Category Archive for "Posts"

ROS partner, Lauren Wong, recently published an article entitled “Arbitral Non-Consent Sails Off into the Sunset in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana” in the American Bar Association’s Summer 2022 Edition of Labor and Employment Law. The article details the Supreme Court’s continued support of the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) policy favoring arbitration. Ms. Wong analyses the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), a California law created to address a deficit in California’s Labor Code.  PAGA contains a claim joinder mechanism which the Court found conflicts with the FAA by effectively coercing a party to arbitrate claims that the parties did not agree jointly to arbitrate.  Learn more about the Supreme Court’s decision and its impact on both employers’ and employees’ rights by reading Ms. Wong’s entire article, which is linked here.

On April 27, 2022, Matt Stephens presented “Know Notice of Lien” at the National Other Party Liability Group Annual Conference. The National Other Party Liability Group is an organization of professionals who manage other party liability activities in BlueCross BlueShield health plans across the nation.

On April 1, 2021, Matt Stephens presented “The Year of the Ox and A Big Year for Subrogation” for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota in a virtual training session.

On December 30, 2020, Matt Stephens was again selected by the National Other Party Liability Group Committee to be a Presenter at the April 2021 NOPLG Annual Conference. The National Other Party Liability Group is an organization of professionals who manage other party liability activities in BlueCross BlueShield health plans across the nation.

On March 6, Matt Stephens presented “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (I Mean Chattanooga)” at the 2020 BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Lawyer’s Conference.

Congratulations to ROS Founding Partner, John Russell, for being selected as a 2019 Mid-South Super Lawyer’s honoree for Labor & Employment law. Those selected as an honoree are recognized for their “high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievements.” In order to be selected for this achievement, lawyers must undergo a process which includes independent research across 12 key categories, peer nominations and evaluations by highly credentialed Blue Ribbon Panel of attorneys, and a final selection process, of which only 5% attorneys are selected as Super Lawyers. We are extremely proud of John for receiving this achievement and for representing our firm. John’s nomination will be featured in the December issue of Memphis Magazine.

Matt Stephens was recently selected as a Presenter for the 2020 National Other Party Liability Group (NOPLG) Conference, scheduled April 28—May 1, 2020, which will be held at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, in Seattle, Washington.  The NOPLG is an organization of professionals who manage other party liability activities for BlueCross BlueShield health plans across the nation. Matt will present “Making it Rain in Seattle and the Rest of the Country:  A Deeper Dive into the World of Subrogation,” on Thursday, April 30, from 1:15-2:30 p.m.

We are excited to announce our recent victory on an important ERISA subrogation case, MBI Energy Services, Inc. v. Hoch, 929 F.3d 506 (8th Cir. 2019). On July 3, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a Published Opinion affirming the decision of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. In this case, attorneys from Russell, Oliver & Stephens filed a lawsuit on behalf of an ERISA plan after the participant refused to reimburse the Plan in accordance with the terms outlined in its SPD. The participant argued that the SPD was not the governing Plan document and that an Administrative Services Contract — which was silent as to reimbursement — was the governing document. The Court of Appeals, however, determined that the SPD was the Plan’s written instrument because it is the only document providing Plan benefits. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the dismissal of the Plan participant’s counterclaims against the Plan.

This is a great win for all of us handling ERISA subrogation. Please feel free to contact us directly to discuss the case. In fact, if you would like to discuss the case with Attorney Gordon Howard, who primarily handled this matter, please feel free to call him at 901-844-4449.