Monthly Archives: <span>February 2024</span>

Lithium Ion Battery Caused Fatal Fire in Harlem Apartment Building, Say Officials

A lithium ion battery sparked a fire that killed one person and injured 17 others at a New York City apartment building, fire officials said Saturday. Friday’s two-alarm fire began just after 2 p.m. on the third floor of a …

State Farm Sues Norfolk Southern Over Ohio Train Derailment Damages

State Farm Insurance brought forth a subrogation lawsuit last week against Norfolk Southern over damages to a pair of East Palestine, Ohio homes allegedly caused by the railroad company’s February 2023 train derailment. State Farm filed a complaint in Columbiana …

Subterranean Termites Creating a ‘New Norm’ in Florida, Damaging Homes and Trees

Some of the most insidious and damaging species of termites are spreading across Florida, causing damage to homes as swarming season approaches in March, experts say. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that entomologists at the University of Florida are …

Jury Finds Former NRA Chief LaPierre Misspent Gun Group’s Funds, Owes $4.4M

The longtime head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, misspent millions of dollars of the organization’s money, using the funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle that included exotic getaways and trips on private planes and superyachts, a New …

Hawaii State And County Officials Seeking $1B From Legislature for Maui Recovery

Hawaii state and county officials have requested about $1 billion from the Legislature to help cover Maui wildfire recovery expenses in the near term. Gov. Josh Green’s administration had budgeted $199 million for such expenses but are now expecting they …

Viewpoint: New Jersey Joins Growing Number of States to Enact a Comprehensive Data Privacy Law

On January 16, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Data Protection Act, making New Jersey the thirteenth state to enact a comprehensive state privacy law. This law imposes a wide range of obligations on businesses …

Uber Sues Drivers’ Insurer Alleging Its Claims Practices Have Fueled Tort Litigation

Uber Technologies last Friday sued its drivers’ auto insurer for defense and indemnification regarding multiple lawsuits that are seeking to hold Uber vicariously liable for accidents involving some of its drivers in New York. Uber’s complaint cites 23 lawsuits that …

Cyber Security Outage at Unitedhealth’s Change Unit Extends for Sixth Straight Day

UnitedHealth’s technology unit Change Healthcare said it expects disruptions from a recent cyber security attack to last at least through Monday, according to the latest update on its status page. The problems began last Wednesday after a “suspected nation-state associated …

US Universities Settle Financial-Aid Antitrust Lawsuit For $166 Mln

Dartmouth, Northwestern, Rice and Vanderbilt universities have agreed to pay a combined $166 million to resolve claims that they favored wealthy student applicants, pushing total settlements in a federal antitrust lawsuit over college financial aid practices to $284 million. Lawyers …

GEICO’s ‘Eye-Popping’ 2023 Insurance Profits, Falling Employee Counts

Even though Berkshire Hathaway’s latest annual report featured Warren Buffett’s forecast that the days of “eye-popping performance” for the giant conglomerate are over, readers focused on property/casualty insurance saw numbers that jumped off the pages. Among them were: A 2023 …