Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Orders Cisco to Pay $1.9 Billion in Cybersecurity Patent Lawsuit
Oct 6 2020 // A U.S. judge on Monday ordered Cisco Systems Inc. to pay $1.9 billion to a Virginia company that accused it of copying its cybersecurity patents. U.S. District Judge Henry Morgan in Norfolk, Virginia, concluded after a...
Michigan Governor’s Coronavirus Powers Upended After Court Ruling
Oct 5 2020 // A 1945 law repeatedly used by Gov. Gretcher Whitmer to respond to the coronavirus pandemic was declared unconstitutional Friday by the Michigan Supreme Court, a striking decision that puts months of restrictions in...
Judge Tosses Case Over Texas Chemical Plant Fire During Harvey
Oct 5 2020 // A judge has dismissed the criminal case against a chemical manufacturer and one of its former employees over a fire at its plant near Houston during Hurricane Harvey, saying prosecutors failed to present sufficient...
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Jurisdiction Question in Climate Damages Lawsuit
Oct 5 2020 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by energy companies including BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC contesting a lawsuit by the city of Baltimore seeking damages for...
5th Circuit Backs Plaintiffs in Insurer Interest Penalty Case
Oct 5 2020 // A Houston plaintiff’s attorney defeated State Farm Lloyd’s for the fourth time on the same issue, this time coming away with a federal appellate court ruling that policyholders don’t have to prove that...
Judges Nix Consolidating COVID Business Interruption Suits Against Big Insurers
Oct 4 2020 // A panel of federal judges has decided against consolidation of hundreds of lawsuits seeking coverage for coronavirus-related business interruption claims against major national insurers Travelers, The Hartford, Cincinnati...
Judge Blocks Trump ‘Secretive’ Commission Report on Police and Civil Justice
Oct 2 2020 // Before a U.S. federal judge on Thursday halted the work of a Trump administration law enforcement commission – saying it had violated public meetings laws – the panel had been warned about shutting out public...
Virus Restrictions on Businesses, Gatherings Lifted in Most Tennessee Counties
Oct 2 2020 // Businesses in 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties will no longer have to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, even though cases of COVID-19 in the state have been persistently high. The...
Judges Dismisses $18M in Liens Filed by California Medical Provider Convicted of Fraud
Oct 1 2020 // An administrative law judge in California has dismissed liens valued at $18 million filed by convicted medical provider Michael E. Barri, bringing to a close one of the earliest cases aimed at combatting fraud in...
Vermont Department of Economic Development Hires Nevins
Oct 1 2020 // The Vermont Department of Economic Development (DED) has hired Brittany Nevins as the new Captive Insurance Economic Development director. She replaces Ian Davis, Vermont’s former director of Financial...
Florida Attorney Behind Thousands of Insurer Lawsuits Violated 14 Bar Rules: Judge
Sep 30 2020 // Embattled Florida attorney Scot Strems, who, with his firm, has filed thousands of assignment of benefit and first party lawsuits against Florida property insurers over the last several years, has been found by a...
COVID-19 Legislative Session in Louisiana Began This Week
Sep 29 2020 // Only three months removed from their last gathering, Louisiana legislators returned Monday for a special session focused on the coronavirus outbreak, with deepening rifts between Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican...
California Ban on Fracking by 2024 Criticized as Too Late
Sep 28 2020 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Wednesday to end issuing new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024, a delay criticized by many environmental groups but characterized as legally and politically realistic by...
Opinion: Missouri Appeals Court Ruling Shrinks Insurers’ Right to Intervene
Sep 28 2020 // The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has again construed the effect of the 2017 amendments to Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.065, which gave insurers a limited right to intervene and protect their interest when...
Michigan House Passes Bills Shielding Employers from Virus Lawsuits
Sep 25 2020 // A divided Michigan House voted on Sept. 23 to shield health providers and businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits filed by patients, employees or customers, advancing bills that majority Republicans said would give...
California Governor Planning to Ban Sale of New Gas Vehicles in 15 Years
Sep 25 2020 // California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation’s most populous state that could force U.S....
Congress Parks Self-Driving Car Regulation Until 2021
Sep 24 2020 // The U.S. Congress will try again in 2021 to try to approve long-stalled reforms to speed the adoption of self-driving cars, a key Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday. U.S. lawmakers have been divided for years over how to...
2 Reasons COVID-19 Legislation is the Wrong Solution
Sep 23 2020 // Back in March and April, I gave two webinars on COVID-19 for the Academy of Insurance. If you haven’t had a chance to take those, click here to get the Academy of Insurance COVID-19 related classes. One of the topics...
Coronavirus Safety: U.S. Behind Global Rivals in Protecting Meat Plant Workers
Sep 22 2020 // The U.S. government is falling behind global rivals when it comes to protecting meatpacking workers from Covid-19 infections, even though the nation’s plants were among the first to confront rampant cases across...
Banks, Insurers Await ‘Brexit Dividend’ of ‘British-Style’ Regulation
Sep 22 2020 // Britain will adopt tough but less bureaucratic financial rules after Brexit, starting with simpler regulation of small banks, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Tuesday. Britain will soon unveil new...
