Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Limits Delaware’s Sweeping Climate Change Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Companies
Jan 14 2024 // A judge has rejected several claims lodged by Delaware’s attorney general in a lawsuit alleging that the fossil fuel industry has downplayed the risks of climate change. Tuesday’s ruling significantly narrows...
Judge Says Lawsuit vs. Parkland School Deputy Can Go to Trial
Jan 12 2024 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by families of the 17 people killed and other victims of the Parkland, Florida, school massacre against a former sheriff’s deputy who failed to intervene can go forward,...
Judge Approves $2.8M Settlement for Unpaid Work by Michigan Cosmetology Students
Jan 10 2024 // A judge has approved a $2.8 million settlement in a dispute over unpaid work performed by aspiring hair stylists at a Michigan cosmetology school. Roughly 1,500 people will get some compensation for cleaning floors,...
Microsoft, OpenAI Hit With New Lawsuit by Authors Over AI Training
Jan 8 2024 // OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft were sued on Friday in Manhattan federal court by a pair of nonfiction authors who say the companies misused their work to train the artificial-intelligence models behind the...
Oregon Judge Refuses to Dismiss 2015 Climate Lawsuit Filed by Youth
Jan 5 2024 // A judge in Oregon rejected a U.S. Department of Justice request to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit brought by young people that alleges the federal government knew the dangers posed by carbon pollution but that it has continued...
Vermont Lawmakers See Flood Recovery, Public Safety, Opioid Crisis as Priorities
Jan 5 2024 // Recovery from the catastrophic flooding that hit Vermont this summer, climate resiliency, improving public safety, tackling opioid addiction, and creating more affordable housing are among the top priorities of the...
Questions on AI, Budget Deficit, Gun Owners Liability Await California Lawmakers
Jan 4 2024 // California lawmakers returned to work this week for the start of an election-year legislative session dominated by decisions on artificial intelligence and the state`s struggling budget. The budget is a big issue every...
Former MMA Attorney Suspended; Texas Judge Approves Temporary Restraining Order Against Law Firm
Jan 3 2024 // A former attorney for McClenny Moseley & Associates, who was accused of dishonesty while participating in his law firm’s filing of hundreds of hurricane-damage lawsuits, agreed last month to a nine-month...
Judge Blocks Alabama Cannabis Licenses Amid Dispute Over Selection Process
Jan 3 2024 // MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge temporarily blocked Alabama from issuing licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries amid an ongoing legal battle over how the state selected the winning companies. Montgomery Circuit...
‘Smash-and-Grab’ Robberies Fuel New Laws, but Critics Question the Need
Jan 2 2024 // Even before Virginia lawmakers passed a tough new law against organized retail crime earlier this year, Bradley Haywood, a public defender in Arlington, Virginia, challenged the rationale. The idea that retailers in the...
Tokyo Court Rules Only Fukushima Operator Must Pay Compensation, Cuts Damages
Dec 28 2023 // A Tokyo court has ruled that only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees, relieving the government of responsibility. Plaintiffs criticized the ruling as...
Twitter Violated Contract by Failing to Pay Millions in Bonuses, Judge Rules
Dec 28 2023 // Twitter violated contracts by failing to pay millions of dollars in bonuses that the social media company, now called X Corp, had promised its employees, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Mark Schobinger, who was...
French Climate Damage Measures Came Late but Were Sufficient, Court Rules
Dec 27 2023 // France’s moves to limit climate damage came late but were sufficient, a French court ruled on Friday, in a blow to attempts by environmental campaigners to impose a 1.1 billion euro ($1.21 billion) penalty on the...
Litigation Abuse, Regulation, Hard Market Among Insurance Trades’ Priorities for 2024
Dec 27 2023 // Insurance trade organizations are always working for the industry so Insurance Journal asked them: What are the top priorities and/or challenges heading into 2024? Here are the responses we received: In the coming year,...
Illinois Appeals Court Rules Exclusion Bars BIPA Claims
Dec 20 2023 // An Illinois appellate court decided Tuesday that a general liability insurance policy sold to a Waukegan packaging company clearly excluded coverage for violations of the state Biometric Information Privacy Act, saying a...
Lawsuits Claiming Tylenol Causes Autism Lack Scientific Support, Judge Finds
Dec 20 2023 // A judge has barred expert witnesses from testifying that Johnson & Johnson spin-off Kenvue’s painkiller Tylenol can cause autism if mothers take it during pregnancy, finding that they failed to support their...
Florida Court Rulings, Legislation Could Impact Insurers’ Claims Practices
Dec 19 2023 // Recent Florida legislation that has limited plaintiffs’ attorney fees and has raised the bar for bringing bad-faith claims against insurers appears to have already had an impact on the level of claims litigation in...
Florida Judge Slams Universal for ‘Stonewalling,’ Demands Answers From Company
Dec 19 2023 // Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. officials are discounting the significance of recent Florida judges’ rulings that have slammed the company for violating court orders, have forced Universal to default...
Judge Blocks Chubb Exit From New York Diocese’s Thousands of Child Sex Abuse Suits
Dec 19 2023 // A New York judge has ruled that the “plain language” of Chubb Insurance policies dictates that the insurer must cover the Archdiocese of New York parishes and schools as they contend with thousands of sex abuse...
Lawmakers Urge Expanded Safety and Mental Health Programs for Commercial Fishermen
Dec 14 2023 // A federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder and worker fatigue, a group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska said. The lawmakers...
