Michigan’s auto insurance industry swiftly rebuffed a 10-bill reform package unveiled by House Democrats this morning that would turn authority for setting rates over to a state official. The state insurance commissioner would have to sign off on auto insurance rate hikes, and companies would be banned from considering a consumer’s credit history, education or occupation when setting rates under the bills.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review Ford Motor Co.’s five-year attempt to have an $82.6 million product liability decision reversed. The case, Ford Motor Co. vs. Benetta Buell-Wilson et al., twice went before the nation’s highest court. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the automaker’s latest appeal, which had argued that California’s product liability laws...

The Army Corps of Engineers says the cost of a $1 billion pump-and-floodgate project on the western side of the New Orleans area is rising, forcing the agency to consider cutting up to $300 million in work. The Army Corps says it may reduce the number of pumps from 13 to 11, replace a 225-foot sector gate with a concrete barge gate and replace a T-wall with a levee.

When Tropical Storm Ida blew ashore earlier this month, it was viewed along Baldwin County’s beaches as a generally benign event. It brought some rainfall and, much to the delight of the hundreds of surfers that arrived in its wake, produced a few days of towering waves. That surf didn’t damage any condos or homes, but the beach that held it back suffered.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled a former prison guard at the Anchorage Jail deserves workers’ compensation for the psychological problems he suffered after being threatened by a convicted killer 15 years ago. The court referred Carl Kelly’s case back to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board to decide if the damage was temporary or permanent.