Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
R.I. Bill Would Give Businesses Tax Break for Installing Fire Sprinklers
Jun 26 2007 // Legislation entitling business owners to a tax credit if they are forced to install sprinklers or new fire alarms has stalled in the General Assembly, but the bill’s backers said they were hopeful it could still pass...
Psychiatrist Not Liable for Patient’s Car Accident, Pa. Court Rules
Jun 26 2007 // A psychiatrist cannot be sued for a car crash caused by a patient, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled. The Superior Court ruling upholds a decision written by a Blair County judge dismissing the lawsuit filed by Matthew...
Mo. Judge Overturns $17 Million Aftermarket Parts Verdict
Jun 26 2007 // A state judge has overturned a jury’s decision ordering American Family Mutual Insurance Co. to pay $17 million as part of a class-action lawsuit over aftermarket vehicle parts in Missouri. Jackson County Circuit...
House Passes Uniform Surplus Lines Insurance Reform
Jun 26 2007 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1065, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2007, legislation that if enacted, will help increase the efficiency of the existing state-based insurance regulatory...
Ind. Passes Tougher Seat Belt Laws, Cigarette Tax Hike
Jun 26 2007 // Indiana lawmakers decided that smokers will pay more to puff and almost everyone will be required to wear seat belts under dozens of new state laws that take effect on June 24. Legislators raised the cigarette tax for the...
Appeals Court Gives Mass. Anti-Oil Spill Law Another Chance
Jun 25 2007 // In a case stemming from a devastating oil spill, a federal appeals court in Boston sided with environmentalists and ordered a new hearing on a Massachusetts law aimed at preventing such disasters. The Legislature passed...
Altered, La. Gov.’s $100 Million Insurance Plan Moves Forward
Jun 25 2007 // The Legislature should have oversight of Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s plan to offer $100 million in taxpayer money to insurance companies that agree to write homeowners policies in coastal Louisiana, a Senate committee...
Lawyers, Business Groups Go to Task over Ore. Product Liability Laws
Jun 25 2007 // Business advocates and trial lawyers could be headed for a showdown over Oregon’s product liability laws before the legislative session comes to its scheduled end next week, and the verdict is anything but...
Calif. Court Rules Employer Not Responsible for All Permanent Disability
Jun 22 2007 // The California Supreme Court has rejected an appeal of an injured electrician, affirming a lower court’s ruling that an employer is not responsible for permanent disability it did not cause. The case, Larry Gossett...
Democrats in Congress Propose Major Mine Safety Legislation
Jun 21 2007 // A ban on using so-called belt air ventilation is among numerous provisions in sweeping coal mine safety legislation introduced in the U.S. House this week. Other provisions would speed the installation of better...
Insurers Hit Additional N.J. Rules on Personal Information Protection
Jun 21 2007 // New Jersey officials’ interpretation of a new state law meant to thwart identity theft goes further than lawmakers intended and would impose impractical requirement upon insurance companies, according to an industry...
$1 Million Campaign Defeats Minn. Bad Faith Legislative Proposal
Jun 21 2007 // An insurance industry-financed group that didn’t even exist until the final weeks of the Legislature’s session plowed just shy of $1 million into an aggressive lobbying campaign. It turned out to be money well...
Judge Declines to Throw Out Lawsuit against Robert De Niro
Jun 21 2007 // A federal judge declined to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Robert De Niro misrepresented his health on a movie production insurance form. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real denied a motion by the Oscar winner asking the court to...
N.J. Judge Orders Merck to Pay $4 Million in Vioxx Case Legal Fees
Jun 20 2007 // Lawyers who helped a heart attack victim win a $13.5 million jury verdict in a Vioxx liability case should be paid about $4 million in legal fees by Merck & Co., a New Jersey judge has ruled. Merck, which made the...
Supreme Court Ruling Limits Investors’ Antitrust Claim Recoveries
Jun 20 2007 // This week’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that blocks investors from suing Wall Street investment banks under antitrust laws could save Wall Street firms a bundle by limiting investors to smaller recoveries. In a...
Mo. Doctors’ Groups Plan Legal Action to Block Midwife Law
Jun 20 2007 // Legislation allowing midwives to deliver babies at home in Missouri will likely be challenged in court by doctors’ groups. The measure was approved by lawmakers in May as part of larger health insurance bill signed...
Survey: Inlanders Oppose Subsidies for Risky Drivers, Coastal Homes
Jun 20 2007 // A new survey is reporting that 80 percent of drivers and 64 percent of homeowners in non-coastal areas in two states disagree with state insurance pricing regulations that benefit risky drivers and homeowners in high-risk...
Calif. Approves New Medical Treatment Guideline Regulations
Jun 20 2007 // California’s Office of Administrative Law has approved new medical treatment guideline regulations. Primarily, the regulations: *Defined or deleted terms such as acute, chronic, claims administrator as suggested by...
Pa. Lawmaker Seeks to Stop Insurers’ Use of Credit Scores
Jun 19 2007 // A Pennsylvania legislator has introduced a bill that would prohibit insurance companies from using credit scores to help determine how much customers pay for car insurance. “It’s a tool the insurance industry...
Minn. Lawmaker Proposes Ban on Dog Breeds Deemed Dangerous
Jun 19 2007 // A state lawmaker called on his colleagues last week to make it illegal to own five breeds of dogs he deemed a threat to public safety. Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, said he plans to push next year for a state ban on...
