Mississippi
USAA Settles Mississippi Class Action Over Underpaid Auto Claims
![USAA Settles Mississippi Class Action Over Underpaid Auto Claims USAA Settles Mississippi Class Action Over Underpaid Auto Claims](https://www.insurancejournal.com/app/uploads/2022/03/car-crash-scaled.jpg)
One other nationwide insurance coverage firm has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it underpaid lots of of auto insurance coverage claims.
A federal courtroom in Mississippi this month signed off on a confidential settlement in a swimsuit introduced by Mississippi drivers in opposition to San Antonio-based United Providers Car Affiliation (USAA). The phrases of the settlement weren’t disclosed. The settlement got here simply days after U.S. District Decide Sharion Aycock refused to dismiss the swimsuit.
It’s unlikely that every class member will obtain various hundred {dollars} within the settlement. The plaintiffs have stated that USAA did not pay precise money worth for autos totaled in accidents, as required by complete and collision insurance policies. However in most claims, the funds might have ignored solely license and registration charges, taxes and seller charges, the amended criticism reads.
“Taken collectively, the common car incurs roughly $571.00 in license charges,” the criticism famous.
The swimsuit stated that the Mississippi Division of Insurance coverage in 2007 put out a bulletin notifying insurers that in whole losses, carriers should embrace license charges, taxes, and title charges of their payouts to insureds.
USAA, which insures members of the army, their households and veterans, argued in courtroom briefs final yr that the plaintiffs had misinterpreted the coverage language and had misconstrued “a limitation of legal responsibility as a promise to pay.”
“Nowhere within the coverage does USAA promise to pay taxes and seller charges within the occasion of a complete loss,” a USAA temporary stated. “Nor was USAA contractually obligated to pay ‘ACV.’ Plaintiff confuses his coverage’s insuring settlement—which defines USAA’s obligation to pay for loss—with the coverage’s restrict of legal responsibility—which is the restrict, or most, that USAA pays for a given loss.”
The swimsuit is certainly one of a number of class actions or regulatory actions across the nation alleging insurers have underpaid property claims by one technique or one other.
GEICO in Could was hit with the same class-action swimsuit in Georgia, accusing it of underestimating taxes in whole car losses, in line with information studies.
The state insurance coverage commissioner final spring had raised the identical challenge and directed auto insurers to cease under-calculating tax quantities for totaled autos. Some carriers have been paying the precise worth of the car however basing the gross sales tax, additionally owed to the insurer, on a decrease worth, calculated from a mixture of retail and wholesale costs.
State Farm Insurance coverage in July settled an Alabama lawsuit that charged it had depreciated the price of labor on residence repairs, which isn’t allowed by Alabama regulation. The depreciation in lots of instances introduced the payout beneath the insurance policies’ deductible quantity, leaving insureds with no restoration, the swimsuit alleged.
In March, policyholders in Illinois filed a class-action lawsuit in opposition to State Farm Car Insurance coverage, charging that the insurer utilized a “typical negotiation adjustment” to improperly scale back the worth of a automobile deemed a complete loss.
A number of the fits are nonetheless in litigation, however others haven’t been profitable. USAA’s courtroom submitting within the Mississippi swimsuit notes that in two instances introduced by the identical plaintiffs’ attorneys, a federal appeals courtroom dominated in favor of the insurer. The U.S. 7th Circuit Courtroom of Appeals in Illinois in 2021 upheld the dismissal of claims over lacking gross sales tax as a result of the plaintiff had mistaken a legal responsibility ceiling for a ground, USAA stated.
USAA officers couldn’t be reached for touch upon the Mississippi class motion. Three of attorneys within the case are based mostly in Florida.
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Mississippi
MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota
![MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota MPCA testing the entirety of the Mississippi River within Minnesota](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/02/0564de83-90fa-4d81-9619-84022c30819e/thumbnail/1200x630/e98078edb78f4dec2ccc9e494c22c33c/4p-pkg-river-testing-wcco61yp.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. —It winds 650 miles, rushing past the cities, industries and landscapes that make up Minnesota.
However, the Mississippi River has never gotten this type of attention from water quality professionals.
For the first time ever, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is testing the entirety of the river, from Itasca to Iowa, in a single year.
The governor’s office wants the river to be swimmable and fishable, but right now, parts of the river are polluted.
The MPCA says the upper Mississippi is largely healthy up north, but quality drops south of St. Cloud where metro development and tributaries from agriculture muddy the waters. The National Park Service says stretches of the river exceed water quality standards for things like mercury, bacteria and sediment.
Think of the testing like a checkup for one of our state’s most valuable and powerful resources. Researchers will check temperature, transparency and levels of pollutants like phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia.
Crews also check fish for those contaminants and collect insects to test in a lab to identify any concerning trends.
“If we find the fish community is suffering — maybe the water is too warm and maybe there’s a thermal pollution source upstream or maybe it’s too much runoff — that sort of stuff. Temperature is an important indicator especially for sensitive species,” Isaac Martin with the MPCA said.
Also for the first time, the agency is looking for PFAS contamination with money from an Environmental Protection Agency grant to identify and stop the forever chemicals from streaming into the Mississippi.
PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals for industry and consumer products that don’t break down in the environment. While research is ongoing, the EPA says exposure to the chemicals can cause human health issues. It’s why the federal agency just lowered the amount allowed in drinking water.
“They go to parts per trillion, which is incredibly sensitive. You get that low, you’re talking drops in an Olympic swimming pool,” Martin said. “Part of the reason why it was chosen is because it’s a primary drinking source or potentially could be a primary drinking source. We’re just finding them in places we never expected to find them. We’re finding them almost everywhere and being that it is new, there’s just a lot of ‘I don’t know’ that goes with it.”
It’s too early to know what this complete snapshot will reveal, but we know this powerful river is part of our community, economy and health.
“Maybe you don’t use the resource yourself, but maybe you know someone who does or future generations of your own will,” Martin said. “In Minnesota, we’re just trying to be the best stewards we can be.”
The data from this testing will be available early next year. Researchers will use that data and compare it to 10-year pollution averages to determine which parts of the river are improved or impaired.
A full report will be released in 2026.
Mississippi
Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)
![Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31) Who should be SBLive’s Mississippi high school player of the week? (Aug. 25-31)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1280,h_720,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/high_school/01j5m63arexrvt6r9tmr.jpg)
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for August25-31. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. The poll will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email Tyler@scorebooklive.com. For questions/issues with he poll, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Kohl Bradley, DB, George County: Racked up 17 tackles and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a 33-7 win over East Central.
DaJuan Colbert, DB, Natchez: Recorded 15 tackles, forced one fumble and returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown in a 58-50 win over Hancock.
Garrison Davis, QB, Holmes County Central: Completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-6 win over Vicksburg.
Xzavion Gainwell, DB, Yazoo County: Recorded nine tackles, an interception and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 20-16 win over South Delta.
Elijah Jones, RB, West Jones: Had 24 carries 226 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-6 win over Laurel.
Kingi McNair, WR, Pearl: Caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 win over Neshoba Central.
Ashton Nichols, DB, Clinton: Recorded six tackles to go with two big pass breakups, a blocked punt and a return for a touchdown in a 26-20 win over Warren Central.
Ethan Prater, RB, Pisgah: Rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries with three scores and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 33-32 win over North Forrest.
Glen Singleton, RB, Madison Central: Rushed for 174 yards on 18 carries with all four touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Ocean Springs.
Damarius Yates, RB, Kemper County: Rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in a 38-15 win over Kosciusko.
Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
![‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations ‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations](https://gray-wlbt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3KMJQZPKGBHNRCT7NENQ3O72YY.png?auth=8e7e3183f489f41a63616389bdae4dd45efc187856d208138265c67183c736b4&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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