Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Rules Ex-UCLA Gynecologist Can Be Retried on Charges of Sexually Abusing Female Patients
Nov 6 2023 // A former gynecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles who was sentenced to prison for sexually abusing student patients can be retried on charges involving additional women, a judge ruled. A Superior Court...
Judge Rules Virginia Teacher Shot by Student Can Proceed with $40 Million Lawsuit
Nov 6 2023 // A teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40 million lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday. The surprise...
Ohio Law Applies in Insurance Dispute over Superfund Remediation Costs, Court Rules
Nov 3 2023 // Ohio law must be used to resolve an insurance dispute involving a polluted site in Michigan caused by manufacturing companies based in Ohio and Indiana, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The 5-2 decision may force...
Lawmakers Advance Bill to Increase Transparency of Pennsylvania’s Universities
Nov 3 2023 // An effort supporters say will boost transparency in several leading Pennsylvania universities passed the House of Representatives on Monday, while the universities’ annual state subsidies remain snarled in the...
NC Commissioner Fires Top Fire Marshal Officials as Feud with Lawmakers Continues
Nov 1 2023 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey appears to have escalated a feud with lawmakers, firing three officials at the state fire marshal’s office after legislation stripped Causey of the marshal’s...
Poultry Producers Ask Judge to Dismiss Ruling That They Polluted an Oklahoma Watershed
Oct 31 2023 // A group of poultry producers, including the world’s largest, have asked a federal judge to dismiss his ruling that they polluted an Oklahoma watershed. Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, Minnesota-based Cargill Inc. and the...
Florida Appeals Court Ruling Puts New Scrutiny on Wind Experts’ Credibility
Oct 31 2023 // Expert testimony is subject to a well-established standard set forth by the US Supreme Court 30 years ago in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharms., Inc. Under the Daubert standard, trial judges are gatekeepers of expert testimony,...
Colorado Judge Chides Company That Tried to Pay $23,500 Settlement in 3 Tons of Coins
Oct 27 2023 // A Colorado judge chided a welding company that tried to pay off a $23,500 settlement with a subcontractor by sending the money in loose coins that weighed 3 tons. Judge Joseph Findley ruled Monday that JMF Enterprises...
Australia Court Rules Carnival Negligent Over Cruise’s COVID Risks in Landmark Ruling
Oct 26 2023 // A cruise operator that failed to cancel a voyage from Sydney that led to a major COVID-19 outbreak was ruled negligent in its duty of care to passengers in an Australian class-action case Wednesday. The Ruby Princess ocean...
Judges Ask Why Trump Waited Years Before Claiming ‘Presidential Immunity’ in Defamation Case
Oct 26 2023 // A federal appeals panel wants to know why lawyers for former President Donald Trump didn’t try years ago to use a claim of absolute presidential immunity to shield him from a defamation lawsuit by a woman who accused...
Illinois Court Ruling Allows Zurich to Proceed With Subrogation Action in $3 Million Builder’s Risk Claim
Oct 25 2023 // Zurich American Insurance Co. may pursue a subrogation lawsuit against a subcontractor that it says forced it to pay a nearly $3 million builder’s risk claim by designing a defective stormwater detention system...
South Carolina Prosecutors Want to Limit Minority Leader’s Sway Over Judges
Oct 25 2023 // COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nine of South Carolina`s 16 elected prosecutors are asking to remove all legislators who are lawyers from a committee that decides which judicial candidates are put before the General Assembly...
Judge Rules Against Alex Jones, Denies Bankruptcy Protection in Sandy Hook Lawsuit
Oct 24 2023 // HOUSTON (AP) – A Texas judge has ruled that Infowars host Alex Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying more than $1.1 billion to families who sued over his conspiracy theories that the Sandy Hook school...
Ohio Governor Signs New Law Ensuring Full Compensation for Boy Scout Abuse Victims
Oct 16 2023 // COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Victims of child sexual abuse in Ohio will see more compensation for the crimes committed against them while in the Boy Scouts of America after Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a new law...
AM Best Tweaks State Farm Outlook to Negative After Weather, Regulatory Issues
Oct 16 2023 // The AM Best financial rating firm has downgraded its outlook for multiple State Farm insurance companies due to weather losses and regulations that the rating firm said hinder the insurance giant’s ability to...
Judge Denies Firm’s Claim for Hurricane Damages Lawsuit Fees
Oct 16 2023 // A federal judge rejected a request by McClenny Moseley & Associates to claim an interest in legal fees and expenses from a hurricane damage lawsuit, saying the law firm obtained its clients illegally by using a...
Bankruptcy Judge Denies Survivors’ ‘Hopeless’ Bid to Sue Rockville Diocese Insurers
Oct 5 2023 // The judge overseeing the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy has denied a request by the committee representing sexual abuse claimants for permission to sue the church’s insurers, calling the filing a...
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination in Texas A&M Faculty Fellowship Program
Oct 5 2023 // A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Texas A&M University claiming a faculty fellowship program at the flagship in College Station discriminated against white and Asian male candidates. In a decision...
Trump Civil Trial Day 3: Trump Appeals Pre-Trial Ruling; Judge Chides Lawyers
Oct 5 2023 // A judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial pounded his fists in frustration with the former U.S. president’s lawyers on Wednesday for what he described as redundant and “ridiculous”...
California Judge Rules Tesla Owners Must Arbitrate False Ad Claims Over Autopilot Feature
Oct 2 2023 // A California federal judge has ruled that a group of people who own cars made by Tesla Inc must pursue claims that the company misled the public about its autopilot features in individual arbitration rather than court. The...
