Product Liability

  • February 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives Cotter's Radiation Injury Suit Indemnity Bid

    The Federal Circuit on Monday revived Cotter Corp.'s bid for federal indemnity after settling claims related to alleged exposure to radioactive residue stemming from the Manhattan Project, saying a Court of Federal Claims judge read an indemnification statute too narrowly.

  • February 10, 2025

    EPA Asks 5th Circ. To Uphold Asbestos Ban Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending a Biden-era rule strengthening its restrictions on the use of the most prevalent variety of asbestos, which are being challenged by industry, worker and green groups.

  • February 10, 2025

    Latest Ore. Fire Verdict Brings PacifiCorp Damages To $270M

    An Oregon jury held that PacifiCorp must pay $49.5 million to eight victims of the state's 2020 Labor Day wildfires, bringing the total damages verdicts in the class action to $270 million so far as more bellwether trials loom throughout 2025.

  • February 10, 2025

    Dallas Loses Bid To Reinstate Short-Term Rental Ban 

    A Texas appeals court has ruled that two Dallas ordinances criticized for effectively banning short-term rentals don't gel with property rights enshrined in the state's constitution, siding with landlords who do business on Airbnb and Vrbo. 

  • February 10, 2025

    PBMs Fight To Keep Mich. AG's Opioid Suit In Federal Court

    Pharmacy benefit managers' work on behalf of federal health insurance plans entitles them to keep Michigan's lawsuit over their role in the opioid crisis in federal court, the companies told a federal judge last week.

  • February 10, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage Owed For Toxic Hair Product Suit

    The makers of a hair straightening treatment do not have coverage for a lawsuit alleging the product is carcinogenic because the claims against them came after the treatment was known to be hazardous, and after the policy had ended, an insurer told a California federal court.

  • February 10, 2025

    Gun Owners Look To Revive Suit Over DC Metro Gun Law

    A group of D.C. and Virginia gun owners are asking the D.C. Circuit to revive their suit challenging a ban on guns in the region's Metro system, saying that the district judge who dismissed the case required that they get caught carrying on board to have standing.

  • February 10, 2025

    Fighting Cancer Has Impaired Life, Zantac Plaintiff Testifies

    One of the men retrying his Zantac cancer claims in Illinois testified Monday that fighting his illness has meant navigating negative side effects and missing the full family life he previously enjoyed.

  • February 10, 2025

    Trump Buyout Plan Still On Hold As Unions Cite 'Confusion'

    A Boston federal judge on Monday extended his hold on President Donald Trump's federal worker buyout program as he weighs a request from unions to block the so-called Fork Directive, which promises months of pay to government employees who resign their posts.

  • February 10, 2025

    Kratom Co. Says False Ad Addiction Suit Falls Short

    The company behind Kryptic Kratom and K-Chill branded supplements is urging a California federal court to throw out a suit alleging it concealed kratom's addictive qualities from consumers, saying the complaint fails to shore up its claims with factual allegations.

  • February 10, 2025

    Verizon Escapes Workers' Suit Over Lead-Covered Cables

    A Pennsylvania federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of utility workers alleging Verizon endangered them by failing to properly dispose of lead-covered cables on telephone poles, ruling that allegations of suffering common ailments were not enough to support a class action.

  • February 07, 2025

    Injury Attys In Hot Water Over Possible AI-Hallucinated Cites

    Morgan & Morgan PA and the Goody Law Group on Friday withdrew pretrial motions in a personal injury lawsuit against Walmart over an allegedly defective hoverboard after a Wyoming federal court ordered the firms to explain why the filings contained what appears to be case law hallucinated by generative artificial intelligence.

  • February 07, 2025

    70 Depo-Provera Suits Joined In Florida's Northern District

    The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on Friday consolidated more than 70 consumer lawsuits claiming that Pfizer Inc. failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the risk of brain tumors associated with the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera in the Northern District of Florida.

  • February 07, 2025

    John Deere Tractor Rivals Seek Info Safeguards In FTC Case

    A trio of tractor manufacturers asked an Illinois federal judge Friday to impose stringent safeguards for sensitive business information they turned over to the Federal Trade Commission in the run-up to its right-to-repair lawsuit against their "primary competitor," John Deere.

  • February 07, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds High School's Win In Gym Fire Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday upheld a Louisiana high school's win in its suit claiming that a flooring company caused a gym fire, holding that the high school has a right of action for property damage to the gymnasium.

  • February 07, 2025

    For These Victims, Death Came Before Bankruptcy Resolution

    Thousands of people have died with no compensation in recent years as big institutions shield themselves in bankruptcy court from claims related to opioids, fraud, asbestos and sexual abuse, plaintiffs' lawyers say. Critics say it's an inherent part of a bankruptcy court system that helps insiders and hurts creditors.

  • February 07, 2025

    Laughing Gas Makers, Vape Shops Hit With Class Suit

    Several manufacturers of nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas," and seven Orlando-area smoke shops were hit with a proposed class suit on Thursday claiming their manufacturing, marketing and sales practices have contributed to a public health crisis and the death of a Florida woman.

  • February 07, 2025

    SoCal Edison Says Its Equipment May Have Caused Hurst Fire

    Southern California Edison told a state energy regulator that it believes its utility equipment might have ignited last month's Hurst Fire in northern Los Angeles County, but it's still investigating the cause of the area's far more destructive Eaton Fire.

  • February 07, 2025

    Insurers Say Meta MDL Row Should Be In Del. State Court

    Coverage litigation with Meta over underlying claims that it deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to adolescents ought to take place in Delaware state court, units of Chubb and Hartford told a Delaware federal court, arguing the court need only examine the fact that Meta is a Delaware citizen.

  • February 07, 2025

    Conn. Trial Firm Partner Seeks Sanctions In Heated Split-Up

    Connecticut Trial Firm LLC former co-owner Andrew Garza has asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to issue sanctions against his former 50-50 partner, Ryan McKeen, accusing McKeen of "misconduct presenting a threat to the administration of justice" in heated litigation over the firm's split.

  • February 06, 2025

    Tom's 'Natural' Kids Toothpaste Has Lead, Arsenic, Dad Says

    Tom's of Maine and its parent company Colgate-Palmolive have "egregiously" failed to disclose that its "Silly Strawberry" children's toothpaste has dangerous levels of lead and arsenic, a New York dad alleged in a proposed false advertising class action filed Thursday in New York federal court.

  • February 06, 2025

    Buyers Want Kratom Cos. Addiction Suit To Go On

    Two California kratom manufacturers shouldn't be allowed to escape a lawsuit claiming they failed to warn about the "highly addictive" nature of their products, a proposed class of consumers argued, pointing to a podcast where a company executive suggested their products were more potent than morphine.

  • February 06, 2025

    Air Traffic Control System Upgrade In Spotlight After DC Crash

    In the week since a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over the Potomac River left 67 people dead, the Trump administration signaled Thursday that it's looking to expedite overhauling the nation's air traffic control system.

  • February 06, 2025

    CooperSurgical Hit With IVF Embryo Loss Class Claims

    A proposed class has sued CooperSurgical Inc. over embryos lost to its defective culture medium for in vitro fertilization, in the latest complaint in a series of individual lawsuits brought against the company after its 2023 recall of the product.

  • February 06, 2025

    Abbott Tells Judge To Keep Formula Cases In Federal Court

    Abbott Laboratories urged an Illinois federal judge on Thursday to keep six previously remanded lawsuits over allegedly harmful preterm baby formula in federal court after local hospitals' dismissal prompted their second removal, arguing the hospitals were only in the suits to avoid federal jurisdiction.

Expert Analysis

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • 6 Tips For Trying Cases Away From Home

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    A truly national litigation practice, by definition, often requires trying cases in jurisdictions across the country, which presents unique challenges that require methodical preparation and coordination both within the trial team and externally, say Edward Bennett and Suzanne Salgado at Williams & Connolly.

  • A Blueprint For Structuring An Effective Plaintiff Case Story

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    The number and size of nuclear verdicts continue to rise, in part because plaintiffs attorneys have become more adept at crafting compelling trial stories — and an analysis of these success stories reveals a 10-part framework for structuring an effective case narrative, says Jonathan Ross at Decision Analysis.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: The MDL Map

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    An intriguing yet unpredictable facet of multidistrict litigation practice is venue selection for new MDL proceedings, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation considers many factors when it assigns an MDL venue, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • How Labeling And Testing May Help Reduce PFAS Litigation

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    As regulators take steps to reduce consumers’ exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, companies can take a proactive approach to mitigating litigation risks not only by labeling their products transparently, but also by complying with testing and marketing standards, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • Complying With FTC's Final Rule On Sham Online Reviews

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    The Federal Trade Commission's final rule on deceptive acts and practices in online reviews and testimonials is effective Oct. 21, and some practice tips can help businesses avert noncompliance risks, say Airina Rodrigues and Jonathan Sandler at Brownstein Hyatt.

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