Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Weighs Damages Against Indiana School Over MySpace Photos
Aug 16 2011 // An Indiana school district violated the First Amendment rights of two teenage girls who were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation, a federal judge ruled. The case...
U.S. Court Rules Against Obama Healthcare Mandate
Aug 15 2011 // President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law suffered a setback Friday when a U.S. appeals court ruled that it was unconstitutional to require all Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty. The U.S. Appeals...
N.C. Trial Lawyers Seek Malpractice Cap
Aug 15 2011 // Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Insurance Journal’s Satire Issue, August 15, 2011. The content in this issue is not real and is not to be taken seriously. It’s supposed to be humorous....
California Supreme Court Rules on Workers’ Comp Payment Increases
Aug 12 2011 // The California Supreme Court has ruled that cost of living adjustments in total permanent disability cases are to be calculated starting the January 1 after the injured worker started collecting his or her payments. The...
First Responder Fees: Insurers Should Expect to Pay More
Aug 12 2011 // While fee recovery by fire departments is nothing new, an increasing number of local municipalities have begun to charge for first responder, primarily fire department, services. Though the types of fees and rates vary...
Judge Likely to Give French Shoemaker’s ‘Red’ Trademark Claim the Boot
Aug 12 2011 // In a court case that has all sides seeing red, a judge said this week that a French maker of luxury shoes worn by stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry will likely fail in its effort to...
Judge Tosses Coffee Shop Defamation Claim Against N.Y. Times
Aug 12 2011 // A Brooklyn judge has tossed out a defamation lawsuit against New York Times Co. brought by Gorilla Coffee, a coffee shop that has become a fixture in the borough’s Park Slope neighborhood. The suit stemmed from an...
Florida Court Rules Illegal Workers Entitled to Workers’ Compensation
Aug 11 2011 // Florida employers may be under more pressure to document the status of their workers after a panel of state judges ruled that illegal residents who are injured on the job are eligible for workers’ compensation...
Illinois Bars Workers’ Compensation for State Employees Involved in Crimes
Aug 11 2011 // A new law inspired by a former Illinois State Police trooper’s high-speed freeway wreck that killed two sisters bars state employees injured while committing crimes from getting workers’ compensation. The...
Judge Nixes Suit over Pennsylvania Officer’s Crash Death
Aug 11 2011 // A federal judge has dismissed a police widow’s lawsuit against a suburban Philadelphia township over its insurance coverage. Middletown Township Officer Chris Jones was killed by an intoxicated driver during a 2009...
Florida Eases Surplus Lines ‘Due Diligence’ Rule for Agents
Aug 10 2011 // Florida insurance agents should have an easier time placing commercial policies with surplus lines carriers under a new law that allows them to offer the coverage without first scouring the admitted market for the...
Judge May Allow Soldier’s Claim Against ‘Hurt Locker’ Movie to Go Forward
Aug 10 2011 // A federal judge in Los Angeles has indicated she is leaning toward dismissing most of an Iraq war veteran’s lawsuit against the makers of “The Hurt Locker” but may allow him to pursue his key claim that...
What New Car Insurance Rules Mean for New Jersey
Aug 9 2011 // New Jersey proposed a sweeping overhaul last week to its regulations for the personal injury protection component of auto insurance, hoping to curb rising premiums. The changes affect how and what doctors can bill for...
Pinnacol Stops Administering Colorado State Claims
Aug 8 2011 // A Colorado-chartered workers’ compensation insurer will no longer administer the claims of state employees following disagreements with state officials over lavish trips, compensation and golden parachutes for key...
Judge Dismisses Dallas National Suit Vs. Florida Insurance Chief
Aug 8 2011 // A federal judge last week threw out a lawsuit against Florida’s insurance commissioner even though the official had opposed dismissing the case. Commissioner Kevin McCarty argued that keeping the litigation alive...
Tennessee Reopens for Business from Captive Insurers
Aug 5 2011 // Applications are now being accepted in Tennessee for firms looking to create captive insurers under the state’s revised law. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance released a new application form for...
Judge Allows Army Veteran to Sue Rumsfeld for Damages Over Torture
Aug 5 2011 // A judge is allowing an Army veteran who says he was imprisoned unjustly and tortured by the U.S. military in Iraq to sue former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld personally for damages. The veteran’s identity is...
Minn. Supreme Court Rules Against Agent in Negligent Procurement Case
Aug 5 2011 // An insurance agent in Minnesota lost an appeal asking to the state Supreme Court to dismiss a case against him over “negligent procurement of insurance coverage.” Robert M. Swendra with the Robert M. Swendra...
Judge Tosses Suit Challenging FEMA Flood Mapping in Illinois
Aug 4 2011 // A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit three southwestern Illinois counties filed to block the U.S. government from declaring the region’s levees functionally useless. U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert called the...
Florida to Investigate Role of Check Cashing Firms in Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Aug 4 2011 // Florida officials are calling for an investigation into the role of check cashing services in helping construction subcontractors avoid paying their fair share of workers’ compensation premiums. Florida Chief...
