Articles by Curt Anderson

Florida Amendment 5 Would Shift Supreme Court Power

The Florida Legislature would gain greater authority over the state Supreme Court and the rules governing state courts if voters approve constitutional Amendment 5 in the Nov. 6 election. The proposal, pushed through the Legislature by outgoing Republican Speaker Dean …

U.S. Lawsuits Target Carnival in Italy Cruise Crash

Hundreds of passengers from the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia and up to 1,000 businesses on the island where it ran aground are pressing ahead with lawsuits in the U.S. against Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise line. …

Tampa, Host of Republican Convention, Prepares for Possible Hurricane Isaac

Tropical Storm Isaac is posing a potential threat to next week’s Republican National Convention in Florida, which culminates in the nomination of Mitt Romney for president. The U.S. National Hurricane Center on Wednesday morning said Isaac was expected to strengthen …

Supreme Court Gets Florida Dispute Over Vessel vs. Floating Home

Court documents refer to it as “that certain unnamed gray, two-story vessel approximately 57 feet in length.” To Fane Lozman, it was a floating Florida home never intended to sail the seas. Now, a long-running dispute over exactly what the …

National Hurricane Center Chief Reed to Retire

National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read, who took over the forecasting agency during a time of turmoil and leaves it much calmer, announced Saturday he will retire effective June 1. Read, 62, said he never intended to stay in the …

Holocaust Survivors in U.S. Seek $20B in Nazi-era Policies

Thousands of aging Holocaust survivors in the U.S. want Congress to clear a path for them to sue European insurance companies they contend illegally confiscated Jewish life insurance policies during the Nazi era and have refused to pay an estimated …

Florida Jury Awards $2.4 Million in First Chinese Drywall Trial

A Florida couple who fled their dream home because of foul-smelling, ruinous Chinese drywall was awarded $2.4 million in damages last Friday in America’s first jury trial over the defective wallboard that could have legal ramifications for thousands of similar …

Oil Rig Workers File Suit

Three workers forced to escape on lifeboats after an explosion aboard an offshore drilling platform claimed in a lawsuit they were kept floating at sea for more than 10 hours while the rig burned uncontrollably. “After these guys were pulled …

Florida Charges NFL’s Stallworth with DUI Manslaughter in Crash

The NFL and the Cleveland Browns are reviewing the charges against wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who is accused of killing a pedestrian while driving his Bentley drunk after a night out at a posh South Beach hotel. Stallworth was expected …

Thousands of Florida Smokers to Split $600 Million Tobacco Fund

Tens of thousands of ill Florida smokers and families of those who died are lining up for a share of a $600 million fund created by major tobacco companies as part of a 14-year-old lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers. The Florida …