Declarations

Monsanto Hawaii Plea

“The company repeatedly violated laws related to highly regulated chemicals, exposing people to pesticides that can cause serious health problems.”

— U.S. Attorney Tracy Wilkison commented after Monsanto Co. pled guilty to illegally using and storing agricultural chemicals in Hawaii. The company will pay $12 million in fines.

Google Me This

“The law has not caught up with the internet.”

— Jacksonville plaintiffs’ attorney Curry Pajcic on the need for Florida Senate Bill 634, which would instruct judges to allow the use of Google Earth or Google Maps in insurance claims and other litigation. Instead of having to hire expensive expert witnesses to opine on the age of roof damage, for example, insurers could simply introduce an internet image with date stamp. If a homeowner claims the damage came from a storm, Google and other web services with satellite or street-view photos could verify the claim — or disprove it.

Delayed Justice

“We are obliged to provide a path forward to justice for the victims.”

— Michigan state Sen. Tom Barrett, who is behind a bill that would allow more than 1,000 sexual abuse victims of a University of Michigan sports doctor to have an opportunity to sue the school for damages. Under the proposed legislation, a 30-day period would be created for victims of the late Dr. Robert Anderson to file a lawsuit regardless of the statute of limitations. The university could not use the government immunity defense. Michigan has been in mediation to resolve lawsuits for more than a year.

Rising Heat

“It’s like the entire state moved south for the winter.”

— John Nielsen-Gammon, a climatologist at Texas A&M University, found that this past December was the hottest in Texas since at least 1889. Temperatures from Dallas through Abilene to Del Rio averaged 5 to 9 degrees above normal, according to a Texas A&M news release. Warming temperatures have contributed to drought conditions. More than two-thirds of Texas is in a drought, and 10% is in an extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Employer Rights

“This case is not about vaccines, but about an employer’s right to be heard.”

— States a lawsuit filed in federal court challenging New York City’s sweeping mandate requiring nearly all private-sector businesses to ban unvaccinated employees from the workplace. The suit contends businesses like Cornerstone Realty, a Staten Island real estate firm that is the only named plaintiff in the case, are being unduly forced to fire unvaccinated workers and asserts the city’s vaccination edict lacks mechanisms for businesses to appeal.

Striking Disaster Statistics

“The 2021 disaster statistics are striking because some of the extreme weather events are of the kind that are likely to become more frequent or more severe as a result of climate change.”

— Ernst Rauch, chief climate and Geo Scientist at Munich Re, and head of the Climate Solutions Unit, said in a statement. Natural disasters caused economic losses of $280 billion worldwide in 2021, of which roughly $120 billion were insured, according to a report from Munich Re. U.S. natural catastrophes represented roughly $145 billion — costing insurers approximately $85 billion. Alongside 2005 and 2011, the year 2021 proved to be the second costliest ever for the insurance sector, behind the record year of 2017 when insurers had inflation adjusted claims of $146 billion.