Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge OKs $30 Million Southern California School Molest Settlements
Aug 16 2013 // A judge has approved settlements of lawsuits that claimed dozens of students were molested at Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles and the district has made the first of what may become $30 million in...
Q&A: Why Sinkholes Form in Florida
Aug 15 2013 // Sections of a building at a resort near Orlando’s theme park district collapsed into a sinkhole on Aug. 12, forcing the evacuation of 105 guests in the structure and also dozens of visitors staying in two adjacent...
BP Asks Judge to Deny Investors’ Class-Action Spill Suit Bid
Aug 15 2013 // BP Plc asked a federal judge to deny U.S. investors the right to pursue a class action, or group, lawsuit claiming the company misled them before and after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The investors, led by the New...
Judge Throws Out Race-Based Claims in Paula Deen Lawsuit
Aug 15 2013 // A federal judge this week threw out race discrimination claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager whose lawsuit against Paula Deen has already cost the celebrity cook a valuable chunk of her culinary empire. Lisa...
U.S. Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Oklahoma Healthcare Reform Lawsuit
Aug 14 2013 // A federal judge has denied most of the federal government’s motion to dismiss Oklahoma’s legal challenge to implementation of the new federal healthcare law. In a 27-page decision, U.S. District Judge Ronald...
Judge Strikes Down LAPD Car Impound Policy
Aug 14 2013 // A judge has struck down an Los Angeles Police Department policy that makes it easier for unlicensed drivers to keep their cars instead of having them impounded after police stops. Deputy District Attorney Gerald Sato said...
Oklahoma Governor Calls Special Session on Lawsuit Reform
Aug 13 2013 // Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has called for a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature, to begin Sept. 3 for work on lawsuit reform. Gov. Mary Fallin’s executive order calls on lawmakers to re-institute...
Safety Fears Spur Regulations For Trampoline Gyms In Utah, California
Aug 13 2013 // Stephen Merrill was finishing his freshman year of college two years ago when he and a group of friends went to an indoor trampoline park in Utah for a day of flipping, jumping and bouncing. At one point, Merrill leaped...
Trade Group Applauds 2 N.Y. Laws That Target Counterfeit Airbags, VIN Forgeries
Aug 13 2013 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed two pieces of legislation that seek to put greater fraud protections in place and increase safety for the state’s drivers and passengers. The New York Insurance Association...
Judge Orders Settlements in D.C. Metrorail Crash Unsealed
Aug 12 2013 // A federal judge has ordered the unsealing of settlement agreements involving a deadly Metrorail crash. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton says the 2009 Red Line crash, which killed nine people, represents “a matter of...
Florida Regulator McCarty Answers CFO Over Reinsurance Costs
Aug 12 2013 // Florida’s insurance regulator, in response to questions why lower reinsurance costs have not translated into reduced homeowners rates, said insurers have significant leeway in how they incorporate those costs into...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Want Special Session on Business Legal Liability
Aug 12 2013 // Spokesmen for the leaders of Oklahoma’s House and Senate said the lawmakers want the governor to call a special session “sooner rather than later” so that the Legislature can consider restoring laws...
Judge Dismisses Kmart Flood Damage Claim Against Mississippi City
Aug 12 2013 // A federal judge Friday dismissed Kmart’s claims against the city of Corinth over flood damage to one of the chain’s stores in 2010. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that the city is entitled to...
Florida CFO: Why Aren’t Florida Property Rates Falling Along with Reinsurance?
Aug 9 2013 // Florida’s top financial officer is questioning regulators on why reports of significantly lower reinsurance costs worldwide are not translating into reduced premiums for homeowners around the state. Chief Financial...
NSA Leaks Could Stymie U.S. Cyber Policy Progress: Officials
Aug 9 2013 // Weeks of revelations about secret U.S. surveillance programs could stymie progress on negotiations over new laws and regulations meant to beef up the country’s defenses against the growing threat of cyber attacks,...
What Jeff Atwater Gets Wrong, and Right, About Florida Reinsurance
Aug 8 2013 // Yesterday, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater penned a letter to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty inquiring why property insurance rates continue to rise even as the cost of reinsurance falls. Atwater...
Remington Asks Judge To Dismiss Montana Lawsuit Over Rifle
Aug 8 2013 // Gun manufacturer Remington has asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit by Montanans who bought a type of rifle that can reportedly misfire without the trigger being pulled. Allen Bowker and Eric...
WCIRB Raises Advisory Pure Premium 3.4%
Aug 7 2013 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s Governing Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize the WCIRB to file an advisory pure premium rate for 2014 of $2.62 per $100 of payroll, 3.4...
Judge: Fraud Convict’s Wife Can’t Get Policy Money
Aug 7 2013 // The wife of a man convicted of bilking millions of dollars out of people in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and elsewhere in an investment fraud scheme cannot collect proceeds from his insurance policy, a federal...
Florida Sen. Fasano, Veteran on Insurance Legislation, Leaving for Tax Job
Aug 7 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott is appointing maverick legislator Mike Fasano to the position of Pasco County tax collector. The governor’s office said that Scott had appointed Fasano, R-New Port Richey, to the job on...
