Declarations – Southeast

It’s the Law

“Personally, I don’t like the Affordable Care Act. It’s the law, whether you like it or not.”

—Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney saying he’s going to continue with plans for a state-run health insurance exchange, despite opposition from some in the Tea Party.

Guard Duty

“But unless Kroger was on notice of an atmosphere of violence in its parking lot, it had no duty to place an armed guard there. And because Knox failed to present sufficient evidence on this point, we must reverse and render.”

—Mississippi Supreme Court in a decision throwing out a $2.5 million judgment for a woman who lost sight in one eye when purse-snatchers beat her in a Kroger supermarket parking lot. The woman contended that Kroger should have had an armed guard in the parking lot.

Commercial Free Speech

“The statute unconstitutionally restricts the commercial speech of public adjusters because it is not narrowly tailored to serve the state’s interests in ensuring ethical conduct by public adjusters and protecting homeowners.”

—The Florida Supreme Court ruling that a 2008 Florida law establishing a 48-hour moratorium on public adjusters is unconstitutional on grounds that it restricts commercial speech.

New Beach

“I think perhaps some long-period waves in the latter half of the storm, as it moved away, could have done this.”

—Scott Douglass, a coastal engineer with the University of South Alabama, explaining how Tropical Storm Debby left a new beach in her wake in the west end of Dauphin Island.