FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN FLORIDA'S COUNTERSIGNATURE
LAWS.
A federal judge has struck down Florida's countersignature and
surplus lines coverage statutes as unconstitutional "to the extent
they deny to Florida-licensed nonresident insurance agents the . . .
SUPREME COURT APPLIES PUNITIVE-DAMAGE LIMITS TO PERSONAL
INJURY.
The Supreme Court vacated two large awards of punitive damages in
wrongful death cases Oct. 6, sending them back to lower courts to
reconsider in light of its decision this year in State Farm v. . . .
WATCH ON THE MEDIA.
The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 3 that people familiar with
the matter say M. R. "Hank" Greenberg, chairman of American
International Group, pressured the former president of the New . . .
WISCONSIN PUNITIVE AWARD OF $94 MILLION IS OVERTURNED.
A Wisconsin appeals court has overturned an award of $94 million
against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America in the deaths of three
ironworkers killed when a crane collapsed during construction . . .
PENNSYLVANIA ENACTS LOWER BLOOD-ALCOHOL LIMITS.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) has signed legislation
lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit for driving from 0.10 percent to
0.08 percent.
The measure, SB 8, also imposes penalties on . . .
GEORGIA WEIGHS RULES FOR JUDICIAL CANDIDATES.
The public has until Oct. 20 to comment on the Georgia Supreme
Court's proposed new rules for judicial candidates.
The rules were drafted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's
ruling in . . .
CALIFORNIA HEIR LIABLE FOR $20 MILLION TO WOMAN HE RAPED.
A California judge has ordered Andrew Luster, heir to the Max
Factor cosmetics fortune, to pay more than $20 million in damages to a
woman he drugged and raped after meeting her at a college . . .
CALIFORNIA LAWSUIT BLAMES MICROSOFT FOR WORMHOLES.
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Sept. 30 claims
Microsoft Corp.'s failure to provide software that is secure
against viruses violates the state's law against unfair business
practices . . .
SAFECO TO SELL LIFE, INVESTMENT-MANAGEMENT BUSINESS.
Safeco announced Sept. 29 it has decided to sell its life and
investments business unit to concentrate on becoming one of the
top-performing companies in the property/casualty business.
The . . .
CANADA'S MANULIFE TO TAKE OVER JOHN HANCOCK.
Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. and Boston-based John
Hancock Financial Services, Inc. announced Sept. 28 that they will
merge, with Hancock stockholders receiving Manulife stock . . .
NUMBER OF U.S. UNINSURED RISES TO 43.6 MILLION, CENSUS
SAYS.
The Census Bureau reported Sept. 30 that 43.6 million Americans,
15.2 percent of the population, lacked health insurance last year-up by
5.8 percent or 2.4 million people from 2001.
The increase . . .
NINTH CIRCUIT JOINS OTHERS IN UPHOLDING ARBITRATION
CLAUSES.
Reversing an earlier decision, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals joined the other circuits Sept. 30 in holding that Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act doesn't bar employers from imposing . . .
PANEL CONSIDERS IMPACT OF MEDMAL PREMIUMS ON ACCESS TO
CARE.
Another congressional committee took up the cost of medical
malpractice Oct. 1, with the House Government Reform subcommittee on
human rights & wellness examining whether it causes . . .
GOV. DAVIS SIGNS WORKERS' COMP BILL.
Gov. Gray Davis tried to energize Californians to vote against
recalling him Oct. 7 by signing a raft of bills, including workers'
compensation reform. He said he would let voters know before . . .
SENATE JUDICIARY PASSES PICKERING NOMINATION ON PARTY-LINE
VOTE.
After hours of partisan debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee
voted Oct. 2 on a 10-9 party-line vote to approve the nomination of U.S.
District Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr. to the Fifth Circuit . . .
LIFE INSURERS GAIN REPRIEVE ON COLI TAX FROM SENATE
FINANCE.
In response to the abrupt crash of the corporate-owned life
insurance market since Sept. 17 when the Senate Finance Committee voted
to require companies to pay tax on COLI death benefits, the . . .
OKLAHOMA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER ARRESTED FOR DRUNK
DRIVING.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher was arrested Sept.
21 on charges of drunk driving, but he says the charge has no effect on
his ability to serve and he has no plans to step down.
"I . . .
NEW YORK: RULING MIXED ON WHETHER 9/11 ATTACKS WERE ONE
EVENT.
The Second U.S. Court of Appeals handed a major victory to several
insurers Sept. 26 by ruling that the crashes of two hijacked airliners
into the twin towers of the World Trade Center were, under . . .
NEVADA CASINO SUED BY INJURED MOTORCYCLE GANG MEMBERS.
Nine members of the Mongols motorcycle gang are suing Harrah's
Entertainment Inc., alleging the company's hotel-casino in
Laughlin, NV, did not provide adequate security for them when they . . .
MICHIGAN SENATE REJECTS GOVERNOR'S ORDER ON WORKERS
COMP.
The Michigan Senate voted Sept. 24 to reject an executive order by
Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) that would creating a new state Department of
Labor and Economic Growth. Several Republican senators . . .
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