Hurricane Ian to intensify, Biogen settles lawsuit, Ford asks for new trial after $1.7 billion loss

Notable business headlines include Hurricane Ian becoming a Category 4 hurricane before hitting Florida, Biogen settling a lawsuit that alleged the company paid doctors to prescribe drugs, and Ford asking for a new trial after rollover accident suit.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Let's get you caught up on some other headlines we're watching right now. Hurricane Ian forecast to grow into a category 4 hurricane before eventually hitting Florida. The storm currently moving over Cuba as a category 3 storm. Much of Florida's western coast currently under a hurricane warning as the storm expected to intensify as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency over the weekend.

Biogen will pay a $900 million settlement after a lawsuit alleged the company paid doctors to prescribe its drugs. The lawsuit, filed by a former employee, said Biogen would use kickbacks to encourage prescription of its multiple sclerosis drugs. Biogen will have to pay the federal government and 15 states involved in the case. The company denies any wrongdoing, but said it wants to resolve the litigation to focus on other priorities.

Also dealing with legal troubles, Ford. It's asking for a new trial after a jury ruled the automaker will have to pay out $1.7 billion. That follows a rollover accident that killed two people. The suit alleged the truck's roof design was faulty and vulnerable to collapse in a rollover crash. Ford's new filing in Georgia claims it was not able to show evidence the truck was safe, and the roof is stronger than others on the market. Ford says the state judge barred the automaker from defending itself. It goes on to say there were several other factors that led to the fatality that Ford was not able to use to bring forward in the prior trial.