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Product Liability
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June 28, 2024
In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.
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June 28, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Revives Part Of Sprout Baby Food Label Suit
A California couple suing Sprout Foods over nutrient statements on its baby food pouches can pursue a Golden State law claim but not fraud-based claims, a split Ninth Circuit panel ruled Friday, saying federal law doesn't preempt the state's labeling standards, but the parents haven't shown the products were misleading.
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June 28, 2024
Insurer Says It Owes No Coverage In Hair Relaxer Litigation
As a beauty manufacturer faces allegations that its line of hair relaxers contain carcinogenic ingredients, Selective Way Insurance Co. has asked a Georgia federal judge to release it from having to cover the company's defense in a sprawling multidistrict litigation.
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June 28, 2024
Texas Justices Scrap $26M Verdict In Honda Seat Belt Suit
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday handed American Honda Motor Co. Inc. a post-trial win, vacating a $26 million verdict for a woman who was paralyzed after a crash in 2015, saying the evidence she presented was not enough to rebut a presumption of nonliability under Texas law.
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June 28, 2024
Philly Judge Calls $2.25B Roundup Verdict 'Excessive'
A Philadelphia state judge has explained her decision to slash a cancer patient's $2.25 billion win against Monsanto for its Roundup weedkiller contributing to his lymphoma, calling the jury's January verdict unconstitutionally "excessive."
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June 28, 2024
EPA Coal Ash Rules Are Nothing New, DC Circ. Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was enforcing existing rules rather than illegally issuing new ones when it rejected requests by power companies to extend a deadline to comply with regulations governing the cleanup of coal-ash waste facilities, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.
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June 28, 2024
Philips Gets OK For $25M Med Monitoring Deal In CPAP MDL
A Pennsylvania federal judge has given the go-ahead to a $25 million medical monitoring settlement in multidistrict litigation stemming from a recall of ventilator machines by Koninklijke Philips NV and some of its American subsidiaries.
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June 28, 2024
Nixed Purdue Ch. 11 Plan May Leave States Ready For A Fight
State attorneys general across the country could be gearing up for more opioid-related litigation against the Sackler family after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a $5.5 billion third-party release for the owners of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, experts told Law360.
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June 28, 2024
High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go
In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action.
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June 28, 2024
Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.
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June 27, 2024
OptumRx Agrees To Pay $20M To Resolve DOJ Opioid Claims
OptumRx Inc. has reached a $20 million deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to end allegations the company improperly filled opioid prescriptions in combination with other drugs, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Insurers Call Rite Aid Ch. 11 Opioid Deal Unfair
Counsel for bankrupt drugstore chain Rite Aid told a New Jersey bankruptcy judge Thursday that it hopes to reach an agreement with at least some of its insurers on payments into an opioid settlement fund before closing arguments in its Chapter 11 plan confirmation Friday.
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June 27, 2024
EPA's State Smog Pollution Plan Down, Not Out Yet
The U.S. Supreme Court flexed its muscles menacingly at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and blocked it from implementing an important air pollution control plan for several states, but experts say it's too early to completely write off the rule in question.
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June 27, 2024
Titanic Purdue Ruling Shifts The Balance Of Power In Ch. 11
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Sackler family's liability shield in the Chapter 11 plan of Purdue Pharma LP not only eliminates a key tool to resolve mass tort liabilities through bankruptcy, it gives claimants more leverage and fundamentally changes the insolvency landscape in future cases, experts tell Law360.
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June 27, 2024
GoodPop Says Rival Misleads With '100% Real Fruit' Claim
The makers of GoodPop popsicles sued rival Jonny Pops LLC on Thursday, saying that despite Jonny Pops advertising its products as being made with "100% real fruit" and healthy "simple ingredients," the pops are mostly water and added sugar well beyond what is healthy for children or adults.
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June 27, 2024
Judge Slams 'Unacceptable' Misstated Case Law In PFAS Suit
A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina chastised class counsel for Tar Heel State residents suing The Chemours Co. and DuPont De Nemours over toxic "forever chemicals" purportedly discharged in their wastewater, after the attorneys "misstated the language of various cases" they cited in a briefing.
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June 27, 2024
Widow Sues Safety Consultant, Strap Maker Over Fatal Drop
The widow of a Pennsylvania man who was fatally injured when a nylon strap holding up a one-ton piece of equipment broke has filed a lawsuit in state court against the manufacturer of the strap, along with the safety consulting company she claims failed to properly assess and train the workers.
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June 27, 2024
Calif. Justices Say Patient's Choice A Factor In Product Cases
The California Supreme Court has sided with a woman alleging that a shock therapy device made by Somatics LLC caused her permanent injuries, saying she can establish that her injuries were caused by a lack of warning as long as she shows that a prudent patient would have declined treatment upon hearing a warning.
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June 27, 2024
Whole Foods, Hain Want Full 5th Circ. Review Of Baby Food Suit
Whole Foods Market Inc. and Hain Celestial Group Inc. are urging the full Fifth Circuit to review a decision remanding a suit against them alleging Hain's baby food caused the mental and physical decline of a toddler, saying the panel ignored both Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court precedent to remand the case after a final judgment in federal court.
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June 27, 2024
NTSB Rips Boeing For Blabbing About Blowout Probe
The National Transportation Safety Board sanctioned Boeing on Thursday for sharing nonpublic details of an ongoing investigation into January's 737 Max 9 midair door plug blowout, deepening the American aerospace giant's regulatory troubles amid multiple probes into its safety culture and quality control.
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June 27, 2024
Honeywell Says Sourcing Co. Backpedaled On Supply Deal
Honeywell has accused a sourcing company of trying to claw its way out of a contract to buy medical-grade gloves by fabricating quality concerns and launching a bogus recall in an allegedly underhanded way to make itself more appealing to potential buyers.
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June 27, 2024
Supreme Court Freezes EPA's 'Good Neighbor' Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce cross-state pollution Thursday, finding several states and industry groups challenging it in court will likely prevail on the merits.
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June 27, 2024
Justices Nix 3rd-Party Liability Releases In Purdue Ch. 11 Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court shot down the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in an opinion issued Thursday in the case of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, potentially exposing the Sackler family members who own the company to personal liability for the company's role in the opioid crisis.
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June 26, 2024
Conn. Zantac Ruling To Include Sanofi As Settlement Looms
A Connecticut state judge will include Sanofi-Aventis US LLC and a related corporate entity in a forthcoming decision on whether Zantac makers must face novel innovator liability claims in the Constitution State, the judge revealed after the pharmaceutical giant suggested a ruling would help finalize a nascent settlement.
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June 26, 2024
Baby Bottle Cos. Face False Ad Suits Over Microplastics
Philips North America and Handi-Craft face a pair of proposed class actions filed Tuesday in California federal court alleging they misled customers into thinking their sippy cups and baby bottles were "BPA free" and therefore safe for use, despite that heating them could cause harmful microplastics to leak into food and drinks.
Expert Analysis
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FDA Warning Letter Tightens Reins On 'Research Only' Labels
A recent warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Agena Bioscience alleged the company’s diagnostic devices were labeled for research use only, but improperly promoted for human clinical purposes, signifying a reinforcement — and a potential narrowing — of the agency's policy on products labeled “research only,” say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Assigning Liability In Key Bridge Collapse May Be Challenging
In the wake of a cargo ship's collision with Baltimore's Key Bridge last month, claimants may focus on the vessel's owners and the agencies responsible for the design and maintenance of the bridge — but allocating legal liability to either private or governmental entities may be difficult under applicable state and federal laws, says Clay Robbins at Wisner Baum.
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Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release
A Florida grand jury’s recent report on potential wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a reminder to attorneys to review the myriad legal mechanisms available to challenge the lawfulness of a grand jury report’s publication and expunge the names of their clients, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.
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NC Rulings Show Bankruptcy Isn't Only For Insolvent Debtors
Two recent rulings from a North Carolina bankruptcy court show that lack of financial distress is not a requirement for bankruptcy protection, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, but these types of cases can still be dismissed for other reasons, say Stuart Gordon and Alexandria Vath at Rivkin Radler.
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Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
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AI In The Operating Room: Liability Issues For Device Makers
As healthcare providers consider medical devices that use artificial intelligence — including systems to help surgeons make decisions in the operating room — and lobby to shift liability to device manufacturers, companies making these products must review potential product liability risks and important design considerations for such equipment, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea
Family Dollar's recent plea deal in connection with a rodent infestation at one of its distribution facilities — resulting in the largest ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case — offers key takeaways for those practicing in the interconnected fields of compliance, internal investigations and white collar defense, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Benzene Contamination Concerns: Drugmakers' Next Steps
After a citizen petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a flurry of class actions over benzene contamination in benzoyl peroxide acne products, affected manufacturers should consider a thoughtful approach that includes assembling internal data and possibly contacting the FDA for product-specific discussions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Opinion
States Should Follow Federal Lead On Expert Evidence Rules
The recently amended Federal Rule of Evidence 702 will help ensure expert testimony in federal courts reflects adequate data and reliable methods properly applied to a given case, and state courts — home to the overwhelming majority of U.S. litigation — should adopt similar changes, says retired attorney Michael Harrington.
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Back Labels In False Ad Cases Get Some Clarity In 9th Circ.
Courts in the Ninth Circuit have recently delivered a series of wins to advertisers, making clear that any ambiguity on the front of a product's package can be resolved by reference to the back label — which guarantees defendants a powerful tool to combat deceptive labeling claims, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.
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Opinion
Federal MDL Rule Benefits From Public Comments
The new Federal Rule of Civil Procedure concerning multidistrict litigation that was approved this week by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules incorporates ideas from public comments that will aid both plaintiffs and defense attorneys — and if ultimately adopted, the rule should promote efficient, merits-driven MDL case management, say Robert Johnston and Gary Feldon at Hollingsworth.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.