Insurance Journal » Bill Kaczor

BP Says $332 Million in Florida Oil Spill Claims Approved

Bill Kaczor — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:00:28 +0000

The administrator of a class-action settlement between petroleum giant BP and oil spill claimants said that more than 34,000 Florida businesses and individuals so far have been approved to receive $332 million. Patrick Juneau was in Tallahassee to meet with …

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Florida Court Bans Private Doctor-Lawyer Meetings in Malpractice Cases

Bill Kaczor — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:46:20 +0000

Malpractice defendants must not try to circumvent a Florida law that bars them from obtaining confidential medical information about plaintiffs from other doctors or dentists who are treating them, the state Supreme Court said in a recent ruling. The 5-2 …

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Florida Supreme Court Rules in 2 Sovereign Immunity Cases

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:22:38 +0000

The Florida Supreme Court last week put off a decision on whether Citizens Property Insurance Corp. can use its status as a state-backed entity to avoid lawsuits accusing it of bad faith in responding to claims. The justices, though, ruled …

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Florida Industry Presses Progress Energy on Nuclear Reactor Insurance Claim

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:21:53 +0000

Lawyers for industrial consumers are questioning Progress Energy Florida’s approach to calculating how much insurance money the utility can expect in 2013 to help pay for power to replace output from a crippled nuclear reactor. State regulators didn’t immediately resolve …

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Florida Justices Say Fair Court System Being Threatened

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:00:06 +0000

Three state Supreme Court justices being targeted by Republicans and other conservatives said Friday that such partisan and special interest attacks are threatening the independence and fairness of Florida’s judicial system. The Florida Republican Party this year broke with a …

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Florida’s Anti-Fraud Auto Insurance Law Now in Effect

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:16:12 +0000

A trio of constitutionally questionable measures and legislation designed to crack down on no-fault auto insurance fraud are among about 150 new Florida laws going into effect Sunday. A law that bans state and local governments from hiring companies that …

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Florida Supreme Court Hears Class Action Arbitration Argument

Bill Kaczor — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:51:48 +0000

A pay day loan company’s lawyer argued this week that the Florida Supreme Court must uphold a contract provision prohibiting customers from banding together in class action arbitration cases against the firm because of a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision. …

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Negligence Claims Bills Sent to Florida Governor’s Desk

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:00:06 +0000

A claims bill that would pay $2.4 million to the parents of murdered Tallahassee police informant Rachel Hoffman went to Gov. Rick Scott after a final vote Friday in the Florida Senate. The measure (HB 7131) will allow the city …

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1 of 3 High-Profile Negligence Claims Bills Reaches Florida Gov. Scott’s Desk

Bill Kaczor — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Aaron Edwards squirmed in delight on his mother’s lap in the Florida Senate gallery Wednesday as the chamber passed a bill to compensate him for negligence during his birth at a public hospital 14 years ago that left him unable …

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Florida House OKs 3 Victim Compensation Measures Worth Millions

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:41:54 +0000

Three high-profile claims bills that would let victims of governmental negligence receive millions in compensation cleared the Florida House on Monday. The bills now go to the Senate. One bill (SB 4) would require that an insurance company for the …

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Florida Lawmakers Advance Brain Injury, Wrongly Imprisoned Claims Bills

Bill Kaczor — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:41:33 +0000

A man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and the brain-damaged and paralyzed victim of a crash with a speeding sheriff’s deputy who was late for work would receive millions in compensation through claims …

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Judge Dismisses Dallas National Suit Vs. Florida Insurance Chief

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:12:15 +0000

A federal judge last week threw out a lawsuit against Florida’s insurance commissioner even though the official had opposed dismissing the case. Commissioner Kevin McCarty argued that keeping the litigation alive would have given him the opportunity to clear his …

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Florida Undertakes Hurricane Readiness Exercises

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:55:44 +0000

Florida began its sometimes annual hurricane exercise Monday after skipping the practice storm last year because officials were busy with a real emergency — the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The hurricane taking aim at Florida is fictional, but it’s …

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Florida House Leader Wants Separate Civil, Criminal Supreme Courts

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:04:16 +0000

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon this week proposed creating a second Florida Supreme Court so that one set of justices could specialize on criminal appeals and the other on civil cases. The Winter Park Republican said a House committee will …

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Florida Republicans Eye Special Session to Revisit Crist Vetoes

Bill Kaczor — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Incoming Republican legislative leaders said they are considering calling a special session in the coming weeks to override some of Gov. Charlie Crist’s vetoes. Crist’s veto of a property insurance bill could be on the list of vetoes to be …

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Florida CFO Sink Intercedes for Local Businessman with BP

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink was in the middle of a dramatic confrontation at a BP oil spill claims office Tuesday after going to bat for a distraught owner of a bait and tackle shop. Sink, who is a …

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Florida Senator: Obama Not Doing Enough for State

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Sen. George LeMieux criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill Saturday, saying he hasn’t done enough to help Florida and the other affected states or their residents. Obama visited Louisiana’s Gulf Coast on Friday, hours after …

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Potential Hurricane Insurance Losses Added to Florida’s Long-Range Deficit Projections

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A House-Senate budget panel has added the state’s risk of incurring billions of dollars in possible hurricane insurance losses to Florida’s long-range financial outlook. The new changes could dwarf potential budget deficits that the outlook anticipates in each of the …

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Florida Hurricane, Pension Funds Boosted By Financial Markets Upswing

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Florida’s public employee pension and hurricane catastrophe funds are benefiting from an upswing in the financial markets, state investment managers said earlier this week. The State Board of Administration received that bit of good news at the first of the …

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Florida Gets Strict About Buckling Up

Bill Kaczor — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Florida drivers shouldn’t expect state troopers to let them off with just a warning if they are caught driving with their seat belt unbuckled now that a a new law has gone into effect. The Florida Highway Patrol plans to …

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Florida State Senator Urges Insurance Chief McCarty to Resign

Bill Kaczor — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A state senator wants Florida’s insurance commissioner to resign, calling him “duplicitous and untrustworty” last week in a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, wrote Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty a lengthy letter demanding that he resign because …

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Insurers’ Taxes Could Back Florida Private School Voucher Program

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A private school voucher program for children from low-income families in Florida would be strengthened by a bill the House passed last week, but critics say it would be another financial blow for public education. Businesses now can take a …

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State Farm Appeals Conditions Placed on Florida Withdrawal

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

State Farm Florida on Friday appealed stipulations that Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has put on its plan to withdraw from the state’s property insurance market. Florida’s second largest insurer of homes and other property filed an administrative appeal that argues …

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Florida Citizens’ Board Member With Ties to Sansom Resigns

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A key figure in allegations that former House Speaker Ray Sansom misused his previous office as the chamber’s budget chairman has resigned from the board that oversees a state-created insurance company. Confirmation of Jay Odom’s resignation came as a grand …

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Florida Supreme Court Won’t Review ‘Inherently Dangerous’ Product Case

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

The Florida Supreme Court has let stand a Broward County smoker’s $545,000 award in a tobacco case that also may affect liability claims for a broad range of other “inherently dangerous” products. Those items can range from guns, knives, motorcycles …

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Florida Cigarette Case Could Affect Other Products

Bill Kaczor — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A tobacco lawyer has asked the Florida Supreme Court to reverse a $545,000 product liability verdict because the ailing smoker who won the judgment wasn’t required to prove the company could have made a safer cigarette. It’s a case that …

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Florida, Berkshire Hathaway Strike $224 Million Deal on Insurance Fund

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Florida will pay $224 million to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for a guarantee that the state can borrow up to $4 billion if necessary to help cover future losses by its emergency hurricane insurance fund. Gov. Charlie Crist and Chief Financial …

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Board Won’t Exclude 2 Investment Firms from Florida Bidding

Bill Kaczor — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Two major investment firms will advise Florida on financing its hurricane catastrophe insurance fund although Gov. Charlie Crist tried to exclude them. Crist wanted to keep Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan from joining the “cat fund” investment team because they …

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Homeowners Can Be Liable if Trees, Bushes Cause Traffic Accidents

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Homeowners who let bushes, shrubs and trees extend into the public right of way may be held liable if the foliage contributes to accidents by blocking motorists’ view, the Florida Supreme Court ruled recently. The high court’s 4-3 decision came …

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Fla. Homeowners Can Be Liable if Trees, Bushes Cause Traffic Accidents

Bill Kaczor — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000

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