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Product Liability
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June 18, 2013
Specialty Products Wants $1B Asbestos Appeal In 3rd Circ.
Specialty Products Holding Corp. sought permission Tuesday to go directly to the Third Circuit with its appeal of a Delaware bankruptcy court's decision pegging its asbestos-related liability at $1.1 billion, saying a quick resolution of the issue has implications for its case and others.
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June 18, 2013
Union Carbide Loses Bid To Reverse Calif. Asbestos Ruling
A California appeals court affirmed Tuesday that Union Carbide Corp. is liable for a deceased construction worker's mesothelioma, even though he suffered from a form of the disease typically associated with a type of asbestos not found in the company's product.
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June 18, 2013
Union Carbide Pushes 2nd Circ. To Kill Bhopal Suit
Union Carbide Corp. should not be found liable for pollution allegedly caused by an Indian subsidiary, its lawyers told the Second Circuit Tuesday, asking the appeals court to kill a lawsuit brought by residents of Bhopal, India.
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June 18, 2013
Carnival Seeks $12M For Damage To ‘Poop Cruise’ Ship
Carnival Corp. is demanding more than $12 million in damages caused when its notorious Triumph cruise liner broke free of an Alabama repair dock following a disastrous February outing in which thousands of passengers were stranded on the powerless vessel amid overflows of raw sewage.
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June 18, 2013
US Sues Honda Over Excessive Small-Engine Emissions
The U.S. Department of Justice sued American Honda Motor Co. Inc. in Washington federal court Tuesday, accusing it of selling thousands of engines with improper air intakes, resulting in unlawfully excessive pollutant emissions.
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June 18, 2013
2nd Circ. Says Insurer Owes Olin $14M In Pollution Coverage
The Second Circuit on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Olin Corp.’s former insurer must pay $13.8 million to cover class actions over groundwater contamination near a California plant, finding the policies covered claims for homes that were constructed after the policies expired.
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June 18, 2013
Polsinelli Lures 10 Attys From Husch Blackwell
Polsinelli PC recently scooped up 10 attorneys from Husch Blackwell LLP, additions that expand its government contracts practice in Washington, D.C., grow its toxic tort practice in St. Louis and create a Tennessee office that includes attorneys focused on real estate law and intellectual property issues in large transactions.
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June 18, 2013
Chrysler Bends To Feds' Demand For Recall Of 2.7M Jeeps
Chrysler Group LLC on Tuesday agreed to follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's request that it recall 2.7 million Jeep vehicles for fire risks, retreating from its initial refusal to issue the recall on grounds that the agency misanalyzed safety data.
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June 18, 2013
GMO Labeling Bill Advances In NJ Legislature
Bipartisan legislation requiring the labeling of genetically modified food sold in New Jersey was cleared by an Assembly panel on Monday despite business concerns that the measure will be too costly and indirectly expose companies to new liability under the state's powerful consumer fraud law.
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June 18, 2013
Merck, Bristol-Myers Sued Over Diabetes Drugs' Cancer Risks
Merck & Co. Inc., a Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. subsidiary and Eli Lilly & Co. were all targeted by a New York product liability suit Friday alleging they concealed a link between certain diabetes drugs currently under regulatory investigation and the risk for pancreatic cancer.
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June 18, 2013
Merck Investors Cut Claims In Securities Fraud MDL
Several Allianz Global Investors units and Swedish national pension fund Fjarde AP-fonden have dismissed their claims in a multidistrict litigation claiming Merck & Co. and its executives misrepresented arthritis painkiller Vioxx to inflate Merck stock, say documents filed Tuesday in New Jersey federal court.
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June 18, 2013
Bankrupt Insurer Ducks Congoleum Asbestos Coverage
A New Jersey appeals court on Monday upheld a liquidation court ruling that struck bankrupt Congoleum Corp.'s requests for excess insurance coverage from Integrity Insurance Co. for asbestos-related claims because the claims' liability and value allegedly weren't fixed by a deadline in Integrity's amended liquidation closing plan.
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June 18, 2013
NHTSA Probes Suzuki Vehicles Over Air Bag Warning Lights
The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration opened an investigation Friday into more than 200,000 Suzuki Motor of America Inc. vehicles over possible problems with the air bag warning and other lights in front passenger seats.
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June 18, 2013
Arab Bank Owes $1.3M In Attys' Fees In Terror Funding Case
Arab Bank PLC must cover $1.3 million in attorneys’ fees for plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the bank’s alleged aid to Palestinian terror groups, a New York federal judge ruled Monday, part of tough sanctions against the bank for shirking its discovery obligations.
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June 18, 2013
Kellogg Sued Over Super Mario Snacks' Real Fruit Claims
Kellogg Co. Inc. was hit Friday with a proposed class action alleging the company falsely advertised its Super Mario Fruit Snacks as being made with real fruit when in fact they contain apple puree and various chemicals and preservative additives.
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June 18, 2013
2 Deaths Prompt FDA Probe Of Eli Lilly's Zyprexa Relprevv
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it has opened an investigation after two patients died following injections of Eli Lilly & Co.'s schizophrenia drug Zyprexa Relprevv, the latest bad news for a troubled product line.
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June 17, 2013
WR Grace Bankruptcy Plan Favors Company, 3rd Circ. Told
In arguments before the Third Circuit on Monday, entities including the Canadian government and several major lenders said a bankruptcy reorganization plan approved for W.R. Grace & Co. left them undercompensated for their claims while favoring asbestos plaintiffs who sued the company directly.
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June 17, 2013
Doctor Prevails In Trial Over 8-Month Erection
A Delaware state court jury on Monday said a doctor who performed a penile implant that allegedly left a patient with an eight-month erection was not guilty of medical negligence.
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June 17, 2013
Calif. High Court Takes On Asbestos Supplier Case
The California Supreme Court decided Wednesday that it would review whether a company that supplied raw asbestos to a product manufacturer can be found liable for failing to warn a user of that product about the dangers of asbestos.
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June 17, 2013
Feds Seek Tougher Sentence For Ex-Massey Exec
Federal prosecutors want a heftier than usual sentence for the former president of Massey's Green Valley Resource Group, arguing Monday that the executive jeopardized the lives of West Virginia miners when he flouted federal safety and health standards.
Expert Analysis
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Keeping Tabs On 'Natural' Beauty And Food
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's two recent “natural” labeling cases, one involving food and the other cosmetics, illustrate how tricky — even counterintuitive — application of the primary jurisdiction doctrine can be. The rulings in Astiana v. Hain Celestial Group and Janney v. General Mills will comfort defendants of cosmetic products but disappoint those of food products, say attorneys with Tucker Ellis LLP.
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Digging Into SEC Mineral Disclosure Policies
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules require resource extraction issuers to disclose annually certain information on payments they make to the U.S. government and foreign governments for the purpose of the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. But while these rules were accompanied by extensive adopting releases, ambiguities remain, resulting in a substantial number of compliance questions, say attorneys with Mayer Brown LLP.
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Takeaways From Largest Drug Safety Settlement
The recent $500 million settlement of Ranbaxy USA Inc., the largest drug safety-related settlement with a generic manufacturer to date, has broad implications for U.S. Department of Justice and Food and Drug Administration enforcement trends. However, significant questions exist regarding the basis for False Claims Act liability, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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Is TAR Right For Your Discovery Project?
There are several critical decision factors to weigh to assess whether Technology Assisted Review is right for a discovery project — for example, the nature of the case, internal capabilities, production considerations and overall comfort with this technology, say Michele Lange and Joseph White of Kroll Ontrack Inc.
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Now Open: Floodgates To Price Advertisement Cases
The Ninth Circuit's recent opinion in Hinojos v. Kohl’s definitely hurts retailers who have advertised "original" prices that were never actually in place and makes them vulnerable to being hit with a class action. This decision may also be used by plaintiffs to bring more unfair competition claims, say attorneys with Sedgwick LLP.
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Class Arbitration Is Back In Arbitrators’ Hands
Arbitrators can still interpret contracts pretty much any way they want, according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter. The holding should come as no great surprise as it reflects decades of federal arbitration law, yet the unanimous ruling is a surprise, given what preceded it, says Christopher King of Homer Bonner Jacobs.
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E-Discovery Sword May Not Be Sharp Enough
As evidenced by product liability cases in recent years, the burdens associated with e-discovery will continue to loom large, but opportunities appear to be dwindling for those who attempt to use the process as a sword and overburden their adversaries with unreasonable e-discovery obligations, say attorneys with Miles & Stockbridge PC.
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Newest Addition To CPSC’s Enforcement Toolbox
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently obtained an unprecedented ruling when the judge granted leave to Craig Zucker in an administrative complaint against Maxfield and Oberton Holdings LLC. This order signals a new enforcement tool that the CPSC is willing to use to negotiate recalls and penalties with consumer product manufacturers, say attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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How To Fight For Coverage In Solar Panel Defect Claims
A wave of large lawsuits could be coming against solar panel manufacturers, panel distributors and dealers and contractors — what can businesses expect when they turn to their insurance companies for help with these claims? Unfortunately, history shows that insurance companies will refuse to honor coverage and aggressively fight when policyholders are forced to sue, says Scott Turner of Anderson Kill & Olick PC.
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10 Strategies For A Special Verdict Form
One way to ensure that you have your appellate bases covered despite the frenzy of trial is to have an appellate specialist review your proposed verdict form for preservation issues. This modest investment at the trial stage can help ensure that any appellate arguments you may make will have a solid basis in the record, say Dawn Solowey and Rob Carty of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.