Jewish Sightseeing HomePage Jewish Sightseeing
   2001-01-26: Insurance Secrecy


Sacramento

State Capitol
     Building

 
The Jewish Citizen

California legislators take aim at secrecy
clauses in out-of-court settlements

San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, Jan. 26, 2001

 
Sacramento (special) -- Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has teamed with state Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Norwalk) to prevent insurance companies making out-of-court settlements in cases affecting public safety from requiring plaintiffs to keep the settlements secret.

The chairs respectively of the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees, the two legislators said their bills were prompted by settlements arising out of the Firestone tire controversy, the Northridge earthquake, the Fen Phen diet drug, silicone gel breast implants, asbestos and adulterated tobacco products.

"The effect of these secrecy demands has been to keep state and federal safety officials, as well as the public, in the dark about potentially lethal safety defects, environmental dangers, unfair insurance practices and financial frauds," Steinberg said. -- Donald H. Harrison