Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Product Liability
-
August 13, 2024
'Clever' Scheme Is Concealing Talc Litigation Funding, J&J Says
The Beasley Allen Law Firm needs to disclose alleged litigation funding fueling its litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder even if that funding was not given directly to the firm since the disclosure rules apply to "parties" and not "law firms," J&J has told a New Jersey federal court.
-
August 13, 2024
Rising Star: Lieff Cabraser's Andrew Kaufman
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP's Andrew Kaufman has helped lead cases in multidistrict litigation against Juul Labs Inc. over its marketing of vapes and Uber Technologies Inc. over allegations of sexual assault of passengers, earning him a spot among product liability attorneys under age 40 recognized by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 13, 2024
Talc Claims Land Cosmetics Giant Avon In Ch. 11
Avon Products filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware, saying it needs to address more than $1 billion in liabilities and allegations of injuries caused by talc in its products.
-
August 12, 2024
Groups Call On IHS To End Amalgam Use On Tribal Lands
A consortium of groups, including Consumers for Dental Choice and the International Indian Treaty Council, are calling on the U.S. Indian Health Service and other governments to immediately stop using mercury-containing dental fillings on Native Americans.
-
August 12, 2024
Gun Rights Group Drops Suit Challenging Colo. Magazine Ban
A Colorado federal judge dismissed a gun rights group's lawsuit challenging a state ban on "large capacity" magazines after the parties agreed to walk away from the suit on Monday.
-
August 12, 2024
Navy Federal, Recording Software Co. Want Privacy Suit Nixed
Navy Federal Credit Union customers can't bring an invasion of privacy class action over the credit union's use of artificial intelligence software to analyze and record customer calls, in part because its recording practices were appropriately disclosed, the nation's largest credit union has argued.
-
August 12, 2024
Deadline Passes For Camp Lejeune Claims
The deadline for U.S. Marine Corps servicemembers and their families to file administrative claims with the federal government over illnesses contracted by contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune passed on Saturday, with more than 320,000 claims that have been filed with the U.S. Navy.
-
August 12, 2024
The Biggest Telecom Developments Of 2024: Midyear Report
The first half of 2024 saw sweeping change in the telecom sphere as the Federal Communications Commission's Democratic majority pushed through controversial net neutrality rules and confronted challenges on artificial intelligence, national security and more, but also faces the prospect of new headwinds as the nation's top court pared back powers of federal agencies.
-
August 12, 2024
Norfolk Southern Says Cuts To Investors' Suit Aren't Enough
Norfolk Southern Corp. told a New York federal court on Friday that a magistrate judge's recommendations to trim an investor proposed class action over losses stemming from the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment didn't go far enough, and urged the court to dismiss the entire complaint.
-
August 12, 2024
Paragard IUD Makers Gearing Up For Defect Dismissal Bid
Teva Pharmaceuticals and The Cooper Cos. have five days to reach out to plaintiffs who may be included in a motion to dismiss the sprawling litigation over alleged defects in the Paragard IUD, a Georgia federal judge said Monday.
-
August 12, 2024
Microplastics False Ad Complaint 'Doesn't Hold Water'
An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action alleging that BlueTriton Brands Inc. doesn't tell consumers that its Ice Mountain spring water contains microplastics, saying no reasonable consumer would believe "100% natural spring water" is a guarantee down to the molecular level.
-
August 12, 2024
Rising Star: Barnes & Thornburg's Erin Pauley
Erin Pauley of Barnes & Thornburg LLP has represented clients such as pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and national food and drug retailers against personal injury and product liability cases throughout the country, earning her a spot among the product liability practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 12, 2024
Oil Cos. Get Go-Ahead On $3.5M La. Contamination Settlement
A Louisiana federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $3.5 million settlement to resolve residents' claims against Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. over alleged contamination from creosoting facilities, over the objection of co-defendants BNSF and International Paper.
-
August 12, 2024
Big Tobacco To Pay $600M In 'Historic' Mass. Deal
Philip Morris Inc. and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. will pay nine-figure sums as part of a $600 million settlement between Massachusetts and major tobacco companies that resolves yearslong disputes about how much the cigarette makers owe, the state attorney general announced Monday.
-
August 09, 2024
Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Complain They Can't Get Gov't Docs
Veterans and family members who claim they were injured due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune say the government has refused to hand over "troves of discoverable documents" and are urging a federal court to force the government to comply.
-
August 09, 2024
Tesla Sued Over Gigafactory Worker's Electrocution Death
The widow of an electrician who was fatally electrocuted this month while working at Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, has filed a wrongful death suit in Texas state court, claiming the company negligently allowed a dangerous condition to exist at the automaker's global headquarters.
-
August 09, 2024
FDA Rejects Latest Effort To Treat PTSD With MDMA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected a new drug application to treat post-traumatic stress disorder with the psychedelic drug MDMA, an entactogen also known as ecstasy or molly, the company that backed the effort announced Friday.
-
August 09, 2024
Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines Families Float April Trial Lineup
Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash victims' families told an Illinois federal judge Friday that they're prepping the next six cases for an April trial, but disagreed over whether a Canadian resident who lost five family members in the crash should be slotted in for a standalone trial in March.
-
August 09, 2024
Meta Urges Justices To Ax Investors' Risk Disclosure Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. filed its opening brief Friday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit decision that kept alive a class action stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data abuse scandal, arguing that decision would create unnecessary disclosure obligations and encourage "fraud by hindsight" lawsuits.
-
August 09, 2024
Retailer Can't Pass Buck To Pool Maker In Child Drowning Suit
A Missouri federal judge trimmed the bulk of a couple's claims against the retailer that sold the pool in which their two-year-old daughter drowned, but ruled that the retailer couldn't escape strict liability claims under the state's "innocent seller" statute.
-
August 09, 2024
Full 2nd Circ. Axes Producer's Bid To Revive Blacklisting Suit
The Second Circuit won't take a second whack at its ruling that a stage workers union can't be held liable under antitrust laws for discouraging members from working with a Broadway producer following complaints about unpaid wages.
-
August 09, 2024
Rising Star: Seeger Weiss' Caleb Seeley
Caleb Seeley of Seeger Weiss LLP has advocated for plaintiffs facing the often life-altering effects of lapses in products used by millions of consumers, including in what is thought to be the largest mass tort in American history, earning him a spot among the product liability law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
August 09, 2024
Ex-Mayer Brown Product Liability Atty Joins King & Spalding
King & Spalding LLP has hired a former Mayer Brown LLP partner for its product liability and mass torts practice group in New York.
-
August 08, 2024
Ga. Mom Cuts Game Maker From Video Game Addiction Suit
A Georgia mother suing various gaming companies alleging that they caused her teenager's mental disorders with their addictive designs and in-game purchases now seeks to drop claims she made against the maker of Fortnite.
-
August 08, 2024
Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Judge Flags Pretrial 'Difficulties'
A federal judge presiding over injury suits stemming from contaminated water at Camp Lejeune urged the federal government and plaintiffs' lawyers Thursday to resolve "ongoing difficulties" such as fact disputes ahead of bench trials, calling the parties' stipulations since the last status conference "less than robust."
Expert Analysis
-
3 Surprising Deposition Dangers Attorneys Must Heed
Attorneys often do not think of discovery as a particularly risky phase of litigation, but counsel must closely heed some surprisingly strict and frequently overlooked requirements before, during and after depositions that can lead to draconian consequences, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
-
Best Practices For Chemical Transparency In Supply Chains
A flurry of new and forthcoming regulations in different jurisdictions that require disclosure of potentially hazardous substances used in companies' products and processes will require businesses to take proactive steps to build chemical transparency into their supply chains, and engage robustly and systematically with vendors, says Jillian Stacy at Enhesa.
-
How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
-
Justices' Bump Stock Ruling Skirted Deference, Lenity Issues
Despite presenting a seemingly classic case on agency deference, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Garland v. Cargill did not mention the Chevron doctrine, and the opinion also overlooked whether agency interpretations of federal gun laws should ever receive deference given that they carry criminal penalties, say Tess Saperstein and John Elwood at Arnold & Porter.
-
Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
-
A Plaintiffs-Side Approach To Cochlear Implant Cases
As the number of cochlear implants in the U.S. continues to grow, some will inevitably fail — especially considering that many recalled implants remain in use — plaintiffs attorneys should proactively prepare for litigation over defective implants, says David Shoop at Shoop.
-
Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
-
Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
-
Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
-
Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
-
Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
-
How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
-
Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture
In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.
-
Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
-
Opinion
Bankruptcy Judges Can Justly Resolve Mass Tort Cases
Johnson & Johnson’s recent announcement of a prepackaged reorganization plan for its talc unit highlights that Chapter 11 is a continually evolving living statute that can address new types of problems with reorganization, value and job preservation, and just treatment for creditors, says Kenneth Rosen at Ken Rosen Advisors PC.