Latest Massachusetts Headlines
All the headlines from our Massachusetts Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Massachusetts Joins Ohio, N.J. in Proposing COVID-19 Business Interruption Bill
Mar 31 2020 // Massachusetts is one of the latest states to propose legislation that would mandate insurers cover COVID-19 related business interruption claims despite virus exclusions in many policies. This comes as Insurance Journal...
Massachusetts Contractor to Pay for Clean-Up Costs Following Chemical Explosion
Mar 26 2020 // A Sutton, Mass.-based contractor has agreed to pay $120,000 to reimburse the state for the cost of responding to a 2017 explosion and fire of a backyard shed at a Shrewsbury residential property, Massachusetts Attorney...
Willis Re Appoints Melanson as SVP, Health Practice Leader in Massachusetts
Mar 26 2020 // Willis Re, the reinsurance business of Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking and solutions company, has appointed Dan Melanson as senior vice president and Health Practice leader. He is based in Boston, Mass. In...
Peachtree Special Risk Brokers Acquires Massachusetts’ RLA Insurance Intermediaries
Mar 24 2020 // Peachtree Special Risk Brokers LLC, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of RLA Insurance Intermediaries. RLA Insurance Intermediaries was founded in 2010 by Jeff Hays and...
Exxon Loses Jurisdiction Fight in Massachusetts Climate Suit
Mar 20 2020 // Exxon Mobil Corp. suffered a setback in a climate change case when a federal judge ruled that a consumer protection lawsuit filed by Massachusetts should go back to state court. U.S. District Judge William G. Young in...
Massachusetts’ Governor Baker Announces $10M Small Business Recovery Fund
Mar 18 2020 // Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has announced a $10 million small business recovery loan fund to help companies struggling because of efforts to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Baker said Monday the fund will provide...
Pilot Dies After Small Plane Crashes in Massachusetts
Mar 16 2020 // The pilot of a small plane that crashed into a wooded and swampy area shortly after takeoff from a Massachusetts airport has died, authorities say. The Cessna 177 single-engine plane crashed about 100 yards north of the...
Insurer Responsible for Liability Claims Despite Uninsured Premises Exclusion
Mar 13 2020 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that an insurer is responsible for paying liability claims resulting from the improper use of a portable generator, despite an uninsured premises exclusion in the...
The Hilb Group Acquires Massachusetts’ LifePlus Insurance Agency
Mar 12 2020 // The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired Massachusetts-based LifePlus Insurance Agency Inc. (LPINS). The transaction became effective March 1, 2020. Established in 2004, LPINS is a full-service ancillary benefits agency,...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law Takes Effect
Mar 9 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law went into effect February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in the...
Officials Say 250 in Coronavirus Quarantine in Massachusetts
Mar 6 2020 // Massachusetts officials are launching an aggressive plan to regularly disinfect the state transit system and are calling on colleges and high schools to cancel study abroad programs as more than 700 residents have been...
Dollar Tree Stores Faces $523K in Penalties for Safety Violations in Massachusetts
Mar 6 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exit, storage and fire hazards at a store in Boston, Mass. The national discount retailer...
39 States Investigating E-Cigarette Maker Juul Over Marketing to Underage Users
Feb 27 2020 // A group of 39 state attorneys general on Tuesday announced an investigation into Juul Labs Inc.’s marketing practices, adding to mounting legal and regulatory problems for the e-cigarette maker over its role in the...
NiSource’s Columbia Gas to Pay $53M, Plead Guilty for Massachusetts Gas Explosions
Feb 26 2020 // Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has agreed to accept responsibility for the gas explosions on Sept. 13, 2018, in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover that killed one individual, injured 22, and damaged homes and...
Declarations
Feb 24 2020 // Fair Report Privilege “The defendants’ statements were privileged; such a privilege cannot be evaded simply by relabeling a deficient claim.” — Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Barbara...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law to Take Effect
Feb 21 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law takes effect this Sunday, February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in...
Wendy’s Pays $400K to Resolve Child Labor Law Allegations in Massachusetts
Feb 20 2020 // Fast-food chain Wendy’s has agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve allegations that it violated child labor laws by having teenage employees at dozens of Massachusetts restaurants work later and longer than allowed, the...
Massachusetts’ J.E.D. Insurance & Financial Service Agency Joins SAN Group
Feb 20 2020 // J.E.D. Insurance & Financial Service Agency recently joined Satellite Agency Network (SAN) Group Inc., an alliance of independent insurance agencies in the Northeast. The full-service agency specializes in home,...
Massachusetts Chemical Plant Re-Opens a Day After a Series of Explosions
Feb 18 2020 // A Massachusetts chemical manufacturing plant re-opened Friday, a day after at least six explosions at the facility forced workers to evacuate and blew a hole in the roof. Seqens North America, formerly PCI Synthesis, in...
State Lawsuit Alleges Juul Advertised Vaping on Teen Websites
Feb 13 2020 // E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. bought online advertisements on teen-focused websites for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Seventeen magazine after it launched its product in 2015, according to a lawsuit filed on...
