https://apexattorneygroup.comA working reference to United States law.en-us https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/ssi-and-ssdi-two-programs-two-sets-of-rules/ APX-0092SSDI is social insurance bought with work credits; SSI is a needs-based payment. The medical test is shared, but the money, the health coverage, and the traps are not. Health & Benefits https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/dog-bite-liability-strict-liability-compared-with-one-bite-rules/ APX-0046Dog bite liability splits two ways. Strict liability statutes make the owner responsible regardless of knowledge; common-law scienter rules require proof the owner knew of the animal's dangerous tendency. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/late-notice-when-a-delay-forfeits-coverage/ APX-0063Delay in reporting a claim used to forfeit coverage automatically. Most states now require the insurer to show prejudice, but claims-made policies are usually the exception. Insurance https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/school-discipline-suspension-expulsion-and-due-process/ APX-0101A short suspension requires notice, an explanation of the evidence, and a chance to respond. Longer removals require more, and state statute rather than the Constitution supplies the detail. Education & Youth https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/medicare-advantage-denials-and-organization-determinations/ APX-0090A Medicare Advantage plan decides coverage through an organization determination, and a denial it upholds must be sent on to an independent review entity without the enrollee filing again. Health & Benefits https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/compulsory-attendance-and-truancy-proceedings/ APX-0109State law fixes the compulsory ages, the excused absence categories, and the point at which absence becomes truancy. Cases can run against the child, the parent, or both. Education & Youth https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/limiting-liability-caps-carve-outs-and-consequential-damages-waivers/ APX-0033A liability clause caps recoverable amounts and strikes whole damage categories. State contract law controls whether it holds, and predictable drafting gaps make it fail. Contracts & Commercial https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/medicare-appeals-the-five-levels-of-review/ APX-0089A Medicare denial passes through five defined levels of review, two of which carry an amount-in-controversy gate, alongside separate expedited tracks for discharge and service termination. Health & Benefits https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/battle-of-the-forms-whose-terms-govern-a-purchase-order/ APX-0042When a purchase order and a seller acknowledgement disagree, the state's version of UCC 2-207 decides which terms survive, and the answer is rarely one form winning outright. Contracts & Commercial https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/medical-malpractice-standard-of-care-and-affidavits-of-merit/ APX-0048A malpractice claim requires expert proof of the professional standard of care, and most states also demand a certificate or affidavit of merit filed with or shortly after the complaint. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/i-140-revocation-and-whether-the-priority-date-survives/ APX-0014An approved I-140 that has been approved for 180 days generally survives an employer's withdrawal, and so does the priority date — unless the revocation is for fraud or material error. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/farm-leases-and-crop-share-arrangements/ APX-0121A farm lease is either cash rent or a share of the crop, and the choice determines who carries price and yield risk, how income is taxed, and what security the landlord has. Land, Energy & Resources https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/religious-land-use-and-rluipa-claims/ APX-0117A federal statute limits how zoning and landmarking may be applied to religious exercise, providing separate substantial burden, equal terms, nondiscrimination, and exclusion claims. Nonprofit & Religious https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/state-tort-claims-acts-notice-deadlines-and-immunity-limits/ APX-0053Claims against public bodies are governed by tort claims acts that require early written notice, preserve broad immunities, and often cap recovery well below ordinary tort limits. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/wrongful-death-and-survival-actions-who-sues-for-what/ APX-0049Wrongful death and survival actions are separate statutory claims. One compensates family members for their losses, the other continues the claim the decedent held at death. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/endangered-species-restrictions-on-land-use/ APX-0126The Endangered Species Act prohibits take of listed species anywhere, including private land, and provides two routes to authorized incidental take depending on whether a federal action is involved. Land, Energy & Resources https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/sales-and-use-tax-nexus-after-the-wayfair-decision/ APX-0072Since Wayfair in 2018 a state may require a remote seller to collect sales tax without any physical presence, using economic thresholds that differ from state to state. Tax https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/individualized-education-programs-under-idea/ APX-0099An IEP is a binding written plan for one child, produced by a team that includes the parents, and judged by whether it is reasonably calculated to enable progress appropriate to that child. Education & Youth https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/cap-exempt-h-1b-employers-universities-nonprofits-and-affiliations/ APX-0019Four kinds of employer are exempt from the H-1B cap. The hardest category is the nonprofit related to or affiliated with a university, and the test for that was rewritten by regulation. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/e-1-treaty-trader-visas-substantial-trade-and-company-nationality/ APX-0017An E-1 treaty trader must show a qualifying treaty, an enterprise with the treaty country's nationality, and trade that is substantial, continuous, and more than half between the two countries. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/debts-that-survive-a-discharge/ APX-0081A discharge does not reach every debt. Section 523 lists exceptions, some automatic and some that a creditor must prove in an adversary proceeding filed on a short deadline. Bankruptcy & Debt https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/professional-liability-coverage-errors-omissions-and-exclusions/ APX-0065Professional liability coverage answers for negligent acts, errors, and omissions in rendering professional services, subject to exclusions that decide most disputed claims. Insurance https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/the-ministerial-exception-in-employment-disputes/ APX-0118Religious employers have a constitutional defense that bars courts from deciding employment discrimination claims brought by employees who perform vital religious functions. Nonprofit & Religious https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/social-security-disability-application-denial-and-hearing/ APX-0091A disability claim runs through a five-step test at up to five levels of review, from a state agency determination to federal district court, with the burden shifting at step five. Health & Benefits https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/nonprofit-board-duties-and-conflict-of-interest-policies/ APX-0114Nonprofit directors owe fiduciary duties defined by state corporation law, and the federal annual return asks separately whether the organization maintains a written conflict-of-interest policy. Nonprofit & Religious https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/offers-in-compromise-and-installment-agreements/ APX-0069Two ways to resolve a federal tax balance you cannot pay at once: settle it for less through an offer in compromise, or pay it over time under an installment agreement. Tax https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/hipaa-patient-access-getting-your-own-medical-records/ APX-0088HIPAA gives an individual a right of access to the designated record set held about them, generally within thirty days, at a reasonable cost-based fee, with only limited grounds for denial. Health & Benefits https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/successor-in-interest-labor-certifications-and-petitions-after-a-merger/ APX-0013A new employer may keep an existing labor certification and petition only if it assumed the predecessor's essential rights and obligations and the job opportunity is unchanged. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/substantiating-charitable-contributions/ APX-0073A charitable deduction is disallowed without the specific proof the statute demands for a gift of that size and type, however genuine the gift was. Tax https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/reporting-foreign-accounts-fbar-and-fatca-obligations/ APX-0075Two separate reports cover foreign financial assets. One is filed with FinCEN under the banking laws, the other with the tax return, and each has its own tests. Tax https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/damages-economic-non-economic-and-statutory-caps/ APX-0050Injury damages divide into economic loss, non-economic loss, and in some states punitive awards. Many legislatures cap non-economic damages, and several caps have been struck down. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/oil-and-gas-leases-royalties-pooling-and-shut-in-clauses/ APX-0123An oil and gas lease grants the right to develop for a primary term that continues only so long as production holds it, with royalty, pooling, and shut-in clauses defining the payment and the extension. Land, Energy & Resources https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/cuban-adjustment-and-central-american-relief-who-still-qualifies/ APX-0027Two country-specific statutes remain in use. The Cuban Adjustment Act allows residence after one year of presence, and NACARA offers defined Central American and Soviet-bloc classes a route. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/passport-denial-and-revocation-grounds-and-how-to-respond/ APX-0005A U.S. passport can be refused or revoked for warrants, court orders, certified child support arrears, and certified tax debt, each with its own route back. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/comparative-and-contributory-fault-how-states-divide-blame/ APX-0044An injured person's own carelessness reduces or destroys recovery depending on which of three systems the state uses. The percentage that bars a claim is the single most important local rule. Injury & Liability https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/forming-a-charity-incorporation-and-the-exemption-application/ APX-0110A charity is two legal acts in sequence: formation under a single state's law, then recognition of exemption under section 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service. Nonprofit & Religious https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/physician-national-interest-waivers-and-underserved-area-service/ APX-0016A physician who commits to full-time clinical practice in a designated shortage area or a VA facility can obtain a national interest waiver, but the green card waits until the service is done. Immigration & Nationality https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/title-ix-complaints-process-evidence-and-outcomes/ APX-0102A Title IX report triggers supportive measures and, on a formal complaint, a defined grievance process. A separate court route exists for damages but demands far more. Education & Youth https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/choice-of-law-and-forum-selection-drafting-and-enforcement/ APX-0041Two clauses do different jobs: one picks the governing law, one picks the courthouse. Each is usually enforced, and each fails in a narrow set of situations worth knowing. Contracts & Commercial https://apexattorneygroup.com/entries/naturalizing-after-three-years-of-marriage-to-a-citizen/ APX-0002Spouses of U.S. citizens may naturalize after three years of residence rather than five, but only if the marriage is intact and the spouse has been a citizen throughout that period. Immigration & Nationality