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Product Liability
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June 12, 2024
11th Circ. Won't Rehear Ruling In Pratt & Whitney Cancer Case
The full Eleventh Circuit won't review a panel's affirmation of a jury verdict win for defense contractor Pratt & Whitney that found it had failed to exercise reasonable care when disposing of radioactive materials but also freed it from liability for the pediatric cancer cases that emerged in a Florida neighborhood.
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June 12, 2024
'Natural' Toothpaste Brand Loaded With PFAS, Moms Say
Natural toothpaste company RiseWell LLC falsely advertised its kids toothpaste as "natural" and "safe to swallow," two mothers alleged Tuesday in a proposed class action, saying a U.S. Department of Defense-certified laboratory test found 750 times more "forever chemicals" in the toothpaste than researchers found in heavily tainted kale.
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June 12, 2024
Faulty Sig Sauer Pistol 'Betrayed' Ga. Gun Owner, Jury Told
A life-altering injury that occurred when a man's Sig Sauer pistol accidentally fired into his leg could have been prevented had the company bothered to install a $5 safety feature in the trigger of its flagship P320, counsel for the man told a Georgia federal jury Wednesday.
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June 12, 2024
NJ Judicial Privacy Law Hit With Constitutional Challenge
Companies accused of violating Daniel's Law hit back in New Jersey federal court this week, calling the judicial data privacy protection measure unconstitutionally vague, harsh and riddled with loopholes, and arguing it is being "cynically" misused by the plaintiff, a data privacy company.
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June 12, 2024
Ex-Supreme Court Clerk, Federal Atty Joins McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods LLP announced the addition of another former federal prosecutor to its ranks on Wednesday, this time a product liability expert from Perkins Coie LLP who advises companies on various disputes and government investigations.
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June 12, 2024
EPA Urges DC Circ. To Uphold Chemical Rule Deadline
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday asked the D.C. Circuit to reject a Louisiana-based neoprene manufacturer's bid to immediately block the EPA from enforcing a chemical emissions rule that will directly affect the company.
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June 12, 2024
Pool Co. Hits Ch. 11 After 'Crippling' $16M False Ads Verdict
The American arm of a Chinese swimming pool products manufacturer has declared bankruptcy after it was slapped with a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment in North Carolina that the company previously warned would put it out of business.
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June 11, 2024
Tyco's $750M PFAS Deal In Foam Co. MDL Gets Initial OK
A South Carolina federal judge gave his blessing Tuesday to the $750 million settlement Johnson Controls International PLC subsidiary Tyco Fire Products LP entered to resolve public water systems' federal claims that some forever chemicals they detected in their supplies came from firefighting foam it made.
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June 11, 2024
9th Circ. Judge On Theranos Appeal: 'Good Story' For Holmes
Two Ninth Circuit judges on a three-judge panel expressed concerns Tuesday that the district judge presiding over convicted former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' criminal trial erred by allowing a layperson witness to offer expert testimony at trial, with one judge saying, "There's a pretty good story here for Ms. Holmes."
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June 11, 2024
Cannabis Co. Sued Over Veteran's Psychotic Episode
A U.S. Navy veteran says a psychotic episode he experienced after smoking cannabis led to him shooting his girlfriend and two dogs.
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June 11, 2024
Ore. County Climate Suit Sent To State Court
An Oregon federal judge sent Multnomah County's climate change lawsuit against Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp. and other fossil fuel companies back to state court, adopting a magistrate judge's findings rejecting arguments the complaint was fraudulently crafted to evade federal jurisdiction.
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June 11, 2024
Smoking Habit Can't Nix Retired Miner's Black Lung Benefits
The Seventh Circuit on Monday backed a review board's decision to uphold black lung benefits for a retired coal worker who smoked cigarettes through his entire career in the mines, saying it wouldn't second-guess medical findings made at the administrative level.
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June 11, 2024
NJ Supreme Court Rejects Bid For Roundup Mass Tort
The New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected a request for litigation against Monsanto Co. and Bayer AG to be designated as multicounty litigation because there are too few cases, according to a notice to the bar published Monday.
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June 11, 2024
Watchdog Says EPA's Lead Exposure Notice Program Lagging
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not on track to roll out a public warning system for exposure to lead in drinking water by an October deadline, the EPA's internal watchdog said in a new report.
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June 11, 2024
Cigar Co. Can Keep Using Contested 'Dragon' Name For Now
A tobacco company facing a rival's copyright infringement lawsuit over its "Year of the Dragon" cigar boxes can keep using the phrase on products, a Florida federal judge ruled, declining to say the plaintiff is the true owner of the phrase because the company hasn't secured the trademark just yet.
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June 11, 2024
Greenberg Traurig Adds Environmental Team From Steptoe
Greenberg Traurig LLP has bolstered its environmental practice with the addition of a shareholder and two assistant directors from Steptoe LLP at its Washington, D.C., office.
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June 11, 2024
JPML Consolidates GM, LexisNexis Driving Data Suits In Ga.
Drivers claiming that their auto insurance rates increased after General Motors and its OnStar unit collected driving data without consent and shared the information with LexisNexis Risk Solutions will have their suits consolidated in Georgia federal court, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled.
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June 11, 2024
J&J Inks $700M Deal To End AGs' Talc Marketing Suits
Forty-three state attorneys general on Tuesday said there has been a $700 million nationwide settlement and a consent judgment has been reached with Johnson & Johnson that ends claims it misled consumers about the safety of its talc products.
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June 11, 2024
FDA Urges 11th Circ. To Back E-Cig Ban Over High Nicotine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging the Eleventh Circuit to not let Bidi Vapor market an e-cigarette product that the agency claimed would expose users to nearly twice as much nicotine as a typical combustible cigarette.
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June 10, 2024
ATF Says States Lack Standing In Suit Over Gun Show Rule
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told a federal judge in Texas that a coalition of Republican-led attorney generals could not prove how a rule closing the so-called gun show loophole harmed the states.
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June 10, 2024
Calif. Targets Oil Giants' Profits In Amended Climate Suit
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday tweaked the state's climate deception suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP to also target the oil and gas companies' "illegally obtained" profits under a recently enacted state law.
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June 10, 2024
Navy Liable In 'Take-Home' Asbestos Death, Trial Judge Told
The U.S. Navy can't avoid a $12 million wrongful death suit by arguing asbestos safeguards were only advisory at a Washington state shipyard in the 1970s, counsel to the family of a service member's deceased spouse said Monday at the start of a bench trial.
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June 10, 2024
Coca-Cola Beats False Ad Claims Of PFAS In Juice, For Now
Coca-Cola defeated, for now, a proposed false advertising class action alleging its line of Simply Tropical fruit juice contains "forever chemicals," when a New York federal judge said Monday the customer lacks standing because his complaint relies on a single allegation of testing without linking the test result to his purchase.
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June 10, 2024
DOJ, FDA Form Task Force To Crack Down On Illegal E-Cigs
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said that a federal multi-agency task force has been founded to stop illegal sales of e-cigarettes.
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June 10, 2024
Ill. Judge Hangs Gain False Labeling Claims Out To Dry
An Illinois consumer who washes clothes with Gain detergent cannot pursue fraud claims targeting a bottle's purported load capacity because she hasn't shown that reasonable customers believe the label refers to large rather than medium loads, a federal judge said Monday.
Expert Analysis
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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California Shows A Viable Way Forward For PFAS Testing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no good way of testing for the presence of specific per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in food packaging — but a widely available test for a range of fluorine compounds that's now being used in California may offer a good solution, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials
The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.
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Take AG James' Suit Over Enviro Claims As A Warning
New York Attorney General Letitia James' recent suit against JBS USA Food Co. over allegedly misleading claims about its goal to reach net zero by 2040 indicates that challenges to green claims are likely to continue, and that companies should think twice about ignoring National Advertising Division recommendations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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SC Ruling Reinforces All Sums Coverage Trend
A South Carolina state court's recent ruling in Covil v. Pennsylvania National is the latest in a series of decisions, dating back to the 2016 New York Court of Appeals ruling in Viking Pump, that reject insurers' pro rata allocation argument, further supporting that all sums coverage is required whenever a loss could be covered under a policy in any other year, say Raymond Mascia and Thomas Dupont at Anderson Kill.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers
A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.
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What New Waste Management Laws Signal For The Future
Several states have enacted extended producer responsibility and recycling labeling laws that will take effect in the next few years and force manufacturers to take responsibility for the end of life of their products, so companies should closely follow compliance timelines and push to innovate in the area, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.