Product Liability

  • 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.

  • September 13, 2024

    Judge Orders Mobile IV Co. To Stop Eli Lilly Infringment

    A Colorado-based mobile outfit that administers IV treatments to customers in their homes must stop all advertising and web promotion that gives the impression it offers Eli Lilly medications, according to a settlement approved by a federal judge.

  • September 13, 2024

    NJ Gov. Signs Law To Limit Sale Of 'Intoxicating Hemp'

    New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy on Thursday signed a bill into law aimed at regulating the sale and distribution of intoxicating hemp products in the state, particularly those sold by unauthorized sellers and those sold to people under 21.

  • September 13, 2024

    9th Circ. Ruling Guts Religious Protections, Apaches Say

    The U.S. Supreme Court should stop the federal government from handing over a sacred tribal site in Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP, the San Carlos Apache Tribe argued, saying that the decision could pose an "existential threat" to Native Americans.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Roundup

    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 36 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.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

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