Product Liability

  • March 18, 2024

    Gasket Maker That Sued Asbestos Lawyers Faces SC Trial

    A major gasket maker that has previously sued asbestos lawyers for unfairly targeting it went to trial in South Carolina on Monday against claims by a mesothelioma patient's widow that the company skipped necessary safety testing.

  • March 18, 2024

    Doc Production Is 'Not That Hard,' MDL Judge Tells Snap's Atty

    A California magistrate judge laid out incentives Monday to spur depositions and document production in multidistrict litigation over social media's allegedly addictive design, rejecting defense counsel's arguments the incentives are "lopsided," and telling Snap's counsel document production is "not as hard as you're saying it is."

  • March 18, 2024

    Feds Try To Shake Off Youths' Constitutional Climate Suit

    The government has asked a California federal judge to dismiss a group of children's lawsuit alleging the Constitution guarantees "a life-sustaining climate system" and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows unsafe levels of climate pollution.

  • March 18, 2024

    How A Car Crash And 20 Years Of Litigation Ended With $25M

    A $25.5 million verdict returned by a Georgia jury for the family of a woman killed in a 2003 taxi crash was the result of decades of litigation perseverance, with more work ahead to help ensure that a similar tragedy does not occur, her family's lawyer told Law360.

  • March 18, 2024

    Bayer Beats False-Ad Suit Over 'Honey Lemon Zest' Cold Med

    A New York federal judge on Monday tossed without leave to amend a proposed class action accusing Bayer Healthcare LLC of falsely claiming that its Alka-Seltzer Plus brand over-the-counter severe cold medication contains honey and lemon, saying the product's packaging reflects flavoring and not actual ingredients.

  • March 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Sends Opioid 'Nuisance' Question To W.Va. Top Court

    The Fourth Circuit asked West Virginia's high court Monday to determine whether the state's public nuisance law can be used to target companies that shipped drugs to pharmacies in a community ravaged by addiction, a crucial question in litigation spawned by the opioid crisis.

  • March 18, 2024

    Conn. Pharmacy, FDA Say They've Settled Suit Over Probe

    Medication compounding firm SCA Pharmaceuticals and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration together have asked a Connecticut federal judge to dissolve an emergency temporary restraining order blocking the agency from publishing comments related to its contested investigation of the pharmacy, with the parties saying they have executed a settlement.

  • March 18, 2024

    Amazon, Bumkins Accused Of Not Flagging 'Superbibs' Chemical

    Amazon and baby products manufacturer Bumkins Finer Baby Products face a lawsuit in California state court alleging they sell DC Comics-themed "Superbibs" meant for feeding infants without warning customers as the law requires that they contain perfluorooctanoic acid, a "forever chemical" that may cause certain cancers and reproductive problems.

  • March 18, 2024

    Tesla Trial To Test Bounds Of Autonomous Cars' Future

    An upcoming California trial seeking to hold Tesla accountable for the death of a driver who had been playing games on his cellphone while his vehicle was in Autopilot may force the auto industry to recalibrate its approach to advanced driver-assistance systems, as developers pushing fully autonomous transportation stare down the threat of new legal landmines, experts say.

  • March 18, 2024

    Apple Beats Most Claims In AirTag Stalking Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge has dismissed the majority of a proposed class action accusing Apple of not doing enough to safeguard its AirTag tracking device from being abused by stalkers, saying that apart from a few negligence and product liability claims under Golden State law, the rest need to be reworked.

  • March 18, 2024

    Pabst Gets Calif. Judge To Can 'Olympia Beer' False Ad Suit

    A California federal judge sided with Pabst Brewing Co. on Monday in a consumer's false advertising suit, finding that the label of its now-defunct Olympia Beer was unlikely to mislead a reasonable consumer into thinking the lager was brewed in Washington using Pacific Northwest water.

  • March 18, 2024

    Kimberly-Clark Gets OK For $6M Deal Over Tainted Wipes

    A Texas federal court has granted final approval to a deal worth as much as $17 million — with $3.6 million going to plaintiff attorney fees — that would resolve claims that paper products manufacturer Kimberly-Clark sold flushable wipes contaminated with a bacteria particularly dangerous to those with weak immune systems.

  • March 18, 2024

    Plaintiffs Call For Sanctions Over PFAS MDL Deal Threat

    A proposed class in multidistrict litigation against DuPont and others alleging they contaminated drinking water with PFAS chemicals is urging a South Carolina federal court to sanction attorneys for a California water service, saying they violated court rules in their latest objections to a settlement.

  • March 18, 2024

    Can EPA Shut Down State Air Plans? The Battle Isn't Over

    The D.C. Circuit reversed some U.S. Environmental Protection Agency vetoes of state air quality plans that gave power plants and other facilities a break when they exceed air emissions limits when they're starting up, shutting down or malfunctioning, but the court's decision wasn't a complete loss for the EPA and opened avenues for new litigation.

  • March 18, 2024

    EPA Bans Most Common Asbestos In 'Cancer Moonshot' Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized a ban on the most prevalent variety of asbestos, the first asbestos risk management rule issued since the Toxic Substances Control Act was amended in 2016.

  • March 18, 2024

    Chicago Can Keep $26M Willis Tower Suit In Federal Court

    A federal judge in Illinois has declined to send a $26 million lawsuit against the City of Chicago over rain damage at Willis Tower back to state court, finding the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago acts under federal authority in maintaining the minimum water levels dictated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

  • March 16, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Gov't Jawboning & Retaliatory Arrests

    The U.S. Supreme Court has a packed oral arguments calendar this week that includes disputes over the Biden administration's work with social media companies to combat misinformation, the appropriate evidence standard for bringing retaliatory arrest claims and whether the federal government can object to a consent decree entered into by three states.

  • March 15, 2024

    Awning Maker Can't Shade Itself From CPSC Defect Lawsuit

    Awning maker SunSetter can't evade claims it concealed an allegedly deadly defect by arguing that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is unconstitutional, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled, leaning on a Fifth Circuit ruling that may not be long for this world.

  • March 15, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Chiquita MDL Experts Aren't Reliable, Parties Say

    A Florida federal judge overseeing the multidistrict litigation against Chiquita Brands weighed arguments Friday on what evidence should be excluded in two upcoming bellwether trials, with each side insisting the other's experts should be disqualified from testifying about claims that the company funded a deadly right-wing Colombian paramilitary group.

  • March 15, 2024

    Aircraft Co. Says Charter Co. Shifting Blame For Fatal Crash

    A Washington judge has consolidated five lawsuits linked to a 2022 seaplane accident that killed 10 people, rejecting opposition from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd., which said a co-defendant flight company is trying to pin the blame on the plane manufacturer.

  • March 15, 2024

    Boeing Supplier Sued Over 737 Max Door Plug's Missing Bolts

    A new lawsuit in Washington state court over a Boeing 737 blowout that endangered an Alaska Airlines flight takes aim at Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer of the door plug that ruptured from the fuselage, for allegedly not installing necessary bolts and fittings.

  • March 15, 2024

    Enfamil Maker Hit With $60M Jury Verdict In Infant Death Suit

    An Illinois jury has awarded $60 million to the mother of an infant who died after using Mead Johnson's Enfamil formula, a loss for the company in the first of hundreds of suits to go to trial alleging certain cow's milk-based formulas cause a fatal illness in premature infants. 

  • March 15, 2024

    SEC, VW Reach $48.7M Deal To End 'Clean Diesel' Fraud Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Volkswagen Group of America Finance told a California federal court on Friday that they have reached a $48.7 million settlement to end claims that the automaker defrauded U.S. investors in its scheme to cheat emissions standards in its vehicles.

  • March 15, 2024

    Conservative Law Group Asks Justices To Hear FDA Vape Suit

    A free-market advocacy group and a vape industry association are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to upend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision denying a manufacturer permission to sell flavored vapes, arguing that the FDA is "moving the goalposts" when it comes to what kind of data is needed when applying.

  • March 15, 2024

    Dykema Hires MehaffyWeber Shareholder In Houston

    Dykema Gossett PLLC has added a product liability attorney from MehaffyWeber who spent almost six years with the firm working on toxic torts, commercial litigation and a range of other liability issues, Dykema announced Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

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    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable

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    Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • 5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy

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    In Hanson v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition

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    Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

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