Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Bankruptcy Judge Rules GM’s $1 Billion Stock Settlement Over Ignition Invalid

Jan 19 2018 // A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday said a settlement agreement that would require General Motors Co. to pay $1 billion in stock to car owners suing the company over faulty ignition switches was not enforceable.Judge...

Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Named Consumer Committee Chair at NAIC

Jan 18 2018 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has been named chairman of the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for 2018. The mission of the...

Legislative Panel Backs Proposal to Ban Dicamba Herbicide in Arkansas

Jan 18 2018 // Arkansas lawmakers recommended regulators move forward on Jan. 16 with efforts to ban an herbicide that farmers in several states say has drifted onto their crops and caused damage, advancing the prohibition despite a...

U.S. Judge Excludes 70,000 Women from Sterling Jewelers Sex Bias Lawsuit

Jan 18 2018 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday overturned an arbitrator’s ruling allowing about 70,000 women to take part in a nationwide sex discrimination case against Sterling Jewelers Inc even though they had not opted to join.U.S....

Judge Allows Philadelphia’s Suit Claiming Unfair Lending by Wells Fargo

Jan 17 2018 // A federal judge in Philadelphia on Tuesday rejected Wells Fargo & Co.’s bid to dismiss that city’s lawsuit accusing the largest U.S. mortgage lender of predatory lending targeting black and Hispanic...

Ascent Launches Allied Health Professional Liability Product

Jan 17 2018 // Ascent Underwriting, a niche-product managing general agent, has launched a professional liability product for allied health practitioners and facilities in the U.S.Ascent’s new Allied Health product includes a...

Report Shows Florida AOB Abuse Worsening as Lawmakers Consider Reforms

Jan 17 2018 // The 2018 Florida Legislative Session is underway, and lawmakers have wasted no time taking up legislation to address the assignment of benefits crisis plaguing the state.While they debate which reform option to back,...

Backers Call for Restarting Stalled Bipartisan Bill to Speed Autonomous Vehicles

Jan 17 2018 // Automakers and lawmakers expressed hope on Tuesday that U.S. Congress would soon pass a stalled bill aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market, even as safety advocates argued for more performance requirements.The U.S....

Here Are Some Post-Brexit Scenarios Being Discussed for UK Financial Services

Jan 16 2018 // A stand-off between Britain and the European Union over the future of London’s vast financial services industry is shaping up as one of the key Brexit battlegrounds of this year.EU trade negotiator Michel Barnier has...

Supreme Court Case on SEC Judges Could Disrupt Administrative Proceedings

Jan 16 2018 // The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Securities and Exchange Commission’s in-house judges were appointed in violation of the Constitution, agreeing to hear a case that could upend administrative hearing...

West Virginia Proposes Comprehensive Drug Plan to Address State Opioid Crisis

Jan 16 2018 // State health officials are proposing a multifaceted plan for confronting the drug crisis killing hundreds of West Virginians each year, one that would require action by everyone from lawmakers to doctors to judges to...

The Hartford and Travelers Among Companies Offering Bonuses Due to New Tax Law

Jan 12 2018 // Hartford, Conn.-based The Hartford and New York City-headquartered Travelers confirmed they are among several companies giving their employees bonuses of $1,000 each if they earn $75,000 or less annually as a result of...

Vermont Poised to Enact Legal Pot Through Legislature

Jan 12 2018 // The Vermont Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow the recreational use of marijuana, putting the state on course to become the first in the country to legalize pot by an act of the Legislature...

Federal Judge to Streamline Lawsuits Over GenX Chemical in North Carolina River

Jan 12 2018 // A federal judge wants to streamline lawsuits blaming two companies for releasing a little-understood compound from a North Carolina chemical plant into waters used by hundreds of thousands of people. U.S. District Judge...

Judge Rules North Dakota Law Limiting Malpractice Damages Unconstitutional

Jan 11 2018 // A state district judge has ruled that North Dakota’s law limiting damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional.The Bismarck Tribune reports the ruling came in a case involving a Fort Yates woman who...

Lawmakers Consider Again Extending Maine Pot Sales Ban

Jan 11 2018 // Maine lawmakers on Tuesday considered a proposal to extend a ban on retail sales of marijuana until May 1 to give the state more time to craft rules about legal pot.Lawmakers in the state are trying once again to sort out...

Federal Safety Agency Seeks to Remove Roadblocks to Autonomous Trucks, Buses

Jan 11 2018 // Federal regulators are taking the first step toward creating a policy guiding the development of autonomous transportation beyond self-driving cars to include trucks, buses and other ground-based modes.The U.S....

Judge Nixes $28 Million Xarelto Jury Award in Victory for Bayer, J&J

Jan 10 2018 // A Pennsylvania state court judge on Tuesday overturned a $27.8 million jury award to an Indiana couple who accused Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn of internal bleeding risks of their drug Xarelto, the...

Judge Overseeing Local Opioid Lawsuits Hopes for ‘Meaningful’ Settlement

Jan 10 2018 // The judge overseeing U.S. cities’ and counties’ lawsuits against makers of opioid painkillers said he hopes a sweeping resolution can be worked out by the end of the year that will have a “meaningful...

Florida Appeals Court, Regulator Reject Policy Language Aimed at Curbing AOB Abuse

Jan 10 2018 // A Florida appeals court has sided with the state’s insurance regulator in rejecting policy language filed by a Florida homeowners insurer to restrict the use of assignment of benefits.The decision could have a...