Latest Lawsuits Headlines
All the headlines from our Lawsuits Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Appeals Court to Review Insurance Claim Verdict in Miss. Katrina Suit
Dec 6 2007 // State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. is asking a federal appeals court to throw out a landmark $1 million punitive damage award to a Mississippi couple who sued the insurer for refusing to cover Hurricane Katrina damage to...
Federal Government Sues Ship Owner, Pilot, Insurer over Bay Oil Spill
Dec 3 2007 // The Justice Department filed a lawsuit accusing the pilot and the Hong Kong-based owners of the container ship Cosco Busan of breaking environmental laws when the ship struck a bridge support in San Francisco Bay, spilling...
Another Suit Filed Over Fatal West Virginia Mine Fire
Dec 3 2007 // Massey Energy Co. is facing another lawsuit over a fatal fire at one of its mines in West Virginia. Wyatt Robinson’s lawsuit claims Richmond, Va.-based Massey and a subsidiary, Aracoma Coal Company Inc., failed to...
Deadly 2003 R.I. Nightclub Fire Spurs Complex, Ongoing Court Case
Dec 2 2007 // Plaintiffs target high-profile defendants capable of paying the victims in a case involving 100 deaths Al Prudhomme isn’t sure exactly whom to blame for a 2003 nightclub fire that killed two of his band mates, about...
Calif. Sues Manufacturers of Toys With Lead
Dec 2 2007 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard J. Delgadillo have sued 20 companies for manufacturing or selling toys with “unlawful quantities of lead.” Commenting on the...
Man Sues over Alleged Sexual Abuse by Franciscan Brother
Nov 30 2007 // A former Carlsbad, New Mexico, resident who claims a Franciscan brother sexually abused him as a teenager in the late 1970s is suing the brother, the order he belongs to and two local parishes. The civil lawsuit, filed...
U.S. Grand Jury Indicts “Dickie” Scruggs in Suspected Bribery Scheme
Nov 30 2007 // An attorney who helped negotiate a multibillion-dollar settlement against tobacco companies in the 1990s and has sued insurers over unpaid Hurricane Katrina claims was indicted in a suspected scheme to bribe a Mississippi...
Lawsuit Filed Against Iowa-based Insurer for Churchgoing Christians
Nov 29 2007 // Two fair-housing groups have sued an Iowa insurance company that pays policyholders’ church tithes if an injury at home leads to lost income. The insurance company also doubles medical limits if someone is hurt while...
Lawsuit filed in Ohio Bus Crash that Killed 5 Targets Insurers
Nov 29 2007 // Attorneys want a federal court to determine whether members of a university baseball team involved in a deadly bus crash earlier this year are entitled to insurance money. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Bluffton...
I-10 Businesses Hurt by Lengthy Interstate Closure in La.
Nov 28 2007 // Businesses along Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La., say they lost numerous potential customers when a gas well blowout forced detours along a 55-mile stretch. The interstate was closed Nov. 15 and...
Tenn. Apartment Owner Files $2.5 Million Lawsuit against State
Nov 25 2007 // A $2.5 million lawsuit has been filed by the owner of a Nashville, Tenn., apartment complex against the state, its Department of Children’s Services and a teenage arsonist who set a series of apartment fires last...
4th Circuit Sides with La. Homeowner in Katrina Lawsuit
Nov 21 2007 // An insurance company should have paid for Hurricane Katrina damage to a policyholder’s home because it’s unclear what types of flood damage were excluded from coverage by its homeowner policies, a state appeals...
$800,000 Settlement Approved in Mont. Psychologist Malpractice Case
Nov 19 2007 // A district judge has approved an $800,000 settlement in a malpractice and fraud lawsuit filed by a Billings, Mont., woman against her deceased daughter’s psychologist. Judge Susan Watters said the settlement amount...
Calif. Sues Manufacturers of Toys with Lead
Nov 19 2007 // California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Los Angeles City Attorney Rockard J. Delgadillo today sued 20 companies for manufacturing or selling toys with “unlawful quantities of lead.” Commenting on...
Miss. AG Hood Denies he Threatened to Indict State Farm CEO
Nov 18 2007 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood threatened to indict the chairman of State Farm Insurance Companies if the insurer didn’t settle lawsuits over thousands of Hurricane Katrina claims, according to the testimony...
Class Action Lawsuits Abound in California
Nov 18 2007 // California is still a happy hunting ground for class action lawyers — despite the 2005 federal class action reforms designed to move many national class action cases into federal courts, according to a review by the...
Insurers Facing More Frequent, More Expensive Lawsuits
Nov 18 2007 // The legal landscape may generally be changing for the better — but not necessarily for insurers, according to a recent survey by Fulbright & Jaworski. In its survey based on interviews with in-house counsel at 250...
Declarations
Nov 18 2007 // Calif. Class Actions “Data shows that a state like California — with a huge population and laws tilted against defendants — remains a major forum for class action lawsuits, despite the 2005 federal Class Action...
Defeat for Insurance Industry; Wash. Voters Approve Referendum 67
Nov 18 2007 // Much to many insurance companies’ dismay, Washington voters approved Referendum 67, with 520,667 or 57 percent of voters in favor of the initiative to allow insureds to collect triple damages if their insurer...
Keep the McCarran-Ferguson Act Insurance Exemption
Nov 18 2007 // Federal antitrust laws are intended to ensure a competitive market by prohibiting companies from acting in concert with each other, such as through price-fixing or sharing arrangements that exclude other competitors. The...
