Product Liability

  • August 16, 2024

    Ford Says $1.7B Loss Blocks Punitives In Rollover Suit

    Ford Motor Co. is asking a Georgia federal court to throw out a bid for punitive damages from the children of a couple who died in a rollover crash, saying punitive damages in a prior $1.7 billion loss in a similar suit bars the claim.

  • August 16, 2024

    Psilocybin Right-To-Try Petition To Get 9th Circ. Hearing

    A Ninth Circuit panel will hear oral arguments Monday in an appeal brought by a Seattle doctor seeking to administer psilocybin to terminal cancer patients under state and federal right-to-try laws.

  • August 15, 2024

    Talc Jury Delivers $63M Verdict Against J&J, Beauty Care Co.

    A South Carolina jury awarded a cancer patient more than $63 million Thursday after he said he developed terminal lung cancer from breathing in asbestos during daily use of Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder.

  • August 15, 2024

    Uber Gets Most Claims Tossed In Driver Assault MDL, For Now

    A California federal judge on Thursday threw out the majority of claims from California and Texas Uber riders in multidistrict litigation that aims to hold the ride-hailing company liable for their sexual assaults; however, the judge gave the plaintiffs the opportunity to amend those claims.

  • August 15, 2024

    Honda Slams 'Grossly Excessive' Atty Fee Bid In Defect Deal

    Honda urged a California federal judge on Thursday to reject a $10.8 million fee request in a consumer settlement that's paid out just $540,000 to Acura car owners with a purported hands-free calling battery-draining defect, blasting the amount as "grossly excessive" under the Ninth Circuit's recent Lowery decision.

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Rejects GE's Bid To Pull Plug On Contamination Suit

    A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday refused to let General Electric escape a lawsuit alleging it is liable for widespread environmental contamination caused by a now-closed pressure valve manufacturing facility that GE used to own.

  • August 15, 2024

    Widows Of Plane Crash Victims Claim Part Maker Is To Blame

    The spouses of twin brothers who died when their two-seat plane crashed are suing aircraft parts manufacturer Marvel-Schebler, claiming a defect in the company's carburetor caused the crash.

  • August 15, 2024

    Monsanto Gets 3rd Circ. Win In Roundup Failure-To-Warn Case

    The Third Circuit ruled Thursday that a Pennsylvania state law failure-to-warn claim in a suit alleging the weed killer Roundup caused a Keystone State man's cancer is preempted by federal law, creating a circuit split on central issues in multidistrict litigation over the Monsanto product.

  • August 15, 2024

    Pharmacy Can't Dodge Novo Nordisk's Diabetes Drug Suit

    A Tennessee federal judge on Thursday declined to throw out a suit by Novo Nordisk Inc. alleging that DCA Pharmacy is selling drugs with the same active ingredient as its Ozempic diabetes medicine without U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization.

  • August 15, 2024

    Interior Department Grants $775M To Plug Oil And Gas Wells

    The U.S. Department of the Interior said it's making up to $775 million available for 21 eligible states to plug orphaned oil and gas wells to curb harmful methane leaks and reduce risks to the environment and public health.

  • August 15, 2024

    Court Tosses Challenge To Wyoming's New Hemp Law

    A Wyoming federal judge tossed a lawsuit Thursday brought by nearly a dozen hemp product retailers challenging the state's new hemp policy, saying most of the state defendants were entitled to immunity and that the retailers had not stated a claim for which relief could be granted.

  • August 15, 2024

    Kerrygold, Customers Agree To End 'Pure' False Ad Suit

    A consumer who sued Irish butter brand Kerrygold has agreed to end her proposed class action over claims that it falsely advertised its product as "pure" even though it might contain "forever chemicals" by way of its packaging.

  • August 15, 2024

    Samsung Knew About Range Knobs Fire Risk, Suit Says

    Samsung Electronics was hit with a proposed consumer class action Wednesday in New York federal court in the wake of the company's announced recall program over a potential fire risk related to more than a million electric ranges with front-mounted knobs that can be turned on accidentally.

  • August 15, 2024

    Ford Wants Judge Booted Off Paraplegic's Suit After Podcast

    Ford Motor Co. pushed the North Carolina Court of Appeals to remove state Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener from a product liability suit, arguing the jurist made disparaging remarks about the company after prosecuting a similar suit against the carmaker years ago as a private attorney.

  • August 15, 2024

    Prof Rips DOJ, VW's 9th Circ. Bid To Shield Jones Day Docs

    A Loyola Marymount University professor has urged the Ninth Circuit to shut down the U.S. Department of Justice and Volkswagen AG's relentless "obfuscation" in a long-running dispute over access to confidential Volkswagen documents that were part of a Jones Day investigation into the automaker's 2015 emissions-cheating scandal.

  • August 15, 2024

    Rising Star: Covington's Greg Halperin

    Greg Halperin of Covington & Burling LLP helped McKesson Corp. win a key bellwether trial against distributors in sprawling opioid multidistrict litigation, and helped defend Boehringer Ingelheim from thousands of suits over the drug Pradaxa, earning him a spot among the product liability law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 15, 2024

    Delta Facing Second Customer Suit Over IT Outage Response

    A Florida resident hit Delta Air Lines with a second proposed class action claiming the company failed to properly refund and reimburse passengers when their flights were canceled or significantly delayed in the wake of the global CrowdStrike computer outage.

  • August 14, 2024

    Costco Wants PFAS Kirkland Brand Baby Wipes Suit Tossed

    Costco hit back at a proposed class action over its fragrance-free "natural" baby wipes filed earlier this summer in California federal court, saying that the suit is trying to scare parents by alleging the wipes are tainted with so-called forever chemicals.

  • August 14, 2024

    Temu Parent Faces Investor Suit Over Security, Labor Claims

    Chinese retail company PDD Holdings Inc., the owner of online merchandiser Temu, was hit with a proposed securities class action in New York federal court alleging it concealed from investors that it actively sought to put malware on its users' phones and sold goods that were likely made by forced labor.

  • August 14, 2024

    DOJ Defends Boeing Plea Deal Over Families' Objections

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Boeing's plea agreement is the best possible criminal resolution that holds the company accountable for defrauding regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, rejecting claims from crash victims' families that the "morally reprehensible" deal lets Boeing skirt culpability.

  • August 14, 2024

    Amazon Hit With $1.2M Suit Over Immersion Heater

    Amazon is facing a lawsuit from a Colorado church's insurer alleging that the church suffered more than $1.2 million in damages after a fire caused by a 1500-watt immersion heater it bought off the e-commerce giant's platform that was being used to heat a baptismal font.

  • August 14, 2024

    Harley-Davidson Liable For $287M In 'Trike' Crash Verdict

    A New York state jury on Tuesday awarded $287 million in damages to a man and his late girlfriend's estate in a suit alleging a defective Harley-Davidson "trike" motorcycle caused a deadly crash in Pennsylvania, with punitive damages making up the bulk of the award.

  • August 14, 2024

    Florida AG Can't Nix Hospitals', School Boards' Opioid Claims

    A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday reversed a trial court's order allowing the state's attorney general to wipe out a group of suits by hospitals and school boards in opioid litigation, holding that she doesn't have the authority to release their claims without their consent.

  • August 14, 2024

    FTC Finalizes Rule To Crack Down On Fake Online Reviews

    The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced it has finalized a rule to thwart marketers from using false reviews and testimonials, cementing the agency's authority to seek civil penalties from knowing violators for a host of misconduct including the use of AI-generated fake reviews.

  • August 14, 2024

    Kroger Hit With Prop 65 Suit Over Metals In Snacks, Cinnamon

    Kroger and Ralphs sell roasted seaweed snacks and ground cinnamon containing cadmium and lead, which are known to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, without warning consumers in violation of Proposition 65, according to a complaint filed in California state court by a consumer protection group. 

Expert Analysis

  • 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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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 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.

  • 4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements

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    Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Del. Bankruptcy Ruling Will Give D&O Insureds Nightmares

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    In Henrich v. XL Specialty Insurance, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court recently found that a never-served qui tam claim had been "brought" before a D&O policy's retroactive date, thereby eliminating coverage, and creating a nightmare scenario for directors and officers policyholders facing whistleblower claims, says David Klein at Pillsbury.

  • Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial

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    The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    No Matter The Purdue Ruling, Mass Tort Reform Is Needed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP, and regardless of the outcome, it’s clear legal and policy reforms are needed to address the next mass tort, says William Organek at Baruch College.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers

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    BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.

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