Monthly Archives: <span>October 2020</span>

Over 60 Exhibits Damaged at Berlin Museums, Motive a Mystery

BERLIN — More than 60 artworks and artifacts at some of Berlin’s best-known museums were smeared with an oily liquid by an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators earlier this month, authorities said Wednesday. They were hopeful that the apparently random damage …

Photographer Sues Over Texas Mascot’s Pre-Sugar Bowl Charge

AUSTIN, Texas — A photographer is suing the owners and handlers of the University of Texas’ live mascot for negligence, saying he suffered permanent neck and back injuries when the longhorn steer charged out of its pen and plowed into …

Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead to 3 Criminal Charges

NEW YORK — Purdue Pharma LP agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges over the handling of its addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with U.S. prosecutors that effectively sidestepped paying billions of dollars in penalties and stopped short …

No Coverage Owed for Home Destroyed by Fire Even if Agent Pocketed Premiums

A property insurer is off the hook for a $200,000 claim against a policy that it canceled, leaving a lawsuit filed against a former insurance agent who was arrested for pocketing premiums as the only apparent recourse available to the …

Viewpoint: J.S. Held CEO Refutes ‘Claims Surrogate’ Label

William F “Chip” Merlin is both a nationally known and a respected advocate for policyholders who raises timely issues in his blog. In his post, dated Oct. 20, 2020, Mr. Merlin references a McKinsey study predicting a growing outsourcing model …

Insurers Drop Appeal Against UK COVID-19 Payout Ruling on Three Policies

LONDON — Six insurers have decided not to appeal against a London High Court ruling that they were wrong to reject claims from holders of three business interruption insurance policies who have been pushed to the brink of collapse by …

Large Earthquake Off Alaska Prompts Tsunami Fears, Fleeing

JUNEAU, Alaska — A magnitude 7.5 earthquake prompted a tsunami warning Monday for a nearly thousand-mile stretch of Alaska’s southern coast, with waves over 2 feet at the nearest community as the threat subsided. The quake was centered near Sand …

Suits Challenge Emissions by Georgia Sterilizing Company

ATLANTA — Homeowners in Georgia have filed a lawsuit over emissions of a chemical used by a company that sterilizes medical equipment. The Journal-Constitution reports that the attorney for the couple who filed the suit says it’s the first of …

6 Russian Officers Charged in ‘Destructive’ Hacking Campaign

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced charges against Russian intelligence officers in cyberattacks that targeted a French presidential election, the Winter Olympics in South Korea and American businesses. The case implicates the Kremlin unit that interfered in the 2016 U.S. …

Justices Review Priest Abuse Lawsuit’s Ruling on Time Limits

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s highest court on Tuesday grappled with whether a woman’s lawsuit on claims of sexual abuse by a priest decades ago should be allowed to proceed — a lower-court ruling that has launched many other lawsuits since …