TEXAS CLASS ACTION ON CREDIT-SCORING NOT BARRED BY
McCARRAN.
The McCarran-Ferguson Act reserving regulation of the business of
insurance to the states doesn't preempt a nationwide class action
filed by Texas consumers challenging insurance . . .
ILLINOIS: NO ATTORNEY FEES FOR RICO DEFENDANTS.
Unlike plaintiffs, defendants in lawsuits brought under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act cannot recover
attorney fees, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Nov. . . .
ILLINOIS JURY'S 37:1 PUNITIVE AWARD IN BEDBUG LAWSUIT IS
UPHELD.
The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld punitive
damages awards totaling of $372,000 - more than 37 times compensatory
damages of $10,000-to two plaintiffs who were bitten by bedbugs . . .
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS REOPENS ERGONOMICS.
The American Society of Safety Engineers urged employers Nov. 26 to
reopen the debate on ergonomics and generate new ideas and opportunities
not previously presented in the 13-year debate over . . .
FRIST DECIDES NOT TO FIGHT ON MTBE LAWSUIT PROTECTION.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) decided early last week he
could not find the two votes he needed to cut off debate on the massive
energy bill, thus stalling any further action on the . . .
SENATE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES FAIR CREDIT CONFERENCE BILL.
The Senate, late Nov. 22, unanimously approved the conference
report on the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003.
The House approved the measure Nov. 21 by a vote of 379 to 49.
The . . .
BUSH NEARS A TORT VICTORY ON CLASS ACTION BILL.
President Bush appears on the verge of seeing passage of a class
action bill he supports in the wake of an agreement Nov. 25 between
three Democratic senators and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist . . .
FRIST VICTORIOUS ON MEDICARE; NINE REPUBLICANS VOTE NO.
At the end of his first session as Senate Majority Leader, Sen.
Bill Frist (R-TN) emerged victorious Nov. 25 by a vote of 54 to 44 after
a bruising battle over a Medicare prescription drug bill . . .
WATCH ON THE MEDIA.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported Nov. 18 that the medical staff of a
New Jersey hospital has retaliated against a doctor by ousting him as
its president after he publicly opposed other physicians in . . .
WYOMING GOVERNOR PROPOSES MEDMAL CAPS IN CONSTITUTION.
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) has proposed a constitutional
amendment giving the state authority to enact limits on noneconomic
damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.
The state constitution . . .
OKLAHOMA INSURER SEEKS 82% INCREASE IN MEDMAL RATES.
Oklahoma's Physicians Liability Insurance, the state's
largest provider of medical malpractice insurance, has asked Insurance
Commissioner Carroll Fisher to approve an 82.8 percent increase . . .
OHIO INSURANCE REGULATORS SEE UNINSURED MARKET
STABILIZING.
The commercial auto insurance market for uninsured/ underinsured
motorist coverage in Ohio is stabilizing two years after passage of a
state law eliminating a requirement that insurers offer the . . .
NEW YORK RULING ALLOWS CLASS ACTION AGAINST NURSING
HOMES.
An appellate court in New York has ruled a class action should be
certified against a nursing home accused of negligence and malpractice.
Reversing a lower court in Fleming v. Barnwell Nursing . . .
MINNESOTA DIOCESE TALLIES ABUSE CLAIMS AT $1.4 MILLION.
Reporting results of an investigation into sexual abuse between
1950 and 2002, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth, MN, said it had
paid out $1.4 million as a result of allegations of sexual abuse . . .
MASSACHUSETTS ANTI-RUNNER BILL ADVANCES IN LEGISLATURE.
The Massachusetts legislature's Joint Committee on Criminal
Justice has approved a bill aimed at preventing "runners" from
recruiting clients for unscrupulous plaintiffs' attorneys and
medical . . .
ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY'S MEDICAL CENTER SETTLES
TRANSPLANT-SUIT.
The University of Illinois has agreed to a $2 million settlement of
a suit charging its Chicago medical center defrauded the U.S.
government's liver-transplant procurement system by . . .
CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR CALLS SPECIAL SESSION ON WORKERS'
COMP.
Newly inaugurated Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has called the
Legislature into special session to enact new cost-saving reforms in the
state's workers' compensation system.
Schwarzenegger . . .
CALIFORNIA REGENTS AGREE TO $18 MILLION SETTLEMENT.
The University of California agreed Nov. 19 to an $18 million
settlement of charges that women working at its Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory were systematically paid less and promoted . . .
TRAVELERS, ST. PAUL AGREE TO MERGE.
Travelers Property Casualty Corp. and St. Paul Cos. said Nov. 17
they have agreed to merge in a $16.2 billion, all-stock transaction.
The combined company, to be named St. Paul Travelers Cos., . . .
7TH CIRCUIT TO TAKE UP RELIGIOUS-ACCOMMODATION SUITS.
The full Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will decide next
year whether private plaintiffs may bring federal lawsuits charging
states with failure to provide religious accommodations.
A . . .
|
|