Sabrina Canfield at the Courthouse News Service is reporting thatU.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled that Alabama and Louisiana may recover damages arising from the April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, including punitive damages, under the federal Oil Pollution Act and maritime law. But Barbier said damages under state law cannot be applied. The article also reports, "Barbier this week granted in part and denied in part oil spill defendants' motions to dismiss complaints from the states of Alabama and Louisiana. In a separate ruling, Barbier said BP cannot use Transocean's liability insurance." You can read the full article here.

The Insurance Journal is reporting a settlement agreement has been reached with a New Orleans, La.-based supplier of tainted Chinese drywall in the multi-district litigation (MDL 2047) over the product. Attorney Russ Herman of the law firm Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, L.L.P., said the settlement with Interior/Exterior and its insurers is the first settlement in the MDL with a major supplier of the Chinese drywall. “Following Court approval, Plaintiffs will proceed to trial later this year against Interior/Exterior’s excess insurers who carry more than $72,000,000 in coverage,” Herman said. You can see the complete article here.