Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ky. Judge Awards Fen-Phen Clients $20M From Lawyers
Oct 20 2006 // About 400 people should receive nearly $20 million lawyers held in a controversial fund controlled by three Lexington, Kentucky lawyers in a lawsuit over the diet drug fen-phen, a judge has ruled. Special Judge William...
Wis. Appeals Court Overturns Judge’s Decision in Demo Derby Injury
Oct 19 2006 // A western Wisconsin judge erred in ordering a car insurance company to pay benefits to a demolition derby flagman who was seriously injured when a car slammed into him as he tried to help the driver of a disabled vehicle,...
Judge Denies N.Y. City Immunity for Ground Zero Lawsuits
Oct 19 2006 // The city and its contractors are not immune from lawsuits brought by emergency workers sickened after toiling amid toxic dust at ground zero, a judge ruled, clearing the way for what he said should be the speedy resolution...
La. Governor Waiting on Special Session for Insurance Relief
Oct 19 2006 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she has delayed calling a special legislative session on insurance relief because she is waiting to hear if the state will attract the major manufacturers it is courting, in deals that...
GOP Attempt to Call Special Session in La. Faces Hurdles
Oct 18 2006 // Republican state lawmakers face steep hurdles in their attempts to call the Louisiana Legislature into special session early next month an attempt to sidestep Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who they say is moving too...
La. Gov. Seizes Upon Popular Proposal for Insurance Bailout
Oct 17 2006 // For Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, the train often appears to leave the station with her jumping on the caboose. She frequently is late to take positions on issues gathering political steam and regularly latches onto...
La. Gov. Runs Into Opposition for Insurance Rate Relief Plan
Oct 16 2006 // Opposition began lining up almost as soon as Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced her plan to bail out the state-run property insurance company, which is financially strapped after last year’s...
Mo. Insurance Dept. Releases 2005 Medical Malpractice Report
Oct 16 2006 // In 2005, medical malpractice insurers in Missouri recorded a positive underwriting result for the second consecutive year and the highest recorded number of new claims filed, according to the 2005 Medical Malpractice...
Small Business Hopes Elections Address Health, Taxes, Regulation
Oct 13 2006 // Some of the most frustrating problems facing small business owners — the ever-rising cost of health coverage, expanding government regulations and uncertainty about taxes — are again concerns as the midterm elections...
Mass. Panel Urges Jail Time for Worker Safety Failures
Oct 13 2006 // A legislative panel in Massachusetts is recommending that company officials face criminal charges if they have recklessly failed to protect workers who are killed on construction sites, according to a published report. The...
Litigation Trends Continue to Mount Worldwide; Insurers Face Five Times the Average Number of Lawsuits
Oct 11 2006 // Insurance companies are the litigation champions confronting an average of 1,696 lawsuits, spanning from product liability and environmental class actions to directors and officers claims, and even coverage fights over...
Neb. Supreme Court Ruling on Liability Changes 25 Years of Case Law
Oct 10 2006 // North Platte, Nebraka’s skate park is closed until further notice because of a state Supreme Court decision about liability and insurance coverage. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in late September that cities could...
Declarations
Oct 9 2006 // Commissioner challenge>/b> “The principal role is to make sure that the market works; that you have insurance products that are reasonably priced that provide the service that they’re purported to do with the...
Association launches attack on Garamendi regulations
Oct 9 2006 // California’s Insurance Brokers and Agents of the West (IBA West) has launched a legal attack on what it is calling California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s attempt to illegally redefine agent and...
California anticipates lowering workers’ compensation insurance rates 6.3 percent
Oct 9 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced on Sept. 28 that he will likely recommend a further reduction in the state’s workers’ compensation insurance rates of at least an additional 6.3...
COURT RULES HURT PRISON GUARD NOT ENTITLED TO WORKERS’ COMP
Oct 9 2006 // A California correctional officer who was hurt while helping at an accident while on his way to work is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the Third Appellate District Court of Appeal has ruled. The...
Finding a solution to natural disaster insurance
Oct 9 2006 // In 2005, our country faced several devastating and record-setting natural disasters that left the lives of many Americans in ruins, and roiled the insurance marketplace and the nation’s overall economy. Estimates for...
House passes surplus lines, reinsurance regulatory reform legislation
Oct 9 2006 // The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Sept. 27 that would apply single-state regulation and uniform standards to the nonadmitted insurance and reinsurance marketplace. H.R. 5637, The Non-Admitted and...
State regulators, insurer trades spar at Congressional hearing on insurer investments
Oct 9 2006 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners President and Maine Insurance Superintendent Alessandro A. Iuppa told a House Financial Services Subcommittee panel last month that strong financial regulation of...
News Currents
Oct 9 2006 // Pa. court rebuffs Republicans on liability award law The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected an effort by two high-ranking Republican lawmakers to revive a business-friendly law that would have altered how civil...
