Monsanto Hit With $100M Jury Verdict In 10th Seattle PCB Trial

By Rachel Riley and Greg Lamm

A Washington state jury said Tuesday that Monsanto should pay $100 million to four people who claim they developed various health issues from PCB exposure at a school facility, far less than the $4 billion requested by 15 plaintiffs but still adding to the $1.1 billion in losses the chemical giant already faces over the site.

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Monsanto Urges Fla. Court To Undo Punitive Damages Claim

By Carolina Bolado

Monsanto urged a Florida appeals court to reverse a lower court's decision allowing a punitive damages claim in a suit saying the company's Roundup weed killer causes cancer, arguing that punitive damages are barred in the case by Florida law limiting punitive damages for the same conduct in multiple cases.

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Fla. Panel Told Law Precludes Damages For Smoker's Heir

By David Minsky

Two tobacco companies told a Florida state appellate panel Tuesday that a surviving daughter of a deceased smoker can't collect millions of dollars in a wrongful death case, arguing that the law precludes her from collecting damages because her father died before the case had been redecided on appeal.

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TikTok Says NC Can't Fault Platform For Being 'Too Engaging'

By Hayley Fowler

TikTok Inc. has asked for an early exit from the North Carolina attorney general's lawsuit accusing the video platform of harming young users, saying it has no significant ties to the Tar Heel state and the AG's office can't otherwise build a case around its platform being "too engaging."

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Wash. Co. Says Titan Sub Implosion Claims Should Be Tossed

By Y. Peter Kang

A Washington state-based company that allegedly helped construct the Titan submersible that imploded en route to the Titanic wreck in 2023 has said certain maritime claims lodged by the family of one of the victims are invalid because he wasn't an employee of the company.

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Wash. Justice Asks If Gun Law Impedes Self-Defense Right

By Greg Lamm

A Washington state justice asked Tuesday if a state law banning the sale of large-capacity magazines for firearms can survive recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights, noting that millions of people own the ammunition devices for self-defense.

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Eli Lilly Says Colo. Clinic Selling Deceptive Weight Loss Drug

By Thy Vo

Eli Lilly & Co. has sued a Denver health clinic for allegedly selling "unapproved and potentially dangerous" drugs marketed to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, which the pharmaceutical company said could give consumers the false impression that its U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications don't work.

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ACT Mouthwash Label Poses Risk For Kids, Parents Claim

By Jonathan Capriel

Makers of ACT mouthwash deceived consumers into believing its brand of "kids mouthrinse" is safe for preschoolers when it's actually more dangerous due to its candy-like flavors that encourage children to drink it, potentially poisoning or killing them, according to a parent-led proposed class action in Illinois federal court.

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EPA Warns Of Possible Forever Chemical Risk In Fertilizer

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said that forever chemicals present in fertilizers could pose a health risk to people living or working on or near farms, a finding that could result in new regulations.

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Brief

Sig Sauer Settles Gun Defect Suit With Injured Mass. Officer

By Jonathan Capriel

Sig Sauer Inc. and a police officer who claims the gunmaker's P320 pistol spontaneously discharged and injured her without the trigger being touched have reached a deal ending the lawsuit she brought against the company, a Massachusetts federal judge announced Monday.

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Cannabist Moves Illinois Oil Potency Case To Federal Court

By Mike Curley

The Cannabist Co. Holdings and its affiliated companies have removed to federal court a suit alleging they make products using highly potent cannabis oils without warning consumers that the amounts of THC are illegal in Illinois.

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Lockheed, CNA Pause Coverage Suit Amid Settlement Talks

By Ganesh Setty

A Maryland federal court agreed Tuesday to continue pausing a dispute between Lockheed Martin Corp. and a CNA Financial unit over coverage for lawsuits accusing the aerospace and defense giant of environmental contamination, as the parties negotiate a potential coverage settlement.

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Tribe Members Look To Intervene In 8th Circ. Pipeline Case

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty members of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation have urged the Eighth Circuit to let them intervene in a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary's lawsuit challenging the Interior Department's reversal of decisions related to a pipeline crossing the reservation's land in North Dakota.

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NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

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Liability Risk For AI In Medical Devices Demands Greater Care

As regulators push for legal reform surrounding artificial intelligence and cases implicating product liability for AI in medical technology continue to rise, manufacturers must adapt and implement new strategies to accommodate evolving risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

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Analysis

Latham Grabs Top Spot For 2024 IPOs By Large Margin

By Tom Zanki

Latham & Watkins LLP guided more initial public offerings than any law firm in 2024, capturing a diverse mix of large listings for companies that seized opportunities to go public as the broader IPO market inched toward recovery, new data shows.

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Meta Atty Quits IP Case Over Zuckerberg's 'Toxic Masculinity'

By Ivan Moreno

An attorney helping defend Meta Platforms in copyright litigation brought by artists who claim their content was used to train the large language model Llama has dropped the tech company as his client, citing Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg's "descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness" in a LinkedIn post.

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Allred Seeks To Ax 'Absurd' Defamation Suit Over Diddy Case

By Emily Sawicki

High-profile women's rights litigator Gloria Allred and her client have fired back at Sean "Diddy" Combs' former head of security, calling his defamation claims arising from the rape suit they filed against him and the embattled music mogul "absurd" and worthy of sanctions.

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Legal Pros Offer LA-Area Fire Victims Insurance Tips

By Dorothy Atkins

Personal injury and insurance attorneys offered Los Angeles fire victims practical tips during an hourslong info-session hosted by the Beverly Hills Bar Association on Tuesday, cautioning against hiring public adjusters and attorneys quickly or taking money from FEMA and detailing actions victims should take now to get insurance claims timely adjudicated.

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Trump Org. Taps Quinn Emanuel Atty For Ethics Adviser

By Emily Sawicki

A co-managing partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has been selected to step into the role of outside ethics adviser for the Trump Organization, President-elect Donald Trump's real estate conglomerate, according to an announcement by its executive vice president.

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Ex-NC Assistant AG To Co-Lead WilmerHale State AGs Group

By Jack Rodgers

WilmerHale has tapped the former first assistant attorney general and general counsel to former North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein as co-leader of its state attorneys general practice, the firm announced Monday.

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Steptoe Hires A&O Shearman Political Law Leader In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Steptoe LLP has hired the former head of A&O Shearman's political law group, who is joining the team in Washington, D.C., as a partner to continue her practice focused on a range of white collar investigations and political law issues, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Ex-Department Of Commerce Trade Pro Joins King & Spalding

By Rose Krebs

King & Spalding LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired an attorney who formerly served as a U.S. Department of Commerce official and assistant general counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to bolster its international trade team.

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K&L Gates Inks 15-Year Lease For Smaller Pittsburgh Office

By Tracey Read

K&L Gates LLP has signed a new 15-year lease to remain in its central business district location in the heart of Pittsburgh in a smaller, more flexible workspace, the firm announced Monday.

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Fed. Court, Judges Beat Atty's Challenge To 'Gag Order' Rule

By Jack Karp

Sovereign immunity bars a Nashville civil rights lawyer from challenging a U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee rule barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases pending in the district, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

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DA Says Trump's Appeals To Intervene In NY Case Now 'Moot'

By Frank G. Runyeon

Counsel for the Manhattan district attorney urged both a federal and a state appeals court to toss out Donald Trump's lingering invitations to intervene in his hush money case now that he's been sentenced, arguing there's no need for a "bizarre mechanism" when Trump can appeal normally.

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Both Michigan US Attys Resign Ahead Of Inauguration

By Danielle Ferguson

Michigan's U.S. attorneys, Dawn Ison in the Eastern District and Mark Totten in the Western District, announced their departures this week ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

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RNC Preempts Dem Attacks Ahead Of AG Nominee's Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of the confirmation hearing for President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general nominee on Wednesday, the chair of the Republican National Committee and other Trump allies brushed off concerns about Pam Bondi's possible conflicts of interest and close ties to the president-elect.

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El Paso Firm Failed To Pay Overtime Wages, Paralegal Says

By Emmy Freedman

An El Paso, Texas, law firm required a paralegal to respond to emails and text messages outside her working hours but refused to pay her overtime wages, she told a federal court Tuesday.

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