Recent Legal Decisions That Will Impact Your Business

Business Insurance Update

Last year we saw many legal developments that will impact businesses in 2026. These developments may necessitate a business insurance review. Business or commercial insurance covers your business for legal liability claims that cause damage or injury to third parties. If laws are created or current laws change, it may impact your business’s legal liability. Here are some examples of current litigation, rulings, and legislation that could impact your business:

1. Fair housing laws — In Texas, any practice can be illegal if it disproportionately affects minorities, regardless of the intent, under a disparate impact theory. This can affect rental housing, apartments, property managers, and even commercial building owners.
2. Cyber Liability Defense — In a case in the West, a fitness gym was bought by another fitness gym. Gym One had purchased cyber insurance to protect the client’s information. During the transition, the gym two experienced a data breach. Gym Two attempted to obtain coverage under Gym One’s cyber insurance. The court ruled against Gym Two.
3. The National Restaurant Association is suing New York City over sodium warnings on menus.  The New York City Board of Health “sodium warning” rule applies to restaurants with more than 15 locations nationwide, as well as to concession stands at some movie theaters and sports stadiums.
4. Immigration Audits — The federal government is increasing audits of business in order to make sure they are complying with all immigration laws.
5. Cloud data storage is becoming more popular, since it allows for better collaboration and automatic backups. The recent hack of Sony Pictures brought the threat of data insecurity to the public’s attention. This increases your business cyber risk.
6. The Uber class-action suit has been expanded to include more drivers. The results of Uber’s legal battle could reshape the on-demand economy.
7. Independent contractor laws have changed. Businesses will need to ensure that independent contractors are truly independent.
8. The use and ownership of drones — You must register your drone, and the legal requirements are changing.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2026 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Business Insurance, Commercial Auto, Employment Liability, Professional Liability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.