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Product Liability
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September 11, 2024
King & Spalding Adds 4 Attys To Mass Torts Practice In Texas
King & Spalding LLP continues to grow its Texas presence, announcing Wednesday that it has added four partners from Butler Snow LLP to its product liability and mass torts practice group.
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September 11, 2024
Phelps Dunbar Recruits 6 Litigators In Raleigh
Phelps Dunbar LLP has hired six lawyers in Raleigh to serve the business and litigation needs of companies in North and South Carolina, adding strength in health care, construction, employment and intellectual property.
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September 11, 2024
Mars Can't Claim For Contaminated Ice Cream, Supplier Says
A food supplier has denied owing confectionery giant Mars Wrigley £1.1 million ($1.4 million) after ice cream became contaminated with an allegedly hazardous pesticide, claiming it didn't need to check for the substance.
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September 11, 2024
NC Car Parts Biz Racks Up $10M In Fines For Cheat Devices
A North Carolina automotive components business will pay a $2.4 million criminal penalty on top of a $7 million civil fine for dealing devices used to skirt federal vehicle emissions controls, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
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September 10, 2024
1st Lyondell Leak Bellwether Settles On Eve Of Trial
The first bellwether case in a multidistrict litigation created to handle claims stemming from a 2021 gas leak at a LyondellBasell facility in La Porte, Texas, reached a confidential settlement on the eve of trial, a defense attorney confirmed Tuesday.
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September 10, 2024
Ky. Breeder Not Covered For Horse's Death, Court Says
A horse breeder has no coverage for the death of a stallion that occurred after he was given an injection to increase his libido as the injection triggered an exclusion for unauthorized medications, a Kentucky federal court said Tuesday.
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September 10, 2024
Whole Foods, Hain Denied Full 5th Circ. Review In Baby Food Case
The Fifth Circuit on Monday shut down a bid from grocery store chain Whole Foods and international food company Hain Celestial Group for a rehearing of a panel's decision remanding to state court a suit alleging Hain's baby food caused the mental and physical decline of a toddler.
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September 10, 2024
42 AGs Back Call For Social Media Warning Label Law
A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general urged Congress on Tuesday to introduce warning labels on social media platforms in a bid to tackle risks posed to young people's mental health.
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September 10, 2024
Anapol Weiss Absorbs 5-Atty Mass Tort Boutique In DC
The Philadelphia-based mass tort and personal injury firm Anapol Weiss has expanded into Washington, D.C., as it absorbs a five-attorney outfit helmed by former Wilkinson Stekloff LLP founding partner Alexandra Walsh.
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September 10, 2024
Prime Hydration Beats Most Beverage PFAS Claims, For Now
A California federal judge on Monday declined to end a putative class action accusing Prime Hydration of misleadingly marketing its Grape Sports Drink as healthy when it contains so-called "forever chemicals," although she tossed most of the lawsuit's claims with leave to amend.
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September 10, 2024
2024's Top Rulings In Native American Law
The U.S. Supreme Court this year has handed down rulings with huge price tags attached — from millions in healthcare reimbursement funding required for tribes to lending Florida a win that will garner it a new revenue stream — that are expected to have large implications for Native American sovereignty. Here, Law360 takes a look at some of the biggest decisions in Native American law from the first half of 2024.
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September 10, 2024
Free Speech Or Bad Medicine? The Abortion 'Reversal' Battle
The marketing of abortion pill "reversal" — a treatment doubted by medical groups but touted by anti-abortion advocates — is facing increased scrutiny from state attorneys general, triggering legal skirmishes in at least four states centered on First Amendment rights and consumer protection laws.
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September 10, 2024
GM Can't Arbitrate Claims Engines Were 'Engineered To Fail'
General Motors LLC cannot arbitrate class claims that certain engines were "engineered to fail," an Ohio federal judge has ruled, citing recent Sixth Circuit guidance on when a party waives the right to resolve disputes out of court.
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September 10, 2024
Ala. Jury Awards $160M In Defective Truck Seat Crash Case
An Alabama state jury hit commercial truck manufacturer Daimler Truck North America with a $160 million verdict, in a case where a former trucker claimed the company's defectively designed vehicle caused him to suffer a catastrophic spinal injury following a crash, his counsel said.
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September 09, 2024
Mo. Jury Awards $462M In Fatal Big Rig Crash Suit
A Missouri state jury has awarded $462 million, nearly all in punitive damages, to the families of two men who died when their car rear-ended a big rig and slid under a rear guard that was improperly designed, although the award may be significantly cut under the state's damage cap.
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September 09, 2024
Lindt Can't Escape Suit Over Heavy Metals In Dark Chocolate
Candymaker Lindt & Sprüngli can't escape claims that its dark chocolate contained dangerous levels of lead and cadmium, a Brooklyn federal judge has ruled, saying the consumers' claims that they paid a premium for allegedly defective products counts as an injury.
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September 09, 2024
Student Vaping Down By Half-Million Kids, CDC Says
The number of young people who vape has decreased by roughly half a million, a "monumental public health win," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but anti-tobacco advocates say more progress must be made through "crackdowns."
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September 09, 2024
FTC Backs Teva Orange Book Delisting At Fed. Circ.
The Federal Trade Commission is continuing to back Amneal's efforts to have Teva's inhaler patents delisted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book, telling the Federal Circuit that a lower court was right in determining that Teva's patents do not satisfy the registry's requirements.
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September 09, 2024
6th Circ. Affirms Ax Of '100% Raw' Honey-Labeling Fight
The Sixth Circuit has affirmed a decision tossing consumers' proposed class action over Strange Honey Farm LLC's "100% raw Tennessee honey" labels, finding that while the appellate court has jurisdiction to hear the consumers' appeal, the lower court rightly dismissed the "conclusory" allegations without leave to amend.
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September 09, 2024
X Corp. Could Expose Donors To Death Threats, Per Watchdog
Watchdog Media Matters for America claims that for X Corp. to compel production of its donor lists would breach the First Amendment, saying in a Friday brief in a Texas federal court that if the documents go public, its donors would receive violent threats and other abuse.
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September 09, 2024
Norfolk Southern CEO Shaw Faces Misconduct Probe
Norfolk Southern Corp. is investigating CEO Alan Shaw over allegations of misconduct, casting uncertainty over his future at the rail giant just months after a proxy fight with an activist investor.
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September 09, 2024
5th Circ. Lets BP Keep Deepwater Horizon Cleanup Suit Win
The Fifth Circuit won't upend BP's win in a suit by a boat captain alleging he was injured while helping with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, finding the trial court rightly excluded his expert for failing to prove that exposure to the chemicals could have caused his claimed injuries.
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September 09, 2024
Riddell Helmet Design Contributed To Brain Injury, Suit Says
The parents of a high school football player who suffered a life-altering injury that left him reliant on a wheelchair have filed a federal product liability suit in Texas against Riddell Inc., the maker of the allegedly defective helmet he was wearing when he was hurt.
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September 09, 2024
Baltimore Strikes $80M Opioid Settlement With Teva
Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay Baltimore $80 million to resolve claims that the company inflamed the city's opioid crisis, the city of Baltimore announced Monday ahead of a trial slated to begin next week against the remaining defendants in the Maryland state court litigation.
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September 09, 2024
Ohio Train Derailment Plaintiffs Seek Final OK Of $600M Deal
Residents and others affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, last year are asking an Ohio federal court for final approval of a $600 million settlement, including a $162 million payout for their attorneys.
Expert Analysis
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3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict
In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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Opinion
New Rule 702 Helps Judges Keep Bad Science Out Of Court
A court's recent decision to exclude dubious testimony from the plaintiffs' experts in multidistrict litigation over acetaminophen highlights the responsibility that judges have to keep questionable scientific evidence out of courtrooms, particularly under recent amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, says Sherman Joyce at the American Tort Reform Association.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Opinion
Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs
While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Opinion
Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals
The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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Opinion
3rd-Party Financiers Have Power To Drive Mass Tort Cases
The abnormal recovery premium presented by modern mass tort cases coupled with their deemphasized role for attorneys creates an opportunity for third-party financiers to both create and control these cases, says Samir Parikh at Lewis & Clark Law School.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Gilead Ruling Signals That Innovating Can Lead To Liability
A California appeals court's ruling last month in Gilead Life Sciences v. Superior Court of San Francisco that a drug manufacturer can be held liable for delaying the introduction of an improved version of its medication raises concerns about the chilling effects that expansive product liability claims may have on innovation, says Gary Myers at the University of Missouri School of Law.
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Understanding And Working With The Millennials On Your Jury
Every trial attorney will be facing a greater proportion of millennials on their jury, as they now comprise the largest generation in the U.S., and winning them over requires an understanding of their views on politics, corporations and damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.