Michigan Dairy Farm Penalized $2.7 Million for Hiring Illegal Aliens

Posted by Amber Swanton · Leave a Comment 


A Michigan dairy farm and its two owners recently plead guilty to charges of employing illegal aliens, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).     ICE reported Johannes Martinus Verhaar and Anthonia Marjanne Verhaar own Aquila Farms LLC., a dairy operation based in Bad Axe, Mich.     Court records revealed from about 2000 through 2007, the dairy employed 78 different illegal aliens, which constituted almost 75 percent of its workforce. Aqu Full story…

Auto Insurance Cos. Update Storm-Related Claims Payment Counts

Posted by Amber Swanton · Leave a Comment 

Regulators of the Ohio and Massachusetts auto insurance markets both released this week updated numbers that help quantify the damages caused by tornadoes in late May and early June, with each reporting tens of millions of dollars in auto losses.

Missouri regulators said that insurance companies in the state have already received 5,846 private passenger auto (PPA) claims and expect to receive another 700.

Full story…

Over 600 Thai Nationals Trafficked to U.S. Under Guest Worker Program

Posted by Amber Swanton · Leave a Comment 


A Justice Department indictment shows three defendants conspired to coerce the agricultural labor and services of Thai nationals by fraudulently inducing the recruits to incur substantial debts secured by the workers homes and family land, then confiscating the workers passports, and threatening to repatriate the victims to face destitution, homelessness and other serious harm if they did not remain in the defendants service for meager earnings.     The three men, Bruce Schwartz, 53, Sam Wongsesanit, 40, and Shane Germann, 42, pled guilty to human trafficking violations involving Global Horizons a Los Angeles-based recruiting company. S Full story…

Parents of Deceased Woman Cannot Sue Texas Contractor

Posted by Amber Swanton · Leave a Comment 


According to a recent Supreme Court of Texas ruling, parents of a woman who drowned after her car missed a bridge cant sue the contractor who worked on and fixed the bridge.     According to setexasrecord.com, all nine Justices were in unison that Allen Keller Co. owed no duty to alter the design of the job or to warn the public of a hazardous condition. (WCxKit)     Justice Debra Lehrmann stated that any decision to rectify the condition would have had the effect of changing the terms of a contract. “Moreover, because Keller did not own the property, it was not in a position to make decisions about how to make the premises safe,” Lehrmann wrote.     Full story…

Insurance Regulation to be Discussed in NY State of the State Shortly

Posted by Rose Broinowski · Leave a Comment 

I am listening to WAMC online to hear Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address at 1:30. In his introduction, Alan Chartock said that the Governor is going to at least mention combining the Insurance and Banking departments. I got an update from that National Underwriter saying that this is on the table. I’ll be tweeting during the speech and will let you know what I hear. You can follow me . What might a combined department look like? How will that change the regulation of insurance? It looks like we are likely to find out as NY looks to streamline and cut expenses.