California
Lawsuits accuse insurers of colluding to drop coverage in fire-prone areas
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two lawsuits filed in Los Angeles allege major home insurance companies have colluded to limit coverage in California communities at high risk for wildfires and force homeowners onto the state’s last-resort insurance plan that offers basic coverage and high premiums.
Insurers, including State Farm and 24 other companies that hold 75% of California’s home insurance market, were part of an “illegal scheme” in violation of California’s antitrust and unfair competition laws, according to one of the lawsuits, filed last week.
The lawsuit said the companies worked together in 2023 to “suddenly and simultaneously” drop coverage or halt writing new policies in fire-prone areas, including in neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and Altadena that were leveled in the January wildfires that destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and killed at least 30 people. That has forced hundreds of homeowners onto the FAIR Plan that offers limited coverage capping at $3 million, leaving them underinsured and now struggling to rebuild after the fires, says the lawsuit filed by a group of homeowners who lost their houses in the LA fires.
The other lawsuit includes all policyholders who obtained the FAIR Plan after January 2023, when the conspiracy allegedly began, the suit says.
“Insurance is a product that homeowners hope never to need, but rely on for peace of mind in normal times and for critical help rebuilding after a catastrophe,” Michael J. Bidart, who represents the homeowners, said in a statement. “The complaints allege that, by colluding to push plaintiffs and so many like them to the FAIR Plan, the defendants have reaped the benefits of high premiums while depriving homeowners of coverage that they were ready, willing, and able to purchase to ensure that they could recover after a disaster like January’s wildfires.”
The lawsuits come as California is struggling with an ongoing insurance crisis, where companies are boosting rates, limiting coverage or pulling out completely from regions susceptible to wildfires and other natural disasters. In 2023, several major insurance companies either paused or restricted new business in the state, saying they can’t truly price the risk on properties as wildfires become more common and destructive due to climate change.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the largest national trade association representing home, auto and business insurers, said it complies with the state’s antitrust laws and monitors its members to ensure they do the same.
“These suits defy logic, advance meritless claims, and we are going to focus on solving the challenges in the insurance market in California,” said Stef Zielezienski, the group’s chief legal officer.
The state Department of Insurance said it is not involved in the suits but said its focus is on protecting consumers.
“Californians deserve a system that works — one where decisions are made openly, rates reflect real risk, and no one is left without options,” department spokesperson Gabriel Sanchez said in a statement.
State Farm, the largest home insurer in California with roughly a million policies, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that all the major private insurers pay into. The plan issues policies to people who can’t get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure.
The plan, with high premiums and basic coverage, is designed as a temporary option until homeowners can find permanent coverage, but more Californians are relying on it than ever. There were more than 555,000 home policies on the FAIR Plan as of March, more than double the number in 2020.
The complaints also allege that insurers were pushing policyholders onto the FAIR Plan because companies wouldn’t have to shoulder all financial responsibility to sustain the plan. When the state’s top insurance regulator in February ordered insurers to provide $1 billion to the FAIR Plan to help it pay out claims related to the LA wildfires, he allowed for half of the cost to be recouped from policyholders statewide. Another lawsuit was filed last week to block the cost-shifting regulation.
California has been in the process of implementing various new regulations to give insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing more policies in high-risk areas. That includes
regulations allowing insurers to consider climate change when setting their prices and allowing them to pass on the costs of reinsurance to California consumers.
Arkansas
Lawsuit challenges new restrictions on initiative process
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge was asked Monday to strike down several restrictions on the Arkansas initiative process in a lawsuit that accused the state of violating voters’ constitutional rights.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed the lawsuit challenging four new laws on the initiative process as well as existing restrictions that the group says pose significant hurdles for citizens trying to put proposals on the ballot.
“These laws interfere, restrict, hamper, and impair the freedom of the people in circulating and procuring petitions,” the group said in the lawsuit. “The laws do not facilitate the operation of the initiative and referendum process.”
Arkansas is among several Republican-led states where lawmakers have been pushing for restrictions on the ballot initiative process. The new laws in Arkansas being challenged include requirements that someone read the text of a ballot initiative and show photo identification before signing a petition.
The groups are also challenging existing restrictions, including a ban on paying canvassers per signature collected and a requirement that canvassers be residents of the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office was reviewing the lawsuit and standing “ready to defend the state,” spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said. Secretary of State Cole Jester vowed to protect the measures, claiming the “petition system has been filled with fraud and bad actors for too long.
“These laws are basic, common-sense protections, and we look forward to fighting for them,” Jester said in a statement.
The lawsuit argues that the measures attempt to circumvent the protections for the initiative process that are enshrined in the state’s constitution. The complaint also notes that voters rejected proposed restrictions on the process that went before them in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
The restrictions come after abortion rights supporters were unable to get a proposal on the ballot in Arkansas last year after election officials rejected petitions submitted in favor of them. The state Supreme Court upheld the decision.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include Save AR Democracy, a group formed to try and propose a constitutional amendment that would add protections to the initiative process.
Nevada
Ex-NFL player Shannon Sharpe accused of rape in $50M civil lawsuit
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A young woman who says she was raped and threatened by retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe during a “rocky consensual relationship” has filed a civil lawsuit against him seeking $50 million in damages.
Attorneys filed the lawsuit Sunday in Clark County, Nevada, for a woman listed in court documents as Jane Doe. The lawsuit also accuses Sharpe of using physical force on her and inflicting emotional distress.
The woman first met Sharpe at a gym in Los Angeles in 2023 when she was 20 and a nearly two-year relationship followed, according to court documents. Sharpe, 56, is accused of raping the woman in October 2024 and again in January, court documents said.
Sharpe on Monday posted a statement from his lawyer on X saying the relationship was consensual and calling the lawsuit a “blatant and cynical attempt to shake down” Sharpe for millions of dollars.
“It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed,” Lanny J. Davis said in the statement posted by Sharpe.
Sharpe is accused of becoming increasingly verbally abusive, controlling and violent over time, once threatening to kill her and recording their sexual encounters without consent, according to the complaint.
“Sharpe flew into fits of anger when Plaintiff noted his infidelity to their relationship, or called him out about his extraneous activities,” the lawsuit said. “Sharpe even figured out how to get into Doe’s apartment complex without her permission.”
Sharpe was a four-time All-Pro tight end who played on two Super Bowl champions with Denver and another with Baltimore over 14 seasons from 1990 to 2003. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sharpe has been a staple on TV and social media since retiring.
Idaho
Private security guards charged after woman was dragged out of town hall meeting
Prosecutors in northern Idaho have filed misdemeanor charges against six men in connection with the forcible removal of a woman from a legislative town hall meeting in February.
Theresa Borrenpohl, the woman who was dragged out of the meeting in a Coeur d’Alene school building by plain-clothed private security officers, also formally notified Kootenai County officials on Monday of her intent to sue by filing a tort claim notice.
The Coeur d’Alene City Prosecutor’s office said Monday that Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones are charged with misdemeanor battery, false imprisonment, and violations of security agent duties and uniform requirements. Alex Trouette IV, is charged with security agent duties and uniform violations. All five of the men are associated with the private security firm Lear Asset Management, which had its license revoked by the city after the town hall.
A sixth man not associated with the security firm, Michael Keller, is charged with misdemeanor battery, the prosecutor’s office said.
Court documents detailing the charges have not yet been made public, and the Coeur d’Alene City Prosecutor’s office declined to comment further.
Dunne declined to to comment, and neither Berg nor Paul Trouette immediately responded to voice or email messages left by The Associated Press. Phone numbers could not be found for Jones, Keller or Alex Trouette.
Roughly 450 people attended the legislative town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, according to organizers. Videos of the event show the room erupting into cheers and jeering at times. At at least one point, Borrenpohl, a Democratic legislative candidate who has run unsuccessfully in the deeply Republican region, joined the shouting.
The video of the event showed Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who was in plain clothes but wearing his badge on his belt, approached Borrenpohl. He introduced himself and told her to leave or she would be escorted out. Then the sheriff stepped back and began recording on his cellphone as three unidentified men approached and began grabbing Borrenpohl. The men appeared to refuse Borrenpohl’s requests to identify themselves, and none appeared to be wearing uniforms.
After the incident, Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson released a statement saying the agency will have a “complete and independent investigation of the incident conducted by an outside agency.”
In a Monday press release, Borrenpohl said she has heard descriptions of similar incidents from people who reached out to her after the town hall, “reinforcing to me the importance of demanding accountability in my own case.”
“Town halls are intended to foster conversation and discourse across the aisle, which is why I am deeply alarmed that private security dragged me out of the public meeting for simply exercising my fundamental right of free speech,” Borrenpohl said.
Lawsuits accuse insurers of colluding to drop coverage in fire-prone areas
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two lawsuits filed in Los Angeles allege major home insurance companies have colluded to limit coverage in California communities at high risk for wildfires and force homeowners onto the state’s last-resort insurance plan that offers basic coverage and high premiums.
Insurers, including State Farm and 24 other companies that hold 75% of California’s home insurance market, were part of an “illegal scheme” in violation of California’s antitrust and unfair competition laws, according to one of the lawsuits, filed last week.
The lawsuit said the companies worked together in 2023 to “suddenly and simultaneously” drop coverage or halt writing new policies in fire-prone areas, including in neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and Altadena that were leveled in the January wildfires that destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and killed at least 30 people. That has forced hundreds of homeowners onto the FAIR Plan that offers limited coverage capping at $3 million, leaving them underinsured and now struggling to rebuild after the fires, says the lawsuit filed by a group of homeowners who lost their houses in the LA fires.
The other lawsuit includes all policyholders who obtained the FAIR Plan after January 2023, when the conspiracy allegedly began, the suit says.
“Insurance is a product that homeowners hope never to need, but rely on for peace of mind in normal times and for critical help rebuilding after a catastrophe,” Michael J. Bidart, who represents the homeowners, said in a statement. “The complaints allege that, by colluding to push plaintiffs and so many like them to the FAIR Plan, the defendants have reaped the benefits of high premiums while depriving homeowners of coverage that they were ready, willing, and able to purchase to ensure that they could recover after a disaster like January’s wildfires.”
The lawsuits come as California is struggling with an ongoing insurance crisis, where companies are boosting rates, limiting coverage or pulling out completely from regions susceptible to wildfires and other natural disasters. In 2023, several major insurance companies either paused or restricted new business in the state, saying they can’t truly price the risk on properties as wildfires become more common and destructive due to climate change.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the largest national trade association representing home, auto and business insurers, said it complies with the state’s antitrust laws and monitors its members to ensure they do the same.
“These suits defy logic, advance meritless claims, and we are going to focus on solving the challenges in the insurance market in California,” said Stef Zielezienski, the group’s chief legal officer.
The state Department of Insurance said it is not involved in the suits but said its focus is on protecting consumers.
“Californians deserve a system that works — one where decisions are made openly, rates reflect real risk, and no one is left without options,” department spokesperson Gabriel Sanchez said in a statement.
State Farm, the largest home insurer in California with roughly a million policies, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that all the major private insurers pay into. The plan issues policies to people who can’t get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure.
The plan, with high premiums and basic coverage, is designed as a temporary option until homeowners can find permanent coverage, but more Californians are relying on it than ever. There were more than 555,000 home policies on the FAIR Plan as of March, more than double the number in 2020.
The complaints also allege that insurers were pushing policyholders onto the FAIR Plan because companies wouldn’t have to shoulder all financial responsibility to sustain the plan. When the state’s top insurance regulator in February ordered insurers to provide $1 billion to the FAIR Plan to help it pay out claims related to the LA wildfires, he allowed for half of the cost to be recouped from policyholders statewide. Another lawsuit was filed last week to block the cost-shifting regulation.
California has been in the process of implementing various new regulations to give insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing more policies in high-risk areas. That includes
regulations allowing insurers to consider climate change when setting their prices and allowing them to pass on the costs of reinsurance to California consumers.
Arkansas
Lawsuit challenges new restrictions on initiative process
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge was asked Monday to strike down several restrictions on the Arkansas initiative process in a lawsuit that accused the state of violating voters’ constitutional rights.
The League of Women Voters of Arkansas filed the lawsuit challenging four new laws on the initiative process as well as existing restrictions that the group says pose significant hurdles for citizens trying to put proposals on the ballot.
“These laws interfere, restrict, hamper, and impair the freedom of the people in circulating and procuring petitions,” the group said in the lawsuit. “The laws do not facilitate the operation of the initiative and referendum process.”
Arkansas is among several Republican-led states where lawmakers have been pushing for restrictions on the ballot initiative process. The new laws in Arkansas being challenged include requirements that someone read the text of a ballot initiative and show photo identification before signing a petition.
The groups are also challenging existing restrictions, including a ban on paying canvassers per signature collected and a requirement that canvassers be residents of the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office was reviewing the lawsuit and standing “ready to defend the state,” spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said. Secretary of State Cole Jester vowed to protect the measures, claiming the “petition system has been filled with fraud and bad actors for too long.
“These laws are basic, common-sense protections, and we look forward to fighting for them,” Jester said in a statement.
The lawsuit argues that the measures attempt to circumvent the protections for the initiative process that are enshrined in the state’s constitution. The complaint also notes that voters rejected proposed restrictions on the process that went before them in the 2020 and 2022 elections.
The restrictions come after abortion rights supporters were unable to get a proposal on the ballot in Arkansas last year after election officials rejected petitions submitted in favor of them. The state Supreme Court upheld the decision.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include Save AR Democracy, a group formed to try and propose a constitutional amendment that would add protections to the initiative process.
Nevada
Ex-NFL player Shannon Sharpe accused of rape in $50M civil lawsuit
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A young woman who says she was raped and threatened by retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe during a “rocky consensual relationship” has filed a civil lawsuit against him seeking $50 million in damages.
Attorneys filed the lawsuit Sunday in Clark County, Nevada, for a woman listed in court documents as Jane Doe. The lawsuit also accuses Sharpe of using physical force on her and inflicting emotional distress.
The woman first met Sharpe at a gym in Los Angeles in 2023 when she was 20 and a nearly two-year relationship followed, according to court documents. Sharpe, 56, is accused of raping the woman in October 2024 and again in January, court documents said.
Sharpe on Monday posted a statement from his lawyer on X saying the relationship was consensual and calling the lawsuit a “blatant and cynical attempt to shake down” Sharpe for millions of dollars.
“It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed,” Lanny J. Davis said in the statement posted by Sharpe.
Sharpe is accused of becoming increasingly verbally abusive, controlling and violent over time, once threatening to kill her and recording their sexual encounters without consent, according to the complaint.
“Sharpe flew into fits of anger when Plaintiff noted his infidelity to their relationship, or called him out about his extraneous activities,” the lawsuit said. “Sharpe even figured out how to get into Doe’s apartment complex without her permission.”
Sharpe was a four-time All-Pro tight end who played on two Super Bowl champions with Denver and another with Baltimore over 14 seasons from 1990 to 2003. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
Sharpe has been a staple on TV and social media since retiring.
Idaho
Private security guards charged after woman was dragged out of town hall meeting
Prosecutors in northern Idaho have filed misdemeanor charges against six men in connection with the forcible removal of a woman from a legislative town hall meeting in February.
Theresa Borrenpohl, the woman who was dragged out of the meeting in a Coeur d’Alene school building by plain-clothed private security officers, also formally notified Kootenai County officials on Monday of her intent to sue by filing a tort claim notice.
The Coeur d’Alene City Prosecutor’s office said Monday that Paul Trouette, Russell Dunne, Christofer Berg and Jesse Jones are charged with misdemeanor battery, false imprisonment, and violations of security agent duties and uniform requirements. Alex Trouette IV, is charged with security agent duties and uniform violations. All five of the men are associated with the private security firm Lear Asset Management, which had its license revoked by the city after the town hall.
A sixth man not associated with the security firm, Michael Keller, is charged with misdemeanor battery, the prosecutor’s office said.
Court documents detailing the charges have not yet been made public, and the Coeur d’Alene City Prosecutor’s office declined to comment further.
Dunne declined to to comment, and neither Berg nor Paul Trouette immediately responded to voice or email messages left by The Associated Press. Phone numbers could not be found for Jones, Keller or Alex Trouette.
Roughly 450 people attended the legislative town hall hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, according to organizers. Videos of the event show the room erupting into cheers and jeering at times. At at least one point, Borrenpohl, a Democratic legislative candidate who has run unsuccessfully in the deeply Republican region, joined the shouting.
The video of the event showed Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, who was in plain clothes but wearing his badge on his belt, approached Borrenpohl. He introduced himself and told her to leave or she would be escorted out. Then the sheriff stepped back and began recording on his cellphone as three unidentified men approached and began grabbing Borrenpohl. The men appeared to refuse Borrenpohl’s requests to identify themselves, and none appeared to be wearing uniforms.
After the incident, Kootenai County Undersheriff Brett Nelson released a statement saying the agency will have a “complete and independent investigation of the incident conducted by an outside agency.”
In a Monday press release, Borrenpohl said she has heard descriptions of similar incidents from people who reached out to her after the town hall, “reinforcing to me the importance of demanding accountability in my own case.”
“Town halls are intended to foster conversation and discourse across the aisle, which is why I am deeply alarmed that private security dragged me out of the public meeting for simply exercising my fundamental right of free speech,” Borrenpohl said.
