Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Trying to Put a Price Tag on Volkswagen’s Emission-Fraud Scandal
Sep 22 2015 // An $18 billion liability figure attached itself last Friday to Volkswagen’s diesel disaster. This morning comes news that the German car maker has set aside $7.3 billion (€6.5 billion) to cover a scandal spreading...
Uber Sues St. Louis Taxi Commission Over Ride-Sharing Ban
Sep 22 2015 // An Uber Technologies Inc. company accused the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission in a lawsuit of functioning as a cartel with cab companies to ban its ride-sharing service in what it says is the largest U.S. city...
California Judge Slaps Down Uber Bid to Force Arbitration on Driver
Sep 21 2015 // A former Uber Technologies Inc. driver defeated the company’s bid to force her into arbitration, a second victory after California’s labor commissioner said she should have been considered an employee. A San...
Judge Advances Greenberg’s Starr Suit Over Tax Refund
Sep 21 2015 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg’s Starr International Co. can move forward with a lawsuit claiming the U.S. owes it a $38 million tax refund. A Washington federal judge on Friday rejected government claims that...
Judge Blocks Texas Company’s Attempt to Shield $600K from Disabled Workers
Sep 21 2015 // U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge A. Solis issued an order on Sept. 11, 2015, to override a confidential settlement that would have re-directed nearly $600,000 away from a class of 32 intellectually disabled former employees...
Wyoming Man And His Insurers to Pay $2.9M for 2012 Wildfire
Sep 21 2015 // A man who accidentally started a 2012 wildfire that burned over a mountain and threatened the town of Jackson has agreed to a $2.9 million payment under a legal settlement. James G. Anderson Jr., 79, will be responsible...
Beazley, Aspen and Brit Launch ‘International Cyber Consortium’ at Lloyd’s
Sep 21 2015 // Beazley has joined forces with Lloyd’s syndicates managed by Aspen and Brit Global Specialty to launch the International Cyber Consortium. The consortium will focus on providing robust data breach cover to businesses...
Why No GM Employees Have Been Prosecuted for Faulty Ignitions
Sep 21 2015 // The chief U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan blamed gaps in federal law and “siloing” within General Motors Co. for the failure so far to charge any individual employees who may be responsible for faulty ignition...
Aon Benfield Lists 7 Emerging Business Risk Opportunities for Re/Insurers
Sep 21 2015 // Aon Benfield has identified seven emerging risks that present re/insurers with business opportunities over the next five to 10 years, which the announcement listed as “US mortgage credit, the sharing economy,...
Will Uber Employee Status Ruling in California Impact Its Business Model?
Sep 21 2015 // A California Labor Commission ruling in June that an Uber driver is an employee and not a contractor opens the door to more scrutiny over the rideshare giant’s business model, but that was just the proverbial tip of...
Judge OKs $415M Settlement in Worker Suit Against Silicon Valley Giants
Sep 21 2015 // A U.S. judge has granted final approval to a $415 million settlement that ends a high profile lawsuit in which workers accused Apple, Google and two other Silicon Valley companies of conspiring to hold down salaries. The...
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Market at a Glance
Sep 21 2015 // In its annual report for FY 2014, dated June 16, 2015, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission shows the following: Illinois is one of the top 10 wage states, with wages that run 6 percent higher than the U.S....
Survey: Many Drivers Unaware of Auto Safety Technology
Sep 21 2015 // Adaptive cruise control has been an option on some cars for almost a decade. But in a recent national survey, 65 percent of U.S. drivers didn’t know what it was. The survey, by the University of Iowa Public Policy...
People – Midwest
Sep 21 2015 // Mark C. Russell has been tapped as the next president and chief executive officer of Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, succeeding the company’s current retiring leader Jim Kennedy. Russell comes to Ohio Mutual from...
U.S. Chinese Drywall Victims Face China’s Legal Wall of Immunity
Sep 21 2015 // More than a year after suing the Cabinet agency that oversees China’s biggest state-owned companies, lawyers for people who say their homes were ruined by drywall made in China are still trying to get the lawsuit...
Court Gives WTC Developer Chance to Recoup More Money for Rebuilding
Sep 18 2015 // A federal appeals court has given the developer Larry Silverstein a new chance to recoup more money for rebuilding the World Trade Center site in New York, on top of the $4.1 billion of insurance proceeds he has...
Intellectual Property News: KitKat, Williams Sonoma, Whole Foods, Skechers, Segway, GoDaddy, Apple
Sep 18 2015 // This wrap-up of recent intellectual property cases covers chocolate bar shapes, cookware designs, sneaker similarities, Korean TV copyright device, Quizno’s commercials, personal transporter technology, Oscar award...
U.S. Weighing Sanctions Against China for Hacking
Sep 18 2015 // A little more than a week before China’s leader arrives at the White House, President Barack Obama escalated the fight over cyberspace, saying the U.S. is readying measures to forcefully demonstrate that economic...
Violating Swedish Nuclear Drone Ban Will Land You in Jail, Void Insurance Cover
Sep 18 2015 // If you’re planning a drone fly-by at any of Sweden’s reactors, think again. The Nordic region’s biggest producer of atomic energy will from Oct. 15 add nuclear plants to a list of sites including airports...
South Florida Hospital Settles Physician Claims With U.S. for $69.5M
Sep 18 2015 // The Justice Department has reached a $69.5 million settlement with a South Florida hospital district accused in a lawsuit of improper financial relationships with doctors who referred patients to the district. Federal...
