Product Liability

  • February 19, 2025

    BP Must Face Contract Claim In Bayer's $12M Benzene Suit

    BP can't escape claims that it breached its contract with a chemical supplier currently defending a $12 million lawsuit from Bayer over alleged benzene contamination in two antifungal sprays, an Illinois federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

  • February 19, 2025

    Calif. Bill Aims To Ban Sale Of Anti-Aging Products To Minors

    A San Francisco Bay Area legislator has introduced a new bill that bans the sale of anti-aging products "that contain potent and harsh ingredients" to people under the age of 18 in the Golden State.

  • February 19, 2025

    Product Liability Group Of The Year: Sullivan & Cromwell

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP helped Koninklijke Philips negotiate a $1.1 billion settlement agreement ending sprawling litigation related to its recalled sleep breathing machines, causing company stock to jump and landing the firm a spot among the 2024 Law360 Product Liability Groups of the Year.

  • February 19, 2025

    Conn. Trial Firm Split Must Return To Arbitration, Judge Rules

    A dispute over the breakup of a Connecticut personal injury firm known for high-dollar verdicts must for now return to arbitration, a Connecticut judge ruled Wednesday, saying an arbiter, not the court, must decide initial questions about the feud's proper forum.

  • February 18, 2025

    Delta Crash In Toronto, FAA Firings Upend Aviation Industry

    The harrowing crash of a Delta Air Lines passenger jet in Toronto on Monday, during which the plane caught fire, skidded across the runway with its wings broken off and flipped upside down, has upended an industry already rocked by a string of U.S. aviation accidents in the past month.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Exec Order Expands Control Over Independent Agencies

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to limit the autonomy of independent agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission by requiring them to submit draft regulations for presidential review.

  • February 18, 2025

    Studies Don't Show Zantac Cancer Risks, Jury Hears

    Taking Zantac does not cause prostate cancer, a Children's Hospital Colorado toxicologist testified Tuesday in two men's Illinois retrial of claims that taking the heartburn medication contributed to their diagnoses.

  • February 18, 2025

    J&J Talc Unit Launches 2-Week $10B Ch. 11 Settlement Trial

    A Johnson & Johnson spinoff began its case Tuesday for a $10 billion Chapter 11 settlement of the company's talc liability before a Texas bankruptcy judge while opponents of the deal questioned the legitimacy of the bankruptcy case and the plan vote.

  • February 18, 2025

    Exxon, Koch Lose Bid To End Minn. Climate Change Suit

    A Minnesota state judge on Friday largely preserved the state's lawsuit alleging Exxon Mobil Corp., Koch Industries Inc. and the American Petroleum Institute concealed the climate change risks of fossil fuels, rejecting arguments that the case was a matter of federal, not state, law.

  • February 18, 2025

    Engine Co. Says Plane Crash Appeal Is Matter For NC Panel

    Aviation companies Avco Corp. and its subsidiary Lycoming Engines are urging a North Carolina appeals court to take up their bid seeking immunity from a civil lawsuit filed by families of victims killed in a 2015 plane crash, arguing that allowing a trial to go forward would cause "irreparable harm."

  • February 18, 2025

    Pa. Justices To Weigh Philly Ban On 3D-Printed Gun Parts

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide whether a state law preempting most local gun restrictions applies to the whole field of firearms regulations, or whether ordinances like Philadelphia's ban on 3D printing gun parts and assembling them are exempted because the parts aren't "firearms" themselves, the court announced Tuesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    Suit Blames Electrolux Burners For Pa. Family's House Fire

    Subsidiaries of Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux are facing another design defect lawsuit claiming that its stove knobs are too easily turned on by accident, with the latest suit coming from a Philadelphia-area family whose home burned down.

  • February 18, 2025

    Meta Repeats Push To Halt Social Media Coverage Row In Del.

    Meta urged a Delaware federal court again to stay coverage proceedings over underlying claims it deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to adolescents, noting the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation may soon transfer the case to California federal court, where the underlying litigation is taking place.

  • February 18, 2025

    Human Rights Atty Sees 'Serious Risks' Of Neural Data Abuse

    International human rights attorney Jared Genser spoke with Law360 Healthcare Authority about the "serious risks of misuse and abuse of neurotechnologies" that have led California and Colorado to expand their state consumer privacy laws in the last year to include neural data, with similar bills pending in Montana, Massachusetts and Illinois.

  • February 18, 2025

    DC Midair Collision Family Brings $250M Claims Against Gov't

    The family of a passenger killed in last month's midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a military helicopter put the federal government on notice that they're pursuing $250 million in personal injury and wrongful death claims over the accident, attorneys for the family said Tuesday.

  • February 18, 2025

    Torrent Of Eaton Fire Suits Call For Organization, Judge Says

    A Los Angeles judge said Tuesday that discovery into the cause of last month's devastating Eaton Fire should wait until dozens of related suits against Southern California Edison have been organized and can "proceed efficiently and fairly."

  • February 18, 2025

    Sidley Expands In Calif. With Latham Emerging Cos. Atty

    Sidley Austin LLP is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Latham & Watkins LLP emerging companies specialist as a partner in its San Francisco Bay Area offices.

  • February 18, 2025

    Product Liability Group Of The Year: Kline & Specter

    Kline & Specter PC's product liability practice group secured billions of dollars in verdicts in cases against Monsanto over its weedkiller Roundup and has helped to lead mass tort litigation over Elmiron's bladder drugs, earning it a place as one of the 2024 Law360 Product Liability Groups of the Year.

  • February 18, 2025

    Plaintiffs Atty Flags 'Worst' Parts Of Georgia's Tort Reform

    A ban on proposing damages amounts to juries in order to "anchor" them, and easier access to two-phase trials, are the worst parts of a proposed "sweeping" tort reform package being pushed heavily by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, according to a prominent plaintiffs attorney.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Slams The Brakes On Peloton Bike Recall Claims

    A New York federal judge threw out, for now, a proposed investor action alleging Peloton overstated the safety of its bikes before 2.2 million products were recalled over a bike seat defect, ruling that the shareholders haven't adequately alleged the exercise company made any misleading statements.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Aims To End Limits On President's Power To Fire

    President Donald Trump has his sights set on taking down a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects certain government officials from being fired, a U.S. Department of Justice letter confirms, and he plans to leverage his prior legal victories to deliver the precedent's death knell and expand presidential power.

  • February 14, 2025

    Texas Investigates DeepSeek For State Privacy Law Breach

    Texas announced an investigation into Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, saying the company has run afoul of state privacy laws and has seemingly stolen Texas citizens' data.

  • February 14, 2025

    Some Discovery On Hold In Abbott Infant Formula Case

    An Illinois federal judge granted in part a request by Abbott Laboratories to pause a shareholder derivative suit over how it managed the 2022 infant formula crisis, allowing written discovery to go on while staying depositions until May.

  • February 14, 2025

    NTSB Probes Faulty Helicopter Data In DC Collision

    The National Transportation Safety Board said that the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in last month's deadly midair collision over the Potomac River may not have heard crucial instructions from air traffic controllers and may have been getting inaccurate readings from the cockpit's altimeters.

  • February 14, 2025

    Munger Tolles Gets $10M Retainer To Rep LA In Fire Litigation

    Munger Tolles & Olson LLP has signed a $10 million retainer agreement to represent the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in a series of lawsuits alleging it irresponsibly left a local reservoir empty ahead of last month's devastating Palisades Fire.

Expert Analysis

  • Gilead Drug Ruling Creates Corporate Governance Dilemma

    Author Photo

    If upheld, a California state appellate court's decision — finding that Gilead is liable for delaying commercialization of a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on another drug — threatens to undermine long-standing rules of corporate law and exposes companies to liability for decisions based on sound business judgment, says Shireen Barday at Pallas.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

    Author Photo

    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • Rebuttal

    Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence

    Author Photo

    While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.

  • Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases

    Author Photo

    Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims

    Author Photo

    Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

    Author Photo

    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

    Author Photo

    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • 3rd Circ. Ruling Shows Benefits Of IP Licenses In Bankruptcy

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit’s recent ruling in Mallinckrodt’s Chapter 11 filing, which held that Mallinckrodt could sever its obligations to pay Sanofi royalties on sales of an autoimmune disease drug, highlights the advantages of structuring transactions as nonexclusive licenses for developers of intellectual property, say Gregory Hesse and Kaleb Bailey at Hunton.

  • How 3rd Circ. Raised Bar For Constitutional Case Injunctions

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's decision in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security, rejecting the relaxed preliminary injunction standards many courts have used when plaintiffs allege constitutional harms, could portend a shift in such cases in at least four ways, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

    Author Photo

    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

    Author Photo

    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

    Author Photo

    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Product Liability archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!