Claims Journal

Del Taco Settles Sexual Harassment Charges, Enters Consent Decree

Del Taco Restaurants Inc agreed to pay $1.25 million and enter a three-year consent decree to settle a U.S. agency’s lawsuit accusing the fast-food chain of failing to stop sexual harassment and retaliation against female employees. The U.S. Equal Em...

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

California Boat Captain Indicted in Fire That Killed 34

LOS ANGELES — The captain of a scuba diving boat that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges for one of …

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

California County to Pay $10M After Shooting, Paralyzing Man

SAN FRANCISCO — A Northern California county has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle a lawsuit by a Silicon Valley software engineer who was having a mental health crisis when a deputy shot him, paralyzing him from the …

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Big Rig Driver Facing Charges in Fatal Arizona Crash

PHOENIX — A man was allegedly driving a commercial semi-truck on a suspended license at the time of a crash near Buckeye that killed a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detention officer last month, authorities said. They said 62-year-old Jorge Yanez...

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Woman Who Fled Business Fraud Sentencing Seeks Early Release

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio woman who fled the United States for Mexico ahead of her sentencing in one of the biggest corporate fraud cases in decades is asking for early release from prison, citing poor health and fear of …

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

NTSB: Safety Processes Failed in Crash That Killed 7 Bikers

Systems meant to keep motorists safe failed to prevent a pickup driver on drugs from crashing last year into an oncoming group of motorcyclists in New Hampshire, leading to the death of seven bikers, the National Transportation Safety Board found …

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Trained dogs, Yes. But Other Pets On Board is Airlines’ Call – Regulator

WASHINGTON — Only trained dogs qualify as service animals on U.S. airlines, as regulators rejected requests to extend legal protections to miniature horses, monkeys and other species, under final U.S. Transportation Department rules issued Wednesday....

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Trained Dogs, Yes. But Other Pets on Board is Airlines’ Call

WASHINGTON — Only trained dogs qualify as service animals on U.S. airlines, as regulators rejected requests to extend legal protections to miniature horses, monkeys and other species, under final U.S. Transportation Department rules issued Wednesday....

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

WCRI Studies Show COVID-19 Orders Apply to Small Segment of Workforce

While at least 17 states have passed laws or issued orders that expanded access to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19, many of those directives are creating new exposure for only a sliver of the workforce, new research...

Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Century 21 Sells $175 Million Covid Claim Insurers Won’t Pay

There’s an unusual asset up for grabs in Century 21 Stores’ going-out-of-business sale: a stake in its long-shot legal fight against insurers. The New York department store company, which filed for bankruptcy in September, claims it’s owed more than...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Power Cuts Begin in California as Winds Threaten to Spark Fires

Power shutoffs that could ultimately affect more than 1 million people in Southern California began Wednesday morning as high winds raised the risk of live wires sparking wildfires. Edison International’s Southern California Edison cut electricity to...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Powerful Winds Buffet New England, Knock Out Power in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine — A powerful storm with gusts topping 60 mph swept across coastal New England, knocking out electricity for more than 100,000 homes and businesses in Maine, officials said Tuesday. Maine recorded gusts of 63 mph (101 kph) in …

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

30 Named Storms: Record Hurricane Season Comes to a Close

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A record-setting Atlantic hurricane season that saw the highest number of named storms officially came to a close Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set multiple reco...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Consumers Protest New Measure of ‘Unfair’ Airline Practices

Consumer advocates are protesting a move by the Trump administration that they say will make it harder for the government to punish airlines that treat passengers unfairly. On the Friday during a four-day Thanksgiving weekend, the Transportation Depa...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Widow’s Lawsuit Over Fatal Chesapeake Bay Plunge to be Heard

NORFOLK, Va. — A trial involving a widow’s lawsuit filed over the death of her husband who was killed when his tractor-trailer plunged over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is scheduled to begin on Tuesday in a Virginia court. The Virginian-Pilot …

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Justices Question Human Rights Claims Against Nestle And Cargill

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared wary of barring lawsuits against American companies over alleged human rights abuses abroad but signaled they could toss out a case accusing Cargill Inc and a Nestle SA subsidiary of knowin...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Viewpoint: Riots Expose Serious Deficiencies in Property Insurance Policies

The riots that took place in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during the George Floyd protests caused serious damage to many buildings. Several building owners, to their dismay, found their property insurance policies failed to properly respond to the d...

Posted: Dec 02, 2020

Mirae Asset Wins Lawsuit on Scrapped $5.8B Hotel Deal

SEOUL, Dec 1 — South Korean investment bank Mirae Asset Daewoo Co Ltd and affiliates won a U.S. court case against Anbang Insurance Group, a court document showed, after Mirae scrapped a $5.8 billion deal after the start of the …

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

Tyson Accused of Misleading Interpreters at Virus-Hit Plant

Tyson Foods Inc. is accused of giving incorrect information to interpreters during a Covid-19 outbreak that infected more than a third of workers at a pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa. Plant management directed interpreters to tell the sizable non-Englis...

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

Bayer’s $650 Million PCB Pollution Settlement Rejected by Judge

A federal judge refused to approve Bayer AG’s $650 million settlement of claims by about 2,500 U.S. cities, counties and ports over pollution from polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB. Among other problems with the deal, U.S. District Judge Fernando M. O...

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

Rusty Pilots Making Flying Errors Is Next Aviation Headache

On Sept. 15, an Indonesian flight carrying 307 passengers and 11 crew to the northern city of Medan momentarily veered off the runway after landing, sparking an investigation by the country’s transport safety regulator. It found the pilot had flown …

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

New Zealand Files 13 Safety Charges After Volcano Killed 22

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand authorities filed safety violation charges on Monday against 10 organizations and three individuals after a volcanic eruption at White Island last year killed 22 people. The island had been a popular tourist dest...

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

GM Rethinks Planned Stake in Electric Vehicle Maker Nikola

NEW YORK — General Motors will not be taking a stake in the electric vehicle company Nikola, and the company said Monday that it was scuttling one of its marquee vehicles, an electric and hydrogen-powered pickup, after GM pulled technological …

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

Mother Who Sued Doctor For Child’s Brain Injuries Gets $2.6M

BRANDON, Miss. — A jury in Mississippi has returned a $2.6 million verdict to a woman who sued a doctor saying his inaction caused her child to have brain injuries. Court records show that a Rankin County Circuit Court jury …

Posted: Dec 01, 2020

Lawsuit Alleging Faulty Work by Restoration Contractor May Proceed

An Indiana automotive parts manufacturer may proceed with a lawsuit that alleges its factory suffered additional damages after a fire because its insurer failed to quickly protect the facility from the elements and hired a restoration contractor who...

Posted: Dec 01, 2020