Claims Journal

Lawyers Eye Neo-Nazi Website Founder’s Assets for $14M Award

Attorneys for a Montana real estate agent are eyeing the assets of a neo-Nazi website operator to collect a $14 million court judgment against the man for an anti-Semitic online “troll storm” that he orchestrated against the Jewish woman and …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

Owner of Fire-Stricken Ship to Pay $1.8M for Sri Lankan Help

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The owner of a large oil tanker that caught fire off Sri Lanka’s coast has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the island nation for its help in extinguishing the blaze, an official sad Thursday. MV …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

Wildfires Taint West Coast Vineyards With Taste of Smoke

TURNER, Ore. — Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has tainted grapes in some of the nation’s most celebrated wine regions with an ashy flavor that could spell disaster for the 2020 vintage. Wineries in California, Oregon and Washington have …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

Breach at Software Provider to Local Governments, Schools

DALLAS — A major provider of software services for governments and schools across the United States, Tyler Technologies, told customers Wednesday that an unknown intruder broke into its phone and information technology systems. It could not immediate...

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

Arson Closes Wooden Bridge in Mississippi Indefinitely

TUPELO, Miss. — Folks in one Mississippi county will have to find an alternate route home after a fire on one of the few remaining wooden bridges in the area has closed it for at least 30 days. Firefighters from …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

NTSB: Pilot’s Actions Likely Caused Earnhardt Plane Crash

A pilot’s inability to maintain proper airspeed and the flight crew’s decision to continue an unstable approach and landing likely caused the crash of a small plane carrying race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family in 2019, according …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

Structured Settlement Swindler With Kennedy Ties Sentenced to Prison

A well-connected Virginia financial advisor was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for embezzling approximately $8 million from money that the U.S. government and a hospital had entrusted to him to set up annuities for 13 people …

Posted: Sep 25, 2020

U.S. Justice Department Proposes Changes to Internet Platforms’ Immunity

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump met with nine Republican state attorneys general on Wednesday to discuss the fate of a legal immunity for internet companies after the Justice Department unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at reforming the same...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Novel Opioid Settlement Framework

A federal appeals court on Thursday overturned a judge’s approval of a novel plan by lawyers representing cities and counties suing drug companies over the U.S. opioid crisis that would bring every community nationally into their settlement talks. Th...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

As Wildfires Approach Silicon Valley, Tech Firms Struggle to Find the Backing to Fight Them

Silicon Valley’s innovation engine has been slow to produce useful new tools to help firefighters like Dave Winnacker extinguish the deadly blazes that each year fill California’s skies with smoke. Winnacker, a fire district chief who led a team agai...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Close Call With Storm Renews Debate Over Houston Barrier

GALVESTON, Texas — Houston, a Gulf Coast city that barely rises above sea level, has long worried about a worst-case weather scenario — a direct hit from a powerful storm that sends a wall of water barreling into the region’s …

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Few Resources, Old-Growth Forest Allowed For Fire’s Growth

LOS ANGELES — A lack of firefighting resources in the hours after it was sparked allowed a fast-moving wildfire to make an unprecedented run through Southern California mountains and eventually find fuel in old-growth trees to become one of Los …

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Vanessa Bryant Sues LA Sheriff Over Helicopter Crash Photos

LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball star Kobe Bryant, has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County sheriff claiming deputies shared unauthorized photos of the crash that killed her husband, their 13-year-old daughter and seven...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Virginia Tech Researchers Pitch Technology and Coaching to Improve Driver Safety

Oil-field workers who bomb around in pickups across hundreds of miles of countryside every work week cut speeding and hard braking in half once their boss started monitoring their driving habits and scoring their skills. Researchers for the Virginia...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Study Shows Monitoring Plus Coaching Can Cut Risky Driving in Half

Oil-field workers who bomb around in pickups across hundreds of miles of countryside every work week cut speeding and hard braking in half once their boss started monitoring their driving habits and scoring their skills. Researchers for the Virginia...

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Self-Driving Car Bill Reintroduced in House Minus Biggest Backer

Legislation that would allow carmakers to sell as many as 100,000 self-driving vehicles per year in the U.S. is being reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, but one of its biggest cheerleaders is staying on the sidelines until next …

Posted: Sep 24, 2020

Top Shipping Insurance Group Will Not Cover Ships Linked to Nord Stream 2

MOSCOW — The world’s largest group of shipping insurers will not insure vessels involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipeline projects because of the threat of U.S. sanctions. Associations belonging to the International Group...

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

For Carnival, ‘Death on the High Seas Act’ Protects the Bottom Line

Carnival Corp. is poised to dramatically curb monetary damages for passengers killed by the coronavirus under the latest court decision to side with the company. If a ruling Monday by a Los Angeles federal judge is followed by others, it …

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

Beta Weakens to Tropical Depression, Stalls Over Texas Coast

HOUSTON — Beta weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday as it parked itself over the Texas coast, raising concerns of extensive flooding in Houston and areas further inland. Beta made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of …

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

Huge California Wildfire Threatening More Than 1,000 Homes

LOS ANGELES — A wildfire scorching its way through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of Los Angeles threatened more than 1,000 homes on Tuesday as crews across the West battled dozens of other major blazes. …

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

Oregon Grieves For Natural Places Wiped Out By Wildfires

DETROIT LAKE, Ore. — Oregonians are grieving the loss of some of their most treasured natural places after wildfires wiped out campgrounds, hot springs and wooded retreats that have been touchstones for generations in a state known for its unspoiled...

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

`Smooth Travel’ Observed Before Ship Capsized Off Georgia

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A tugboat captain who helped push the ill-fated cargo ship Golden Ray from the docks as it left a Georgia seaport said Monday he observed only “smooth travel” before the giant vessel overturned. Clifton Gorden was the …

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

Juul Fights Mafia Law Designation in Suits Against Its Marketing

Juul Labs Inc. has the Mafia to thank for the most potent legal claims accusing the e-cigarette maker of igniting an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction. The company will try to persuade a federal judge Monday that consumers and school …

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

Shopify Says ‘Rogue’ Employees Stole Data From Merchants

Shopify Inc. said two employees stole data from more than 100 merchants, potentially exposing the personal information of consumers who shopped on web stores that use the company’s e-commerce software. “Rogue members” of Shopify’s support team were i...

Posted: Sep 23, 2020

U.S. Labor Dept. Could Make It Easier to Treat Workers as Independent Contractors

The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday said it would soon propose a rule that could make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors rather than employees, a major issue for the “gig economy” and other industries that use …

Posted: Sep 22, 2020