Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Clergy Sex Abuse Suits Could Bankrupt Diocese in California
Feb 14 2023 // The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said it may declare bankruptcy in the coming months as it faces “staggering” legal costs in dealing with some 400 lawsuits alleging priests and others sexually abused...
Southern California Edison Sued by City for Damaging Wildfire
Feb 13 2023 // A city claims in a lawsuit that Southern California Edison equipment ignited a damaging wildfire last fall. The lawsuit filed on behalf of the city of Hemet claims that the utility did not manage its electrical power lines...
Unlicensed California Insurance Agent Sentenced for Stealing $140K from Business Owners
Feb 10 2023 // Robert Meseer, 69, of Westminster, California, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to 55 felony counts of grand theft, insurance fraud and forgery. Meseer was sentenced to three years of supervised formal...
Earthquake Recovery Continues on Northern California Coast
Feb 10 2023 // Humboldt County authorities have released the latest statistics on recovery from the December earthquake and aftershocks that struck the Northern California coast. Roughly 91 structures have been red-tagged as unsafe to...
Insurers View New Car Sales Rise in California as More Evidence for Rate Filings
Feb 9 2023 // New figures show car sales in California continue to slowly return to pre-pandemic levels, which the state’s auto insurers believe is another indication the state’s insurance regulator needs to approve more...
Few California Workers’ Comp Treatment Request Denials Overturned
Feb 8 2023 // Few medical treatment denials in California workers’ compensation were overturned last year, a review released on Wednesday shows. The California Division of Workers’ Compensation posted an annual report on the...
California Fines Online Health Provider $3.2M over Claims Practices
Feb 8 2023 // The Pill Club Holdings Inc. (dba The Pill Club) paid $3.2 million after the California Department of Insurance alleged it violated the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act by submitting false claims to insurance...
Disbarred Lawyer Pleads Not Guilty to Settlement Thefts in California
Feb 8 2023 // Disbarred lawyer Tom Girardi had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on charges he embezzled millions of dollars from some of the massive settlements he won for clients during a once prominent career. Girardi, 83, is...
Sinkhole Opens in California, Nearly Swallows Fire Engine
Feb 6 2023 // A water main burst under a Hollywood street in California, creating a sinkhole that almost swallowed a fire engine and showering a home with so much water the roof collapsed, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Flooding...
California Workers’ Comp Department’s Medical-Legal Evaluation Regulations OK’d
Feb 6 2023 // The Office of Administrative Law approved the California Division of Workers’ Compensation regulations affecting its Medical-Legal Evaluation program. The regulations include the permanent adoption of emergency...
PG&E to Face Manslaughter Trial Over Deadly California Fire
Feb 3 2023 // Pacific Gas & Electric will face trial for manslaughter over its role in a 2020 wildfire in Northern California that killed four people, a judge ruled Wednesday. The judge in Shasta County ruled after a preliminary...
California Climate Bills Requiring Broad Disclosures Have National Implications
Feb 2 2023 // A pair of California bills requiring large companies to report emissions from across their supply chains and creating more stringent reporting of climate-related impacts could have implications nationwide. Two Legislators...
California Lawsuit Seeks Damages for Unarmed Mentally Ill Man Shot in Back
Feb 2 2023 // A California widow whose husband was suffering from a mental health crisis when she called a nonemergency number for help last year sued Culver City police Tuesday, alleging they shot her unarmed husband in the back as he...
University of California Fires Swim Coach over Misconduct, Harassment Allegations
Feb 2 2023 // Longtime University of California women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever was fired following an investigation into alleged harassment, bullying and verbally abusive conduct, the school said in a statement. McKeever led...
People Moves: LP Adds Richesin in California; Buckner Appoints New Executives
Feb 2 2023 // LP Insurance Services LLC in Reno, Nevada added Doug Richesin and DLR Insurance Solutions. Richesin provides services and guidance to employee benefits clientele. Richesin joins LP Insurance as a member/owner and will...
Feds Grant $132M to Improve California Roads and Tackle Traffic Fatalities
Feb 1 2023 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $800 million in grant awards through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program includes 50 grants for communities in California. The competitive grant...
$32M Settlement in California Child Welfare Lawsuit
Feb 1 2023 // Central California’s Tulare County will pay $32 million to settle a lawsuit alleging its child welfare agency failed to respond to reports of abuse involving an infant boy who was hospitalized for malnutrition and...
California Earthquake False Alarm Offers a Lesson for Crisis Communicators
Jan 31 2023 // An earthquake false alarm nearly four years ago can teach disaster and emergency planners – and any crisis communicators, including insurers – a thing or two about communicating to the public during and after a...
Southern California’s Santa Ana Winds Toppled Trees, Big Rigs
Jan 30 2023 // Powerful Santa Ana winds tore across Southern California on last week – topping 100 mph, in parts – blowing over multiple big rigs on several highways and toppling massive 80-to-100 foot-tall trees, including in San...
People Moves: California Commissioner Appoints Members to Statewide Boards
Jan 30 2023 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appointed Carolyn Wysinger as the newest member to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan Advisory Committee, and April Savoy, Patrick Wong, and Peter Guastamachio as...
