Company settles lawsuit over bad lights for $4M
DETROIT (AP) — A company agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit over thousands of defective streetlights in Detroit, a newspaper reported.
The city sued Leotek Electronics USA last spring, alleging that roughly 20,000 lights were failing.
The faulty lights were an embarrassment, especially after Detroit officials had pointed to brighter streets as proof of a turnaround in neighborhood services.
The Detroit News reports the settlement won’t cover the full cost of replacing the lights. The News said the Public Lighting Authority is spending $3 million to complete the $7 million project.
Leotek must pay $4 million by Dec. 23, according to records obtained by the newspaper.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the settlement was fair and that the city was “glad to have this matter resolved.”
Thor Scordelis, general manager of San Jose, California-based Leotek USA, offered a similar statement.
Court won’t revive homeless camping ban in Idaho
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will not review a decision that makes it harder for cities to keep homeless people from sleeping on the streets.
The justices on Monday did not comment as they left in place a ruling that struck down a Boise, Idaho, ordinance. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies across several Western states where cities are struggling with homelessness brought on by rising housing costs and income inequality.
Many cities have similar restrictions that aim to keep homeless people from sleeping on their streets.
The appeals court held that Boise could not make it a crime for homeless people to sleep on the streets when no alternative shelter is available. The decision the justices refused to review found that the Boise ordinance violated the constitutional ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Justices seem to favor insurers’ Obamacare claims for $12 billion
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared likely last week to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama.
Several justices indicated their agreement with arguments from the insurers that they are entitled to the money under a provision of the “Obamacare” health law that promised the companies a financial cushion for losses they might incur by selling coverage to people in the marketplaces created by the health care law.
The program only lasted three years, but Congress inserted a provision in the Health and Human Services Department’s spending bills from 2015 to 2017 to limit payments under the “risk corridors” program.
Both the Obama and Trump administrations have argued that the provision means the government has no obligation to pay.
Paul Clement, representing companies who sold insurance in Alaska, Illinois, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington, called the government’s refusal to pay a “massive bait-and-switch.”
The companies cite HHS statistics to claim they are owed $12 billion.
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