FRIST WEIGHING WHETHER TO CALL UP CLASS ACTION BILL.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) was still undecided Feb. 6
whether he would call up the class action bill, S. 1751, when the Senate
finishes the transportation reauthorization bill.
. . .
SENATE FINANCE PASSES COLI COMPROMISE ON VOICE VOTE.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-IA)
succeeded Feb. 2 in getting a compromise measure through his committee
on a voice vote that would restrict the circumstances under . . .
TAUZIN STEPS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN OF HOUSE COMMERCE
COMMITTEE.
Amid rampant speculation that he is about to take a highly paid job
as a lobbyist, Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA) resigned last
week as chairman of the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee.
. . .
INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY SAYS TESTS CONFIRM SAFETY
RATINGS.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported last week that
its 40 mph frontal-offset crash test are accurate predictors of
real-world performance, with motorists in vehicles achieving . . .
NHTSA PUBLISHES FIRST ROLL0VER RATINGS.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published its
first rollover ratings last week, with the Ford Explorer Sport Trac 4x2
pickup scoring the lowest and the none of 21 other vehicles . . .
FORMER PLAINTIFFS' ATTORNEY EDWARDS WINS SOUTH
CAROLINA.
Former plaintiffs' attorney John Edwards won the South
Carolina Democratic primary Feb. 3 with 46 percent of the vote. The win
not only made Edwards the apparent chief rival to Sen. John Kerry . . .
ATRA SETS PREEMPTIVE PRIORITIES IN STATE LEGISLATURES.
Tort reformers plan to move from a primarily defensive to a
preemptive role this year, going beyond the staple of medical
malpractice into efforts to cut off lawsuits over obesity before . . .
BUSH NO LONGER HAS UNIFIED CONGRESSIONAL GOP SUPPORT.
As the president's approval ratings dropped for the first time
below 50 percent in a Gallup poll, Republicans in both the House and
Senate last week broke ranks with him over his $2.4 trillion . . .
VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS PUSH TORT REFORM.
Majority Republicans in the Virginia House are offering a package
of tort reform bills they say will help protect the state's
businesses from unnecessary legal expenses that drive up the cost . . .
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE PASSES TORT REFORM BILLS.
The South Carolina House has approved tort reform legislation
including caps on damages and a review process for medical liability
cases.
The measures now go to the Senate, where proponents . . .
OHIO: CINCINNATI LIFE SETTLES SUIT OVER DISCRIMINATORY
PRICES.
Cincinnati Life Insurance Co. has agreed to a multi-state
settlement of allegations a predecessor company charged
African-Americans higher premiums than whites from 1947 to 1968, Ohio
Insurance . . .
NORTH DAKOTA SENATE VOTES FOR FILE-AND-USE SYSTEM.
The North Dakota Senate has voted to permit all insurance companies
in the state to adopt new rates without waiting for regulatory approval.
The 33-2 vote sends the measure to the House Commerce . . .
MISSOURI REGULATOR CONCLUDES CREDIT SCORING HURTS
MINORITIES.
Releasing a Missouri Department of Insurance report that concludes
insurers' use of credit scoring harms low-income and minority
policyholders, Gov. Bob Holden called on the legislature Jan. 29 . . .
ILLINOIS JUDGE CREATES INACTIVE DOCKET FOR ASBESTOS
CASES.
A judge in Madison County, IL, has created an "inactive
docket" for asbestos lawsuits for those who have filed claims but
have not yet developed any symptoms of injury.
Groups representing . . .
FLORIDA'S TOP COURT LIMITS FRAUDULENT-TRANSFER LAW.
Florida's Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act doesn't allow a
creditor to recover from a defendant that allegedly aided and abetted a
scam, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Jan. 29.
To rule otherwise . . .
CALIFORNIA ARMENIAN-AMERICANS GET $20 MILLION FUND.
New York Life Insurance Co. has agreed to set up a $20 million
settlement of pay claims of descendants of Armenians massacred by Turks
in the early 20th century, California Insurance Commissioner . . .
AUTO INSURANCE, WORKERS' COMP TOP ISSUES IN 2003, NAMIC
REPORTS.
Workers' compensation and auto insurance dominated state
legislative activities affecting property/casualty insurers in 2003, the
National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies reports.
Of . . .
PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES WORRY ABOUT D&O LAWSUITS,
TOO.
Concern about lawsuits against directors and officers isn't
confined to publicly held companies, the Chubb Group of Insurance
Companies reports.
Nearly two in five privately held companies . . .
D&O INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOR EXECUTIVES UP 33% IN 2003.
Premiums for directors and officers liability insurance rose from
29 percent in 2002 to 33 percent in 2003, a survey by
Tillinghast-Towers-Perrin shows.
The premiums were the highest ever . . .
HALLIBURTON GETS $575M FROM EQUITAS ON ASBESTOS CLAIMS.
Halliburton Co. said Jan. 28 it had agreed with Reinsurer Equitas
to resolve all asbestos claims the Houston company has against
Lloyd's of London, which set up Equitas in 1996 to handle . . .
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