Boehringer Ingelheim Wins Illinois Zantac Cancer Retrial

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois state jury swiftly sided with Boehringer Ingelheim on Monday over two men's claims that taking the company's over-the-counter Zantac for decades contributed to their prostate cancer diagnoses, handing each of the men a trial loss after juries in their previous trials had deadlocked.

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Elizabeth Holmes Loses 9th Circ. Appeal Over Theranos Fraud

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed the criminal fraud convictions of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani along with their respective 11-year and nearly 13-year prison sentences, rejecting arguments that the lower court made multiple evidentiary errors that unfairly swayed jurors.

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Justices Nix Whistleblower Suit Over Arbitral Vacatur Limits

By Caroline Simson

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a petition that raised questions about the standards under which courts can vacate or enforce arbitral awards, in a case brought by a whistleblower who sought to challenge an arbitral award favoring his former employer.

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FCA Didn't Forfeit Arbitration Rights In Defect Suit, Judge Says

By Danielle Ferguson

An arbitrator must decide whether some drivers alleging Fiat Chrysler sold them vehicles with defective engines that shut off during use can pursue their claims, a Michigan federal judge said, finding the automaker didn't waive its right to seek arbitration by attacking the claims' merits before seeing if the drivers' purchase agreements had an arbitration clause.

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Weight-Loss Spa's 'Sauna Pod' Caused Severe Burns, Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

A Pittsburgh-area woman claims that an infrared "sauna pod" at a weight-loss spa burned her, leaving permanent scarring and disfigurement, according to a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court Monday that seeks to hold the Chinese manufacturer liable.

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Baby Bottle Cos. Get Parts Of Microplastics Suit Tossed

By Jonathan Capriel

Parents who sued Philips over allegations that microplastics leach from its "BPA free" baby bottles and sippy cups saw their lawsuit partially trimmed, after a California federal judge said that the company's label isn't misleading because it doesn't promise the products are "devoid of all harmful plastic."

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Vape Interests Urge 6th Circ. To Halt Kentucky E-Cig Law

By Sam Reisman

A coalition of e-cigarette interests is urging the Sixth Circuit to halt enforcement of a new Kentucky law regulating vaping products while their appeal plays out.

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Chinese E-Cig Maker Removes Explosion Suit On Eve Of Trial

By Mike Curley

A Chinese electronic cigarette maker has removed to federal court a suit alleging that the battery in one of its products exploded, just days before trial was set to start in Texas state court.

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Insurer Sues Valve Co. To Recoup Payout To Ohio School

By Jonathan Capriel

The "catastrophic" flooding of a Cincinnati school was due to a faulty water stop valve, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday by an insurance provider that seeks to hold building products manufacturer Masco Corp. and its plumbing subsidiary liable for the nearly $225,000 in damages.

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Norfolk Southern's Tank Car Co. Liability Claims Head To Trial

By Linda Chiem

An Ohio federal judge said that Norfolk Southern can pursue its claims seeking to have tank car companies pay at least some of the damages over 2023's East Palestine derailment, teeing up for trial key questions of liability concerning the tank cars' maintenance and transport of toxic chemicals.

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Feds Say Tribe's 'Vague' Claims Won't Save Pipeline Suit

By Madeline Lyskawa

The federal government on Monday doubled down on its attempt to dismiss the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's suit seeking to block an energy company from operating part of the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the D.C. federal court can't grant the relief requested.

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As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.

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Tools For Witness Control That Go Beyond Leading Questions

Though leading questions can be efficient and effective for constraining a witness’s testimony, this strategy isn’t appropriate for every trial and pretrial scenario, so techniques like headlining and looping can be deployed during direct examination, depositions and even witness interviews, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

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How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

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Judge Who Ordered Pages Restored Put On Impeachment List

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican U.S. congressman announced Monday he has introduced articles of impeachment against a Washington, D.C., federal judge, following the judge's ruling ordering public health agencies temporarily to restore the web pages they took down in response to a Trump administration order to scrub pages of "gender ideology."

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Injury Attys Sanctioned Over AI-Hallucinated Case Citations

By Lauren Berg

A Wyoming federal judge overseeing a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart sanctioned the plaintiffs' attorneys from Morgan & Morgan PA and the Goody Law Group after they filed pretrial motions containing case law hallucinated by artificial intelligence, but acknowledged Monday their "remedial steps, transparency and apologetic sentiments."

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Texas Atty Dinged For AI-Generated Fake Citations In Briefs

By Emily Sawicki

A Texas lawyer could face a $15,000 personal sanction and other potential discipline for filing three separate briefs using generative artificial intelligence that included fake citations in an Indiana ERISA case, according to a report and recommendation by a federal judge in the Hoosier State.

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ABA Suspends Law School DEI Standards Until Summer

By Tracey Read

The American Bar Association has announced that it is holding off on enforcing its diversity and inclusion standards for law schools in light of recent executive orders by the new presidential administration.

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'It Was An Accident': Judge Denies Shooting Wife On Purpose

By Gina Kim

A California judge who shot his wife to death in their living room following an argument took the stand in his murder trial Monday, fighting hard to maintain his composure while explaining to jurors that his Glock discharged accidentally when he tried to set it down on the coffee table.

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Reed Smith Adds 16 Laterals To Launch Denver Office

By Aebra Coe

Reed Smith LLP is bringing on more than a dozen lateral attorney hires from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, Foley Hoag LLP, Dentons, Akerman LLP, Greenberg Traurig LLP and Cooley LLP to launch its new Denver office, the firm announced Monday.

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Freshfields Launches In Boston, Led By Ex-Latham Partner

By Tracey Read

London-founded Freshfields LLP announced Monday that it has opened its fourth U.S. office in Boston, and that it has added a former Latham & Watkins LLP partner to lead the Beantown build-out.

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McDermott Expands To Nashville With 4 Hires From K&L Gates

By Xiumei Dong

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has opened a new office in Nashville, Tennessee, bringing on four healthcare-focused partners from K&L Gates LLP to lead the expansion, the firm announced Monday.

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Gunnercooke Opens In Chicago With Ex-FisherBroyles Team

By Matt Perez

U.K.-based law firm Gunnercooke LLP announced the launch of a Chicago office, marking the second state it has entered since launching in New York in 2022.

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Trump Media Co. Wants TRO Against Brazilian Justice

By Carolina Bolado

President Donald Trump's media company and online video sharing platform Rumble Inc. have asked a Florida federal court for a temporary restraining order blocking a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court justice's gag orders, arguing they illegally suppress political speech in the United States.

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Feature

'We Need Go No Further': 10 Notable Judge Bruce Selya Lines

By Chris Villani

Senior First Circuit Judge Bruce Selya, who died Saturday at age 90, will be remembered not only for the opinions he wrote but for the flowery language he used to write them. Here are 10 of the judge's notable "Selyanisms" from recent years.

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Moves To Change Del. Corporate Law Spark Pushback

By Jeff Montgomery

A public opposition campaign complete with website and street signs has surfaced to oppose corporation and bar-backed legislation that would overhaul Delaware stockholder litigation rights and fee awards, intensifying an already unprecedented political fight that broke out last year over corporate governance concessions.

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Brief

DC Circ. To Hear Judge Newman's Appeal In April

By Andrew Karpan

The D.C. Circuit has set a date in April to hear an appeal from Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, who is fighting her suspension from the bench for refusing to undergo medical tests.

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Lloyd's Says Cadwalader's Suit Claims Nonexistent Tort

By Ryan Harroff

A Lloyd's of London syndicate has urged a North Carolina judge to toss part of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP's coverage lawsuit stemming from a data breach, saying there's no tort remedy for the allegation that the insurer exposed the firm's confidential information in a court filing.

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Feds Fight Reinstatement Of Ousted Inspectors General

By Ali Sullivan

The Trump administration fired back at a lawsuit brought by eight inspectors general who were fired last month, telling a D.C. federal judge that federal law does not require the president to hold off on the terminations for 30 days after notifying Congress.

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DA Willis Says 'Makes No Sense' To DQ Her From Trump Case

By Emily Johnson

Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis is arguing to the Georgia Supreme Court that her disqualification from prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others was unprecedented, asserting that her ousting over the appearance of impropriety creates a dangerous precedent.

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