Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Johnson & Johnson Appeals Judge’s Ruling in Oklahoma Opioid Lawsuit

Dec 12 2019 // Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson have appealed an Oklahoma judge’s order for the company to pay $465 million to address the state’s opioid crisis. The company argues in an appeal filed on Dec. 9 that the...

New York Doors-Off Helicopter Ride Raised Concern Months Before Crash

Dec 12 2019 // A government safety inspector who saw a popular New York City, doors-off sightseeing helicopter flight operation six months before a fatal 2018 crash called it “unorthodox,” but officials thought they had no...

Southeast Insurance Chiefs Farmer, Altmaier Elected to Top NAIC Posts

Dec 11 2019 // South Carolina Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer and Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier have been elected to the positions of president and president-elect, respectively, of the NAIC (National...

E-Cigarette Makers Lose Legal Challenge to FDA’s Regulatory Authority

Dec 10 2019 // U.S. rules for marketing e-cigarettes withstood a legal challenge by a maker of the devices and an industry group. A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory authority...

India’s Top Court Reaffirms Content Immunity for Internet Firms in Google Case

Dec 10 2019 // Alphabet Inc.’s Google isn’t liable for defamatory content posted on its platforms after 2009, India’s top court ruled, reaffirming immunity for Internet companies in the world’s second-most...

Exxon Beats New York Claim of Climate Change Accounting Fraud

Dec 10 2019 // Exxon Mobil Corp. won a closely watched securities-fraud trial that delved into its internal accounting for the financial risks of climate change, a striking rejection of New York state’s claim that the company...

Group Warns Climate Regulations Could Disrupt Investment Strategies

Dec 10 2019 // Tighter government climate regulations by 2025 could wipe up to $2.3 trillion off the value of companies in industries ranging from fossil fuel producers to agriculture and car makers, an investor group warned in a...

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide on Delaware Appointing Judges Based on Political Party

Dec 9 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the state of Delaware’s system of requiring ideologically balanced courts is lawful. The nine justices will hear the state’s appeal of an April ruling...

Judge: 1851 Maritime Law Doesn’t Apply in Missouri Duck Boat Case

Dec 9 2019 // A federal judge has ruled that an 1851 maritime law does not protect a company from making payments to families of people aboard a tourist boat that sank on a Missouri lake, killing 17 people. After the July 2018 sinking...

UK Judge Blocks Nigerian Court’s Oil Spill Damages Order Against Shell

Dec 8 2019 // Royal Dutch Shell Plc units won a UK ruling preventing London courts from enforcing a $516 million Nigerian judgment for damages caused by an oil spill half a century ago. Judge Jason Coppel on Thursday overturned an...

Officials Say Regulation Standards Factor in Alaska Quake Damage

Dec 6 2019 // Assessments following Alaska’s enormous 2018 earthquake showed building damage was worse outside Anchorage’s safety area because of reduced regulation, municipal officials said. There was less structural damage...

California Commissioner Calls for Statewide Non-Renewal Moratorium, More Measures to Protect Wildfire Victims

Dec 5 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders, a move he says will help at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster...

Sitte Appointed Government Affairs Director for Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

Dec 5 2019 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has appointed Allison Hess Sitte as Government Affairs director for the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), effective Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. Allison Sitte Sitte most recently...

Directors and Officers Face Significantly Higher Range of Risks: Allianz Report

Dec 4 2019 // The range of risks facing company executives, or directors and officers (D&Os), has increased significantly in recent years along with resulting insurance claims, according to a report published by Allianz Global...

Factors that Contribute to Prolonged Recovery after California Wildfires

Dec 4 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As strong winds further exasperate the prime weather conditions for wildfires in California, efforts to save lives and property are a foremost priority of emergency...

Reuters Special Report: Powder Keg- Regulators Bowed to Industry for Decades Over Talc Risks

Dec 3 2019 // At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The...

Texas Plant Rocked by Explosions Was Declared High Priority Violator by EPA

Dec 3 2019 // The Port Neches, Texas, chemical plant where two explosions and a fire prompted widespread mandatory evacuations on Nov. 27 has a years-long history of state and federal environmental violations. The facility owned by...

Vape Crisis Prompts Calls for Greater Clarity in Cannabis Regulation

Dec 3 2019 // Cannabis industry lawyers are calling for greater clarity around regulation of the cannabis industry. Panelists at the 2019 Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Conference in Washington D.C. this month said...

Judge Blocks Facebook Data Breach Victims from Suing for Damages as Group

Dec 2 2019 // A federal judge said up to 29 million Facebook Inc. users whose personal information was stolen in a September 2018 data breach cannot sue as a group for damages, but can seek better security at the social media company...

Opioid Makers, Distributors Could Face U.S. Criminal Charges

Nov 27 2019 // Federal prosecutors are investigating six pharmaceutical companies for potential criminal charges in connection with shipping big quantities of opioid painkillers that contributed to a healthcare crisis, according to...