Product Liability

  • January 10, 2025

    FDA Issues Infant Formula Safety Strategy

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday sent out a strategy to boost the resiliency of the country's infant formula market in the wake of a 2022 recall and the aftermath of a shortage of baby formula.

  • January 10, 2025

    J&J Talc Claimants Seek Sanctions Over Morelli No-Show

    A group of attorneys representing talc claimants in Johnson & Johnson unit Red River Talc's Chapter 11 case has urged a Texas bankruptcy judge to sanction Morelli Law Firm PLLC's founding partner, Benedict Morelli, for allegedly failing to appear in person at a December hearing and falsely claiming to have resolved a dispute with the talc group.

  • January 10, 2025

    Ex-McKinsey Partner Admits To Obstructing Purdue Probe

    A former senior partner at consulting giant McKinsey & Co. pled guilty Friday to obstructing the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into the firm's work with opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP, a month after McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million to resolve related charges.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Hits TikTok With Another Suit Over Child-Online Safety

    Texas hit TikTok with another lawsuit in the Lone Star State court following similar consumer protection suits, accusing the social media giant — which is facing a ban in the U.S. — of deceptively marketing its purportedly addictive app as safe for minors despite letting explicit material run rampant on the platform.

  • January 09, 2025

    Kroger Accused By Calif. AG Of Ignoring Opioid 'Red Flags'

    California's attorney general has accused The Kroger Co. of ignoring "red flags" of opioid misuse, alleging in a lawsuit lodged in a Los Angeles state court that the supermarket giant dispensed opioids without first questioning the legitimacy of prescriptions.

  • January 09, 2025

    J&J Spin-Off Says Talc Committee Can't Hire Brown Rudnick

    Johnson & Johnson's bankrupt spin-off called Brown Rudnick's bid to represent an official committee of talc claimants "an ethical violation," telling a Texas bankruptcy judge that the law firm's previous work for a group trying to toss the case clashes with the committee's support for its Chapter 11 plan.

  • January 09, 2025

    Ark. Cites 4th Circ. Ruling In Dispute Over Hemp THC Limit

    Arkansas is pointing the Eighth Circuit's judges toward an opinion earlier this week from their colleagues in the Fourth Circuit, saying they should consider it as they mull whether to allow the state's regulations on intoxicating hemp products to stand.

  • January 09, 2025

    Stem Cell Therapy Co. Hit With $5.1M Deceptive Ad Judgment

    A Georgia federal judge has ordered a stem cell therapy company and its co-founders to pay the state $5.1 million for falsely marketing its product as a cure-all miracle treatment for a slew of different medical conditions.

  • January 09, 2025

    Plane Crash Victims Tell NC Panel To Toss Engine Co. Appeal

    The estates of four plane crash victims have asked the North Carolina state appeals court to throw out what they characterize as a last-ditch effort by defense giant Avco Corp. and its subsidiary Lycoming Engines to avoid going to trial, saying the appeal is two years too late.

  • January 09, 2025

    SharkNinja Customer Sues For $3.75M After Blender Explodes

    A woman who was nearly blinded when her Ninja brand blender "exploded" claimed SharkNinja's design of the appliance was defective in a complaint transferred to Michigan federal court this week.

  • January 09, 2025

    Embryo Loss Suits Against CooperSurgical Mount In Conn.

    CooperSurgical Inc. now faces four lawsuits in Connecticut that allege a defective product caused the loss of embryos conceived through in vitro fertilization, after a Georgia couple added their case to a growing pile of litigation.

  • January 08, 2025

    Consumers Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Law Firm's Robocalls

    A West Virginia federal judge has granted class status to consumers who are accusing a plaintiffs' firm of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by blasting them with unsolicited calls seeking their participation in litigation against the federal government over contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

  • January 08, 2025

    Fiat Chrysler Hit With Jeep Hood Fire Defect Class Action

    Automaker FCA US LLC, part of Stellantis NV, on Tuesday was hit with a proposed class action in Michigan federal court over allegations that certain Jeep vehicles made between 2021 and 2023 were prone to catching on fire, causing serious, even "catastrophic" damages.

  • January 08, 2025

    ATF Says Loophole Rule Passes 2nd Amendment Smell Test

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has doubled down in its bid to uphold a new rule in a case over the so-called gun-show loophole rule, saying in a Texas federal court that a group of red states hadn't shown how the rule lacks founding-era precedent.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ford Can't Escape Texas Cop's Carbon Monoxide Injury Suit

    Ford Motor Co. can't get out of a suit by a Universal City, Texas, police officer who alleges he suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while idling in a Ford vehicle, because a Texas federal judge says the officer's expert and evidence support his claims that a vehicle defect is responsible for his injuries.

  • January 08, 2025

    Audi Electric SUVs Are 'Ticking Time Bombs,' Suit Claims

    Audi of America LLC and Volkswagen Group of America Inc. were hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court alleging certain Audi electric SUVs are "ticking time bombs" that can lose power, short-circuit and catch fire.

  • January 08, 2025

    Insurer To Fight Limits In Smucker's Salmonella Coverage Suit

    An insurer seeking a bigger contribution from its insured J.M. Smucker Co. may appeal a court ruling that found there was just one occurrence within underlying litigation against the food company over 225 batches of salmonella-tainted Jif peanut butter, an Ohio federal judge said Wednesday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ariz. Tribe Sues Social Media Giants Over Youth Mental Health

    An Apache tribe has hit all the social media giants with a suit in California federal court claiming the companies' platforms are designed to addict young people but have a particularly bad effect on Native American youth, who already face a high risk of depression, addiction and suicide.

  • January 08, 2025

    Calif. Tribe Has Standing To Block Casino Project, Court Told

    A California tribe says it has constitutional standing to block the Interior Department from taking land into trust for a proposed casino project on its historic homelands, arguing that it suffered actual and concrete harm when the agency determined that no historic resources would be affected by the endeavor.

  • January 08, 2025

    EPA, Navajo To Remove 65 Acres Of Waste From Reservation

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Navajo Nation have finalized a plan to provide a complete cleanup of one of the largest and most high-risk uranium mine sites on the tribe's reservation, the federal agency said.

  • January 08, 2025

    Abbott Beats UC Regents' Probiotic Patent Claims

    An Illinois federal judge has found that claims in a pair of patents owned by the University of California related to a baby probiotic were invalid, handing a win to Abbott Laboratories in a suit accusing the company of infringing the patents.

  • January 07, 2025

    Hyundai Can't Ditch Fees In Settled Case, Calif. Justices Told

    Hyundai and a California couple fought before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday over whether a cost-shifting statute was triggered after the couple settled their lemon law dispute during trial for less than what Hyundai previously had offered, with the couple arguing a ruling against them could deter future settlements.

  • January 07, 2025

    'Cyber Trust Mark' To Soon Adorn Smart Devices, Gov't Says

    The makers of internet-connected devices such as home security cameras and voice-activated assistants will soon be able to obtain a label to certify that their products meet certain cybersecurity standards, under a new program officially launched by the Biden administration Tuesday. 

  • January 07, 2025

    Alcohol Warnings Unlikely To Bring Same Fate Tobacco Faced

    The U.S. surgeon general on Friday recommended that alcohol carry warnings about cancer risks, and attorneys say that while warning labels might be warranted, alcohol is unlikely to become the next tobacco.

  • January 07, 2025

    J&J, Talc Suppliers, Insurers Spar Over $505M Sale Stay

    The former talc suppliers of Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday that staying part of a settlement and a connected bankruptcy sale could bog down their efforts to secure plan confirmations and exit Chapter 11, urging a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject a motion to set aside $50 million from the $505 million deal while it is being appealed. 

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Calif. Ruling Heightens Medical Product Maker Liability

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    The California Supreme Court's decision in Himes v. Somatics last month articulates a new causation standard for medical product manufacturer liability that may lead to stronger product disclosures nationwide and greater friction between manufacturers and physicians, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

  • Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend

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    The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.

  • FTC Focus: Competition And The Right To Repair

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    If the Federal Trade Commission includes commercial and industrial products as part of copyright exemptions that allow consumers to modify or repair products, then businesses and affected rights holders will need to consider copyrights' impact on infringement issues, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

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