Monthly Archives: <span>December 2019</span>

Boat Safety Law Proposed After California Fire Killed 34

LOS ANGELES — A group of California congressional members have proposed tighter safety standards for small boats after a diving charter vessel burned and sank in September, killing 34 people. Only five people — the captain and four crew members …

New Laws in Calif., Colo., Mich., Ore. and La. to Impact Claims Professionals

Legislation that creates potential for more employment law claims in California and a measure that may give attorneys a new tool to extract larger settlements from Colorado auto insurers are among new laws that will impact insurance claims professionals in …

Insurance Plan Fights Overhaul Aimed at Wildfire Areas

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As California homeowners in wildfire-prone areas struggle to find insurance, a lawsuit filed Friday will test the state’s authority to help them. California’s insurance industry pays into a fund that sells coverage to people who can’t buy …

Cyberattack on New Orleans City Computers Called ‘Minimal’

NEW ORLEANS — Officials announced Saturday that no data was held for ransom and that a recovery operation is getting underway after a cyberattack a day earlier triggered a shutdown of city government computers in New Orleans. Chief Information Officer …

Bayer Asks Appeals Court To Reverse $25M Roundup Verdict

Bayer AG on Monday said it has asked a U.S. federal appeals court to throw out a $25 million judgment it was ordered to pay to a California man who blamed the company’s Roundup weed killer for his cancer. In …

There’s a 60,000-Year-Old Way to Help Stop Australia Burning

Australia’s indigenous people say the bushfire-ravaged country is paying the price for ignoring their expertise in managing the ecology of the world’s-driest inhabited continent. The fires have already burned more than 6 million acres — an area the size of …

PG&E Plunges as It Races to Meet Governor Bankruptcy Demand

PG&E Corp. shares plummeted after California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected its bankruptcy restructuring plan, forcing the company to make sweeping changes to meet his demands. The state’s largest power company has until Tuesday to address conditions that Newsom laid out …

Bankrupt Philadelphia Refinery Expects Second Insurance Payment

Insurers of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) have indicated they will make a second payment of $15 million from its property policy in connection to the June fire and subsequent shutdown of the plant, court documents showed. The payout will be …

Insurers Balk at Defending Sexual Misconduct Claims; Weinstein No Exception

While Harvey Weinstein’s insurers have reportedly agreed to pay $47 million to settle civil suits against the movie producer, most policyholders should prepare for an epic legal battle just to get their insurers to defend them against accusations of sexual …

Agency Probes 12th Tesla Crash Tied to Possible Autopilot Use

WASHINGTON — The U.S. auto safety agency said on Friday it will investigate a 12th Tesla crash that may be tied to the vehicle’s advanced Autopilot driver assistance system after a Tesla Model 3 rear-ended a parked police car in …