issues and how to deal with media


• the business of being an athlete, including non-sports activities that leverage the athletes sports career (endorsements, speaking engagements, community events, charities etc.)


• financial training on investments and handling money responsibly (retirement, not making bad investment decisions or loaning money to the wrong people)



An agent has to protect his or her client in every way possible while keeping that client informed, educated and in the loop.

Tom Dunlap presented a seminar on copyright and copyright clearance for independent film at the Advent Film Workshop on June 23, 2011. For more information on the workshop see http://www.adventfilmgroup.com/Workshop.html. For a copy of the presentation click here.

Independent films can often be the most economically efficient route to take when it comes to raising money for film production; however, there are several factors at play that determine just exactly how efficient. Producers just starting out may not be aware of the most crucial factors affecting film production such as tax credits (which vary by state) and Section 181 of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008. Including these important factors into the budget can help film producers distribute funds in the most effective manner possible.

First, producers should understand the fundamentals of state tax credits and production incentives. Tax credits are awarded because filming a movie in a certain location promotes tourism and creates jobs in that location. This is beneficial for the state economy and thus is considered highly valuable. It seems obvious that the first state to consider would be California. California offers a fairly generous tax credit to independent film producers that totals 25% tax credit for 75%+ production days or the entire production budget. This is compared to 20% tax credit available for feature films.

For independent film makers on a budget, it would be wise to look into filming in Ohio. Ohio is a good choice because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the state has offered more than $29 million in tax credits to film productions and has led to the hiring of more than 9,000 Ohioans. One example of a film currently in production in the state is Over the Wall, which is currently receiving $1.6 million in tax credits for the production. The details are best sorted out by an experienced representative, such as Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, which has been involved in the production of several independent films. The firm has dealt specifically with aspects of film production such as Screen Actors Guild (SAG) contracts, distribution agreements, general financing, etc.

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) certainly doesn't make it easy to file a government bid protest. The organization provides a forum for offerers and bidders who claim that a DOD government contract has been awarded in violation of federal laws and regulations. The GAO will ultimately make the final decision on whether the protest claim is valid. The filing process itself is fairly comprehensive and easily executable; however, it's the strict timelines that tend to trip people up more often than not. Essentially, the GAO is not messing around. With the set timeline, a few seconds can mean the difference between a filed case and a denied one. If you want to file a government contract bid protest, you will have to adhere to the strict deadlines set without risking a single folly in order to be successful.

Why do companies file? There are three main reasons:

• Financial need to retain or obtain the work
• Unfair treatment during
• Award to an undeserving or unqualified competitor

The individual or group protesting must file the protest within 10 days of identifying the basis for the protest. In a situation where a requested and required debriefing is necessary, the GAO will extend the deadline 10 days after the date of the first debriefing session. The entire filing process takes approximately 100 days before a final GAO decision is made. Roughly 25 days after the protest is filed, the GAO contacts the agency involved to obtain what's called an Agency Report. The Agency Report must be filed by the agency 30 days after this initial contact. Additional documents may be used if a protester objects to the information in the Agency Report. If there is an objection, the protester must file their personal "comments" about the report within 10 days of receiving it or the protest may be dismissed entirely. If the GAO requires more information, they may adjust the timelines as long as the process in its entirety still falls within the 100 day limit. However, this overall extension doesn't imply an extension of the original 10 day limit for filing comments.

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Introduction & Issues Presented 

DNA fingerprinting is a method used primarily by forensic scientists to compare fragments of DNA in order to identify an individual.  Scientists can use blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair samples, extracting DNA, to identify a matching DNA of an individual. 

DNA profiling can be used for a number of purposes, including:

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At the Sports and Entertainment Law CLE Symposium held on Friday, April 1st, 2011 on Widener Law’s Delaware campus. . . . The TV and Film Panel examined the impact of piracy on the film industry as Thomas M. Dunlap, Esq. of Dunlap, Grubb, & Weaver and Barbara Mudge, President of Worldwide Film Entertainment, LLC, presented The Scope of Illegal Downloading and Film Piracy. Read more here.

Attorney Tom Dunlap of Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver attended the Loudoun Chef's Collaborative Gourmet Dinner which raised more than $6,300 for the Loudoun Community Free Clinic which provides health care for the uninsured residents of Loudoun County. Tom has been a Board Member and sponsor of Free Clinic events for over eight years and has served as the founder and Chairman of the Free clinic's Annual 10K Run, more on the dinner here.