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Product Liability
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July 18, 2024
Avatar-Maker Draws Facial-Scan BIPA Suit
Avatar company Ready Player Me Inc. has been hit with proposed class claims that it creates Illinois users' digital characters by scanning, storing and using their facial data without first obtaining informed consent.
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July 18, 2024
Docs Get Same Hefty Opioid Sentences Despite Top Court Win
Two Alabama doctors accused of unlawfully prescribing patients fentanyl and other opioids failed to shave time off their lengthy prison sentences despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for such prosecutions.
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July 18, 2024
Pool Co. Wants To Dig Into Rival's Alter Egos For $16M Verdict
Pool supply company Hayward Industries Inc. is looking to force responses from the alter egos of bankrupt rival Blueworks Corp. regarding their assets, bank accounts and property so that Hayward can collect on its $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment.
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July 18, 2024
Ga. Mineral Co. Can't Nab Win In Row Over Talc Suit Coverage
A Georgia federal judge declined to grant a win to a mineral products company trying to compel a Travelers unit to defend it against an underlying suit claiming that it supplied asbestos-containing talc products.
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July 17, 2024
Fla. Co. Says NY Lender Charges Usurious 950% Interest Rate
A Florida-based startup has sued a New York small business lender, alleging the lender saddled it with "a high interest usurious loan" when it thought it was entering into a future receivables agreement.
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July 17, 2024
'Inflammatory' Atty Statement Axes $11M Stanley Injury Verdict
A Missouri appellate court has tossed an $11 million jury verdict in a suit alleging a Stanley Black & Decker unit caused a man to lose an eye due to a defective staple gun, saying plaintiff's counsel made improper "inflammatory" references to Stanley as a "billion-dollar company."
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July 17, 2024
Wahlburgers-Tied Pickle Co. Settles Rival's Labeling Spat
A pickle company told a New Jersey federal court that its suit accusing a rival of ripping off recipes to make mislabeled pickles for actor Mark Wahlberg's restaurant business has been settled.
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July 17, 2024
Whirlpool Wants To Wash Away Service Plan Repair Claims
Whirlpool asked a Washington federal judge to send a proposed consumer class action down the drain, saying the aggrieved customer can't claim she was deceived about the details of an extended repair plan for a dishwasher when the full terms have always been easy to find online.
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July 17, 2024
Producer Petitions 2nd Circ. To Revive Blacklisting Suit
A Broadway producer accusing an actor and stage workers union of unlawfully blacklisting him following a labor dispute over a musical has asked the Second Circuit for another chance to revive the claims.
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July 17, 2024
Pharma Co. Slams Magistrate's Venue Report In Opioid Suit
A pharmaceuticals distributor is objecting to an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge's recent recommendation to deny as moot the company's bid to dismiss a Cherokee Nation suit accusing it of flooding tribal communities with opioids, saying the case shouldn't be sent to state court.
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July 17, 2024
NY Judge Sends Suits Over Indianapolis FedEx Shooting To SC
Firearms manufacturer American Tactical Inc has persuaded a New York Judge to send to South Carolina lawsuits that victims of an April 2021 mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility filed to accuse the company of recklessly advertising a 60-round magazine used in the attack.
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July 17, 2024
9th Circ. Scrubs Dismissal In Plant-Based Huggies Wipes Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a suit alleging that Kimberly Clark Corp.'s baby wipes mislead consumers into thinking they're made entirely from plant products, saying the district court wrongly considered the back label when dismissing claims regarding certain products.
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July 17, 2024
Drivers' Transmission Complaints Are 'Old News,' GM Says
Drivers waited too long to file a proposed class action accusing General Motors LLC of selling vehicles with faulty transmissions, the automaker said in a motion Tuesday arguing that many of the claims must be dismissed.
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July 17, 2024
Hospital Trims Its Insulin Pen Claims Against Novo Nordisk
A Connecticut hospital and Novo Nordisk Inc. have agreed to dismiss several of the pharmaceutical giant's corporate entities from a suit seeking to make the company pay for the hospital's $1 million settlement from an underlying patient class action over allegedly defective insulin pens the firm made.
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July 17, 2024
3M Denied Quick Win In Earplug MDL Coverage Dispute
3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies can't get a quick win in their quest for coverage for hundreds of millions of dollars in defense costs paid in connection with underlying litigation alleging that their combat earplugs failed to protect the hearing of service members and veterans, a Delaware state court ruled.
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July 17, 2024
Target Hit With Suit After Texas Infant Died In Baby Lounger
Target and the makers of an infant lounger have been hit with a product liability lawsuit from a Texas couple who allege their 7-month-old daughter died after falling out of the device.
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July 17, 2024
Monsanto Philly Roundup Victory Preserved After Trial
A Philadelphia state judge declined to overturn a jury verdict in favor of Monsanto in a Pennsylvania cancer patient's lawsuit alleging he developed his illness after using the weed killer Roundup.
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July 17, 2024
New Mexico Adds Superfund Claims To PFAS Suit Against US
New Mexico is expanding its lawsuit against the federal government over costs related to cleaning up forever chemicals near military sites by utilizing a new rule listing the substances as hazardous under the Superfund law.
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July 16, 2024
Gilead Asks Calif. Supreme Court To Ax 'Disastrous' Decision
Gilead Sciences on Monday urged the California Supreme Court to overturn an appellate panel's decision that the company can't ditch claims it held back a safer HIV drug to maximize profits on an older medication, saying that holding manufacturers liable for non-defective products would "yield disastrous policy consequences."
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July 16, 2024
Apple's Slowed IPhone Derivative Deal OK'd After Tweaks
A California federal judge said Tuesday she would approve Apple's non-monetary settlement to resolve a derivative-shareholder suit over claims it secretly slowed iPhones and award counsel $6 million in attorney fees and expenses, after she rejected an earlier version of the deal because of the proposal's overbroad release of claims.
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July 16, 2024
Tesla Says Chinese Co. Sells 'Dangerous' Charging Adapter
Tesla said on Monday that a Chinese company sells a "dangerous" charging adapter that lets owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles charge at its network, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that the device could injure consumers and damage the power infrastructure.
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July 16, 2024
Unilever Supplier Looks To Drag BP Into Shampoo Class Suit
A Unilever supplier is trying to shift the blame in a lawsuit accusing it and the consumer goods behemoth of selling carcinogen-tainted dry shampoo, telling a Connecticut federal court that two of its suppliers, including BP, are actually the ones who should be held liable.
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July 16, 2024
Judges Press Amazon On Its Duty To Guard Against Suicide
Washington appellate judges on Tuesday challenged Amazon's argument that the e-commerce giant should be free from liability for selling sodium nitrite that buyers used to kill themselves, with one judge asking what other use a "small bottle" of nearly pure poison would have.
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July 16, 2024
No Immunity For Philadelphia Transit In Bus-Stop Injury
The Philadelphia-area transit system can't escape a lawsuit accusing one of its bus drivers of refusing to lower a handicap accessible ramp, resulting in a passenger twisting her leg while exiting the vehicle, a state appeals court ruled, saying the claims fall squarely with the motor-vehicle exception to sovereign immunity.
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July 16, 2024
3rd Circ. Backs Tossing Over 1K Suits In Merck Vaccine MDL
The Third Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of 1,189 cases in multidistrict litigation alleging Merck & Co. Inc.'s shingles vaccine, Zostavax, caused the disease, saying the district court did not abuse its discretion by requiring medical tests to support the claims.
Expert Analysis
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How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving
Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.
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An Insurance Coverage Checklist For PFAS Defendants
With PFAS liability exposures attracting increased media attention, now is a good time for companies that could be exposed to liability related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to review existing and past insurance policies, and consider taking proactive steps to maximize their likelihood of coverage, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.
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Opinion
It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills
After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
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12 Keys To Successful Post-Trial Juror Interviews
Post-trial interviews offer attorneys an avenue to gain valuable insights into juror decision making and get feedback that can inform future litigation strategies, but certain best practices must be followed to get the most out of this research tool, say Alexa Hiley and Brianna Smith at IMS Legal.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Watch The MDL Calendar
One of the most fascinating features of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's practice is the regularity of its calendar, which can illuminate important timing considerations, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.