Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Minnesota Judge Won’t Remove Himself from Medtronic Case
Mar 11 2009 // A judge who dismissed thousands of lawsuits against Minneapolis-based Medtronic said this week he will not remove himself from the case, despite criticism for not revealing that his son works for a law firm tied to the...
Lobbyist, Former Lawmaker Squires Running for Georgia Insurance Post
Mar 11 2009 // Mary Squires, a former Democratic state lawmaker who now lobbies for the self-insurance industry, is running to be Georgia’s next insurance commissioner. Squires is the first candidate to enter the race to succeed...
Florida Surplus Lines Insurance Industry Seeks Regulatory Certainty
Mar 11 2009 // Surplus lines insurance industry leaders in Florida hope legislation working its way through the state Legislature will clarify how the industry will be regulated. The industry has had concerns about its future since court...
New Jersey Ex-Lawmaker Pleads Not Guilty to Child Porn Charges
Mar 11 2009 // A former New Jersey lawmaker who once headed the state assembly’s key committee on insurance issues has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges. Prosecutors say Neil Cohen has admitted viewing child porn, but...
Rhode Island Judge OKs Plan for Sharing Club Fire Settlement
Mar 10 2009 // Survivors of a deadly nightclub fire and relatives of the 100 people killed are moving closer to sharing a $176 million court settlement. A federal magistrate judge on Friday approved a proposal for distributing the money...
Mississippi’s Rep. Taylor Renews Push for Federal Wind Insurance Policy
Mar 10 2009 // Rep. Gene Taylor, D.-Miss., isn’t letting opposition by major insurance companies keep him from pushing his plan to make wind coverage for properties available through the federal flood insurance...
Texas Legislators Want to Modify Catastrophe Response After Ike
Mar 10 2009 // Nursing homes were left without electricity and medical evacuees flooded hospitals during Hurricane Ike, but more than a dozen bills pending in the Texas Legislature could help change the way state agencies and facilities...
Oklahoma GOP Squeezing Opponents of Lawsuit Reform
Mar 10 2009 // Republicans lawmakers eager for new civil justice guidelines that would change the way Oklahomans file and litigate lawsuits are putting the squeeze on their opponents with a flurry of legislation that offers a variety of...
Wyeth Ruling Could Bring Improved Drug Safety, More Lawsuits
Mar 9 2009 // A Supreme Court ruling this week that federal approval of a drug is no protection from lawsuits in state courts could make drugmakers more cautious about safety issues and may lead them to halt development of some...
How AIG Fell Through the Regulatory Cracks
Mar 9 2009 // U.S. lawmakers blasted state and federal regulators for dodging blame and keeping secrets after the failure of insurance giant American International Group Inc., which now has access to more than $170 billion in taxpayer...
Medical Device Makers Could Face Increased State Liability Claims
Mar 9 2009 // Following the recent Supreme Court decision that federal rules do not protect drugmakers from state lawsuits, Democrats in Congress have moved to overturn a decision that has shielded medical device companies from similar...
A Letter to the President
Mar 9 2009 // President Barack Obama recently received the following letter from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America congratulating him on becoming the 44th President of the United States of America, and...
South Carolina Debates Workers’ Compensation for Illegal Immigants
Mar 9 2009 // South Carolina legislators are pushing a bill to cut workers’ compensation benefits for illegal immigrants in an effort to strengthen what’s already one of the nation’s toughest laws aimed at keeping...
A Letter to the President
Mar 9 2009 // President Barack Obama recently received the following letter from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America congratulating him on becoming the 44th President of the United States of America, and...
Securities Lawsuit Filings Are Up, So What About D&O Pricing?
Mar 9 2009 // The pace of securities lawsuit filings increased significantly in 2008 compared to recent years. There were 226 new securities lawsuits filed in 2008, which represents a 31 percent increase over the 172 securities lawsuits...
The Flood Insurance Coverage Paradox
Mar 9 2009 // You May Not Know What You Think You Know About Flood Insurance Claims When dealing with claims under flood insurance policies, you may be surprised that many things you think you know are wrong, and, particularly for...
Senators Demand Details, Officials Admit Regulatory Gaps on AIG
Mar 6 2009 // U.S. regulators failed to spot how much risk insurer AIG was piling on, and by the time they understood, they had no choice but to pour in tens of billions of public dollars, officials said Thursday. At a Senate Banking...
Federal Court Rules Vatican Can Be Sued Over Abuse
Mar 6 2009 // federal appeals court has kept alive a challenge to the sovereign immunity of the Vatican by upholding a ruling that victims of sexual abuse by priests can sue the Holy See. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed...
U.S. Lawmaker Says AIG Failure Would ‘Bring Down Europe’
Mar 6 2009 // The U.S. government rescued giant insurer American International Group in part because its collapse would dramatically hurt European banks, a senior Democratic lawmaker said Thursday. The U.S. government has bailed out AIG...
Hawaii Lawmakers Advance Cap on Medical Malpractice Awards
Mar 6 2009 // A bill to put caps on damages in medical malpractice cases is making its way through the Hawaii Legislature. The measure approved by the House Judiciary Committee is supported by doctors. The committee had rejected similar...
