Product Liability

  • September 18, 2024

    GM Beats Class Suit Alleging Piston Ring Defects

    General Motors LLC has beat a class action accusing it of selling vehicles with faulty engines that consume too much oil, as a Colorado federal judge determined that the drivers couldn't prove a defect now that their expert witness is disqualified.

  • September 18, 2024

    Rescheduling Pot Would Not Hasten Research, Report Says

    A recently enacted law will continue to make it difficult for medical researchers to conduct studies on marijuana, even if federal restrictions are loosened on the drug, according to a new report published Monday by the Congressional Research Service.

  • September 18, 2024

    Health AI Co. Says Texas AG 'Misrepresents' Compliance Deal

    The Texas attorney general's Wednesday announcement of a compliance agreement with a healthcare-focused artificial intelligence company has sparked backlash from the company, which accused the state prosecutor of "dangerously" misrepresenting their agreement.

  • September 18, 2024

    VW Can't Nix $4.7M Mechanic's Brake Pad Asbestos Verdict

    A Washington state appeals court has refused to throw out a $4.7 million verdict in favor of the estate of a mechanic who died of mesothelioma he claimed he contracted from asbestos in Volkswagen AG's brake pads, rejecting the automaker's arguments that the evidence didn't support the verdict or that the jury instructions were wrong.

  • September 18, 2024

    Altria's Vape As Popular As Kale Juice, Elf Bar Tells Calif. Court

    Blocking the Chinese companies behind Elf Bar from importing their flavored vapes won't increase the market share of Altria Group subsidiary NJOY's nicotine e-cigarettes, the foreign companies argued, saying it's just as unlikely as consumers going from grape juice to kale juice.

  • September 18, 2024

    Cleanup Worker Wants Full 5th Circ. To Review BP Spill Suit

    A worker who alleges that he was exposed to toxic substances while cleaning up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 is urging the full Fifth Circuit to review a decision to dismiss his case, saying the panel that upheld the dismissal misconstrued precedent in finding that he needed to show that the discovery he sought was enough to defeat summary judgment.

  • September 18, 2024

    DOJ Says Ship Is Liable For $100M In Baltimore Bridge Collapse

    The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to recover $100 million from the owner and the manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, alleging gross negligence on their part killed six people and destroyed a vital transportation corridor.

  • September 18, 2024

    New Hampshire Residents Push To Save PFOA Class Action

    A class of New Hampshire residents seeking to hold the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. liable for the contamination of their properties with a toxic forever chemical is fighting the company's bid for summary judgment.

  • September 18, 2024

    Data Brokers Say NJ Judicial Privacy Law Goes Too Far

    A group of data brokers accused of violating the New Jersey judicial privacy measure Daniel's Law has doubled down on its argument to a federal court that the law cannot survive strict constitutional scrutiny and must be thrown out.

  • September 18, 2024

    GSK Inks 2 Calif. Zantac Deals

    GlaxoSmithKline LLC on Wednesday said that it had reached two settlements in California state court over allegations that its heartburn drug Zantac had caused cancer, although the company did not disclose the deal amounts.

  • September 18, 2024

    Video Game Giants Want Addictive Games Suit Tossed

    Microsoft Corp., Nintendo of America Inc., Activision Blizzard Inc., Roblox Corp. and other well-known companies in the video game industry moved to dismiss a lawsuit alleging they intentionally got users addicted to their games for profit Tuesday, arguing the case is barred by the First Amendment.

  • September 17, 2024

    Texas Fertility Clinic Hid 'Catastrophic' Lab Issue, Couples Say

    Five couples accused a Houston fertility institute of hiding "catastrophic" laboratory issues that affected patients' embryos, saying in a lawsuit that the entity instead injected multiple hopeful mothers with "dead or dying" eggs.

  • September 17, 2024

    GC Base Salaries At Big Companies On The Rise

    General counsel base salaries at companies making $5 billion or more in revenue has increased from last year, while their total compensation has decreased, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Empsight International LLC.

  • September 17, 2024

    Licorice Maker KLN Defeats 'Naturally Flavored' Deception Suit

    A California federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the manufacturer of Wiley Wallaby falsely advertised the licorice as "naturally flavored," finding the suit lacked particularity in alleging that the malic acid used in the product was artificial.

  • September 17, 2024

    Blumenauer Pushes House Speaker To Put Pot Bill To Vote

    U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., on Monday urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring bipartisan cannabis legislation to a vote following revelations that Richard Nixon admitted privately that marijuana was "not particularly dangerous" while he publicly waged the war on drugs.

  • September 17, 2024

    Instagram Changing Teen Accounts As Pressure Mounts

    Instagram announced changes Tuesday to its user experience for those under age 18 as it faces increasing concern about children's online safety.

  • September 16, 2024

    Mass. Accounting Firm Hit With Data Breach Class Claims

    Accounting firm Katz Nannis + Solomon PC failed to safeguard sensitive client information and enabled a 2023 data breach, according to a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court.

  • September 16, 2024

    Parent Drops Suit Alleging Video Game Addiction

    An Arkansas parent has dropped their lawsuit alleging popular entertainment company make addictive video games like Fortnite and Call of Duty that they said had drastic negative implications on their 14-year-old child's life.

  • September 16, 2024

    Amazon Faked Discounts On Fire TVs, Suit Says

    Amazon.com Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington federal court alleging it advertised fake sales and discounts for its Fire TV products, misleading consumers into believing they were getting a bargain.

  • September 16, 2024

    FDA Warns Vape Retailers About Approval Inadequacies

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned a slew of retailers that they are illegally selling vape brands and products, alleging they lack regulatory approval to do so.

  • September 16, 2024

    J&J Cheers Toss Of 'Indefensible' $260M Talc Verdict

    An Oregon state judge rejected a jury's $260 million verdict for a woman who blamed Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder for her cancer diagnosis, a company spokesperson said Monday.

  • September 16, 2024

    Nelson Mullins Grows In Chicago With Ex-Taft Litigator

    Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has reinforced its Midwest litigation team with a former Taft Stettinius & Hollister partner based in the Windy City.

  • September 13, 2024

    The 2024 Regional Powerhouses

    The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.

  • September 13, 2024

    Conn. High Court Snapshot: Firm's Bill Battle Rages In Sept.

    The Connecticut Supreme Court's September case lineup tasks the justices with helping a federal court judge decide if McCarter & English LLP can fetch punitive damages in a billing battle with an ex-client, and if parents suing Target and others can be compensated for the impairment of their relationship with their injured child. Here, Law360 previews some highlights of the high court's argument schedule for the month.

  • September 13, 2024

    Exxon Owes $816M For Man's Cancer After Judge Ups Verdict

    Exxon Mobil Corp. is on the hook for $816 million to a New York service station mechanic who blames the oil giant for his leukemia diagnosis, after a Philadelphia judge upheld a jury's verdict and added delay damages.

Expert Analysis

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

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    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable

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    Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • 5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy

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    In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

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