Latest Lawsuits Headlines

All the headlines from our Lawsuits Topic Page, ordered by recency.

N.H. Court: Injured Snow Tuber Can Sue Ski Area

Jul 21 2004 // A ski area is not protected from a lawsuit brought by an injured snow tuber, the New Hampshire Supreme Court recently ruled. State law helps shield ski areas from lawsuits by saying a skier assumes the risk of injury by...

D&O Market Still Faces Unresolved Securities Cases

Jul 19 2004 // Those involved in the directors and officers liability market face a continuing challenge in trying to assess the securities litigation landscape, where billions of dollars in mega and individual cases remain unresolved,...

‘Middle Market’ Not Immune to Directors & Officers Worries

Jul 19 2004 // The Enron, Adelphia, Global Crossing and WorldCom corporate governance and fraud scandals of 2001 and 2002 may seem like a distant and terrible memory, but the public received some harsh reminders recently. Former Enron...

Construction Defects Burning a Hole through the Residential Contractors Market

Jul 19 2004 // Whether real or imagined, the threat of construction defects litigation has burned through the residential contractors liability insurance market like a California wildfire. Over the past couple of years, contractors and...

Safeguards in Hiring Process Can Help Prevent Lawsuits Later

Jul 19 2004 // There are five times in the employer-employee relationship when the company is most vulnerable to a worker’s lawsuit: when a person is hired, promoted, disciplined, fired or affected by a new policy. Both litigation...

Insurance Companies Offer $67 Million Settlement

Jul 16 2004 // Insurance companies covering former Montana Power Co. directors and officers have offered to pay $67 million to settle a shareholders’ lawsuit over the sale of the utility’s assets, attorney Frank Morrison Jr....

Japanese Insurers Settle Suit Against Fortress Re

Jul 16 2004 // Aioi Insurance Co., Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. and Taisei Reinsurance Co. have annouced that they have settled their damages suit against U.S. reinsurance agent Fortress Re Inc. over losses in connection with the Sept. 11,...

NAMIC Responds to Senate Class Action Vote

Jul 12 2004 // After the Senate failed to reach an agreement on so-called non-germane amendments that would have permitted the class action reform legislation, S. 2062, the Class Action Fairness Act, to be considered in the Senate last...

Calif. Holocaust Survivors Seek Class Action Status of Lawsuit

Jul 9 2004 // Roman Rakover, an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, believes he is the sole beneficiary of two life insurance policies taken out by his father around 1930 in the amount of $20,000 each. He has a vivid memory of his father...

AIA Responds to Senate Class Action Vote

Jul 9 2004 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) issued the following statement on Friday following the Senate’s vote on class action reform: “It is tremendously disappointing that partisan wrangling and election-year...

Supreme Court Backs HMOs in Fight Over Patient Lawsuits

Jul 5 2004 // Patients can’t seek large damage awards in court if their HMOs refuse to pay for doctor-recommended medical care, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, rejecting arguments that the threat of multimillion-dollar lawsuits...

CALIF. COMMISSIONER FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST FREMONT GENERAL:

Jul 5 2004 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi filed a lawsuit against Fremont General Corp., a financial services holding company, for alleged misuse of net operating loss deductions belonging to one of its discontinued...

LLOYD’S UNDERWRITERS SUE USAIG, MEMBERS:

Jul 5 2004 // A number of Lloyd’s of London underwriters filed a lawsuit June 15 against an aircraft insurance group and several of its members, alleging the group refused to assist in the defense of companies involved in a deadly...

Safeguards in Hiring Process Can Help Prevent Lawsuits Later

Jul 5 2004 // There are five times in the employer-employee relationship when the company is most vulnerable to a worker’s lawsuit: when a person is hired, promoted, disciplined, fired or affected by a new policy. Both litigation...

Experts Warn of Emerging Trend in ERISA Class-Action Lawsuits at PLUS Symposium

Jun 28 2004 // Stock market declines and the financial collapse of companies such as Enron, Global Crossing and WorldCom have generated numerous shareholder class-action lawsuits against directors and officers alleging violations of...

PLUS: More Cooperation, Knowing Labor Laws and Better Underwriting Measures Needed to Stop Lawsuits

Jun 25 2004 // Effective litigation, cooperation, greater understanding of labor laws and meaningful communication are reportedly the keys to preventing lawsuits. Underwriters need to find out if HR understands state labor laws, whether...

NAMIC Renews Call to Eliminate Regulation By Litigation

Jun 23 2004 // “Lawmakers, regulators and courts must ensure that markets function freely and that laws governing those markets are reliable,” declared National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) Legal and...

High Court Says ERISA Preempts State Lawsuits

Jun 22 2004 // In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that patients cannot sue their health maintenance organization under state law for refusing to pay for medical treatment recommended under a doctor’s...

W. Va. WCC Files Suit Against Employers

Jun 22 2004 // West Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation Commission recently filed injunctions against two state employers whose accounts with the Commission are reportedly in default. Injunctions were filed in Kanawha County...

Commissioner Files Lawsuit Against Fremont General

Jun 21 2004 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi filed a lawsuit against Fremont General Corp., a financial services holding company, for alleged misuse of net operating loss deductions belonging to one of its discontinued...