Month: August 2020

Connecticut has helped secure a more than $85 million multistate settlement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Honda of America Mfg., Inc. (collectively “Honda”), over allegations Honda concealed safety issues related to defects in the frontal airbag systems installed in certain Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the United States. The systems were designed and manufactured by Takata Corporation, a long-time Honda supplier, and were first installed in Honda vehicles in the 2001 model year.

Connecticut will receive $2,362,819.71 under the settlement. Honda estimates that the faulty airbags in question were used in approximately 223,578 vehicles in Connecticut.

The settlement, reached between the attorneys general of 48 states and jurisdictions and Honda, concludes a multistate investigation into Honda’s alleged failure to inform regulators and consumers of that the frontal airbags posed a significant risk of rupture, which could cause metal fragments to fly into the passenger compartments of many Honda and Acura vehicles. The ruptures have resulted in at least 14 deaths and over 200 injuries in the United States alone.

“Honda’s deception and failure to notify the public about the dangers of its vehicle airbags resulted in the tragic and preventable deaths of 14 people and over 200 injuries across the country. Consumer protection laws exist to save lives, and my office will aggressively pursue any corporation that puts profits ahead of the safety of the people of Connecticut. Many of these vehicles are still on the road today, and I strongly urge all drivers to visit safercar.gov to check for any open recalls. These repairs are free and help ensure the safety of all who share our roads,” said Attorney General Tong. “The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General routinely leads some of the largest multistate investigations and settlements to protect consumers across the country. I want to thank the attorneys in our office who led this case and helped to reach this major settlement.”

“Every business should make the safety of their customers a priority,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull. “Safety defects in motor vehicles are especially important because of the potential level of danger to consumers.  Defects should be disclosed and remedied as fully and as quickly as possible. I’m pleased that this case has been settled, that families will be protected from this defect, and that Honda will be implementing better quality control mechanisms going forward.”

The states have alleged that Honda engineers suspected that the airbags’ propellant, ammonium nitrate, could burn aggressively and cause the inflator to burst. Despite these concerns, Honda delayed warning consumers or automobile safety officials, even as it began partial recalls of affected vehicles in 2008 and 2009.  Further, Honda continued to represent to consumers that its vehicles, including its airbags, were safe.  Since 2008, Honda has recalled approximately 12.4 million Honda and Acura vehicles equipped with the suspect inflators.

The states have alleged that Honda’s actions, or perhaps more accurately, its failures to act, as well as its misrepresentations about the safety of its vehicles, were unfair and deceptive, and that Honda’s conduct violated state consumer protection laws, including the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Under the terms of the consent judgment, which will be filed with Hartford Superior Court, Honda has agreed to strong injunctive relief which, among other things, require it:

• To take steps to ensure that future airbag designs include “fail-safe” features to protect passengers in the event the inflator ruptures.
• To adopt changes to its procurement process for new frontal airbags, to ensure that its suppliers have the appropriate industry certifications and satisfy key industry performance standards, as well as improve record-keeping and parts tracking.
• To implement recurrence prevention procedures designed to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again, such as requiring that Honda approve all new frontal airbag designs before the company will consider them for use in new Honda vehicles.
• To abide by prohibitions on misleading advertisements and point of sale representations regarding the safety of Honda’s vehicles, including the airbags.
• To make improvements in critical areas such as risk management, quality control, supplier oversight, training and certifications, and implementing mandatory whistleblower protections.

The multistate group – led by Connecticut, South Carolina, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas – includes Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Consumers who own a Honda or Acura vehicle are strongly encouraged to visit Honda’s airbag recall website at https://hondaairbaginfo.com or call its Customer Service toll-free number at (888) 234-2138, to see if their vehicle is subject to a recall. Consumers may also check for open recalls by going to Safercar.gov. All safety recall repairs are FREE at authorized Honda dealers.

Consumers can also contact the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General at attorney.general@ct.gov or 860-808-5318 with any questions about this settlement.

Assistant Attorneys General Brendan Flynn and Michael Wertheimer, head of the Consumer Protection Department, assisted the Attorney General in this case.

 

2020-08-25@5:40pm–#Milford CT– Today’s vehicle fire is on the Merrit Parkway near exit 55 southbound, a fully engulfed SUV.

 

 

 

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced that he is doubling funding for the previously announced rental assistance program for Connecticut residents impacted by COVID-19 from $10 million to $20 million. That program, which is funded by the Coronavirus Relief Fund that is managed by the Office of Policy and Management, provides payments to landlords on behalf of approved tenant applicants, is administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing in partnership with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) and 11 housing counseling agencies across the state.

 

Interested tenants can learn more on the department’s website or by calling 1-860-785-3111 during regular business hours.

 

The additional $10 million brings the total amount of state funding for renters, homeowners, and residential landlords impacted by COVID-19 up to $43.3 million. In addition to the $20 million rental assistance program, that funding provides mortgage relief to homeowners ($10 million), supports renters who were facing eviction before the pandemic ($5 million), rehouses people exiting homelessness or incarceration ($5.8 million), and supports renters excluded from federal assistance because of their or their loved ones’ immigration status ($2.5 million). Connecticut’s large cities also received $10 million under the CARES Act Emergency Solution Grants program to prevent homelessness and support homeless populations.

 

All housing assistance programs administered through the state and through CHFA include housing counseling to help renters and homeowners solve problems and develop plans to pay housing costs going forward. The Wells Fargo Foundation awarded CHFA a $500,000 grant to support these efforts to stabilize housing for Connecticut residents. The foundation’s generosity will assist the housing counseling agencies in paying for expenses and building capacity to manage demand for their assistance.

 

In addition, Governor Lamont announced that he will soon sign an executive order that will extend to October 1 the residential eviction moratorium protecting tenants who were current on their rent at the beginning of the pandemic. That extension will bring this important measure to protect public health in line with neighboring states’ and provide the federal government additional time to deliver much-needed assistance to renters and homeowners. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently extended protections for tenants in homes with mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Authority through the end of the year.

 

“Supporting renters and landlords during this public health crisis is critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “I’m trying to get people back to work and children back to school, and having a home you can call your own is a critical foundation for making that happen. Tenants who can pay their rent on time should do so, and landlords and tenants should work together to develop reasonable payment plans for these extraordinary circumstances. Speaking of working together, it is past time for the Senate Republicans in Washington to stop cruelly ignoring the pain American families are facing and start supporting the eviction protections and $100 billion emergency assistance programs the House voted out months ago.”

 

“This increase reflects Governor Lamont’s commitment to help those families that have been affected by the pandemic and are in need of financial assistance to pay their rents,” Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said. “I am thrilled with the partnership we have forged with the Wells Fargo Foundation to provide financial assistance to the housing counseling agencies.”

 

“Keeping families in their homes is critical during the pandemic,” Nandini Natarajan, chief executive officer of CHFA, said. “The additional funding from the state, along with the support of the Wells Fargo Foundation, will allow us to assist more individuals and families by providing the educational tools to help them regain their financial stability.”

 

“During this unprecedented time, far too many people are struggling financially and facing housing instability in Connecticut,” Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy for Wells Fargo, said. “This grant for the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority will expand access to relief programs by engaging local housing counseling agencies to work toward keeping more Connecticut residents housed who are facing financial challenges as a result of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.”

 

This press release was made possible by:

 

Bridgeport, CT – Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) submitted testimony to Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) regarding the failures of Eversource before and after tropical storm Isaias that resulted in approximately a million Connecticut residents losing power, including tens of thousands who were without power for nearly a week.  PURA held a hearing this morning regarding Eversource’s recently proposed rate increase, which should receive heightened scrutiny during the coronavirus crisis and until critical issues with Eversource’s preparation and response are addressed.

Congressman Himes’ full written testimony is here:

“For years, we’ve been told that Connecticut’s high electricity costs are part of the trade-off to replace and update poles, wires and pipes, as well as make other infrastructure improvements, to build a more reliable grid. Tropical Storm Isaias revealed what little return on investment ratepayers appear to have gotten in exchange. Power outages prevented hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents from working or logging on for virtual learning. Downed trees and power lines trapped many of my constituents inside their homes and potentially put them at risk by delaying response times for emergency services. This unfolded for days as Eversource stumbled to navigate its storm response.

“We’ve been here before. When Hurricanes Sandy and Irene ripped across Connecticut, the state worked with Eversource to improve system resiliency. It’s not clear to me how consumers have benefited from these investments. Eversource restored power at a glacial pace, struggled to communicate with local officials and the public, and misjudged the storm’s strength. These errors exponentially increased the harm done to my constituents, particularly given the COVID emergency; staying safe during the pandemic is difficult enough even with power and utilities, and downright near impossible without them.

 

“Eversource could not provide restoration timelines for each town until Saturday, August 8, a full four days after the conclusion of the storm. But even those estimates failed to account for the unique circumstances on the ground. For example, seventeen medically vulnerable customers in Wilton were without power eight days after Isaias hit. Municipal leaders and emergency personnel also struggled to get answers from the utility’s community liaisons, if they could even contact them at all. Eversource must work more closely with our mayors and first selectmen to improve communication and provide frequent, accurate, and substantive updates on restoration. In addition, it must do a better job of communicating with the public. At the onset of the storm, technical issues with Eversource’s alerting system plagued customers trying to report damage and outages. In assessing any future rate hike, PURA should also review the utility’s preparation for Isaias. United Illuminating projected a “Level 3” event, whereas Eversource classified Isaias as a “Level 4” event until the storm struck.

“We must now begin the difficult but necessary step of assessing how we got here. I fully support PURA’s broader review of the utility companies’ preparation and planning for the storm. We also need to deal with the matter at hand today: Eversource’s recent rate increase. For our part, Connecticut’s federal delegation will continue to work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reexamine formulas that have contributed to increased consumer expenses. But more needs to be done at the state level.

“For too long, Connecticut residents have borne the brunt of Eversource’s failure to respond to a crisis. Before PURA approves any further rate increase, we need to know that Eversource shares the burden equally with its customers. Moreover, we need to consider shifting to a system of performance-based regulation where Eversource is required to prioritize affordability and reliability. I look forward to working with our state officials, the members of this body, and the Governor to implement commonsense solutions like this and prevent a repeat of this debacle. Starting today, I hope that PURA will take appropriate steps to protect ratepayers and get the answers that we deserve.”

 

This press release is made possible by:

 

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias, Governor Ned Lamont and Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais are reminding policyholders to review their homeowner’s insurance policy to better understand their coverage for property damage due to loss of power as the state is at the height of the 2020 Atlantic Tropical Storm season.

The Atlantic Tropical Storm season began on June 1 and runs through November 30.

“Storm Isaias left nearly a million customers without power.  Many families and businesses experienced property damage, loss of work wages and other losses like spoiled groceries due to the mass power outage,” said Governor Lamont. “This is already a very difficult year and the Insurance Department is working to help with filing storm-related claims and answering your questions.”

 

“It is important to review your policies yearly with your insurance agent or broker to understand what is covered and what the limits are. Keep your policies and insurance contact information in a safe place should your property be damaged, and you must make a claim,” said Commissioner Mais. “Call the Department if you have questions or need help.”

Although most policies vary to some degree, there is common coverage for certain types of damage due to power outages.

Food spoilage due to a power outage is generally not covered under a basic homeowner, renters or condominium policy.  However, this is a popular coverage for insurance companies to offer and some companies do in fact provide limited coverage in the policy. If the coverage is not included in the policy, you may be able to purchase for a nominal additional premium.  Your agent should be able to tell you about the availability of coverage and how much it would cost.

Being forced out of your home due only to a loss of power is not normally covered under a standard homeowner, renters, or condominium policy. However, if a covered loss makes your home uninhabitable, coverage, up to specific limits, for any necessary increase in living expenses incurred by you so that your household can maintain its normal standard of living is generally provided.

 

If water pipes in your home were to burst in the winter months due to lack of heat from a power outage, damage to covered property would be covered by your policy.

Homeowners, condo, and renters insurance cover property for most types of damage including tornado, hurricanes, severe storms, rain, wind, and fires. The Insurance Department has useful information online on what is covered during a storm,  more information on Storm Isaias, and Tips for Making a Storm Claim.

Your insurer can only cover what it knows you lost, which is why it is important to keep an inventory and accurate records for filing claims in the future.

The Department’s Consumer Affairs Division is available to assist policyholders with answers to questions.

• Ask a question or file a complaint online
• Email us at insurance@ct.gov
• Call the Consumer Helpline at 800-203-3447 or 860-297-3900.

This press release is made possible by: