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Product Liability
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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.
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June 17, 2013
EPA Cuts Down Chemicals To Be Tested For Hormonal Effects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday revised a list of chemicals that it will screen for their potential to disrupt the release of hormones in humans and animals, removing substances that it cannot tie to a current manufacturer or importer.
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June 17, 2013
Conn. High Court Slashes Coverage For Nursing Home Fire
The Connecticut Supreme Court has sharply reduced the amount of insurance available for wrongful death and injury claims stemming from a nursing home fire set off by a resident, holding in an opinion to be published Tuesday that coverage was limited to $1 million, not $10 million, as a lower court had ruled.
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June 17, 2013
Attys Colluded On Rawlings Ad Action Deal, Plaintiff Says
A plaintiff in a putative class action alleging Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc. deceptively advertised an athletic performance bracelet objected Friday to a proposed $100,000 settlement in a related New Jersey class action, saying the parties colluded on an “illusory and valueless” deal.
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June 17, 2013
Fresenius Hit With Dialysis Treatment Class Action
The heir of a Pennsylvania man who allegedly died from the use of a dialysis treatment made by Fresenius Medical Care North America launched a putative class action against the company in Pennsylvania state court on Friday, contending the company hid the product's risks from users.
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June 14, 2013
Soleus Demands $150M Over Fire-Prone Dehumidifiers
Home-comfort product maker Soleus International Inc. on Thursday hit Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai with a $150 million suit in California federal court, accusing the Chinese appliance maker of selling fire-prone dehumidifiers through Soleus and retaliating when Soleus reported the defect to the U.S. government.
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June 14, 2013
Big, Small Or Broke, Manufacturers Get No Mercy From CPSC
By forcing the now-defunct Baby Matters LLC to spend its remaining funds on a recall as part of a settlement agreement, the increasingly aggressive U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is putting manufacturers on notice that the agency will exert its full power against them even if they go out of business.
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June 14, 2013
NJ Victories For Novartis To Curb Zometa Pile-On Suits
A New Jersey appellate decision Friday refusing to revive a mass tort lawsuit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. over its bone medication Zometa should give businesses even more certainty on statute of limitations questions and adds to a string of victories for the drugmaker in the state that could discourage weaker cases, experts said.
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June 14, 2013
Generic Drug Labeling Claims Not Preempted By Mensing
A California appeals court Thursday allowed a woman's suit to move forward alleging that Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and others failed to warn of potential safety issues with a generic osteoporosis drug, finding her claims were not preempted by the U.S. Supreme Court's Mensing decision.
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June 14, 2013
Ala. High Court To Reconsider Landmark Generic-Drug Ruling
The Alabama Supreme Court agreed Thursday to reconsider its January ruling that makers of brand-name drugs can be held liable for injuries caused by their generic counterparts, after Pfizer Inc. and another company called the decision an “extreme outlier position.”
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June 14, 2013
8th Circ. Shields Branded Cos. For Generic-Drug Harm
The Eighth Circuit on Friday tossed litigation targeting brand-name drug makers for harm allegedly caused by generic medicine but took the somewhat unusual step of refusing to shield a generics company from design defect allegations that have often been blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Mensing decision.
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June 14, 2013
Insurer-Picked Firm Shut Out From Faulty Construction Suit
A California appeals court has disqualified a law firm hired by CastlePoint National Insurance Co. from defending a construction defect suit against CastlePoint's policyholder after holding in an opinion published Thursday that the firm faced a conflict of interest.
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June 14, 2013
Novartis Can't Duck Elidel FCA Suit, But Kickback Claims Cut
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a former Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. employee's whistleblower lawsuit, which accuses the drugmaker of ripping off Medicaid by promoting off-label uses of eczema treatment Elidel, but stripped anti-kickback claims from the suit.
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June 14, 2013
Judge Wants More Info On Toyota's $1.1B Acceleration Deal
A California federal judge Friday delayed final approval of Toyota Motor Corp.'s $1.1 billion settlement with car buyers who claim that recalls for defects causing sudden unintended acceleration hurt their vehicles' value, stating he wanted to see more information on how the cash will be distributed to 22.6 million putative class members.
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June 14, 2013
Nearly All Asbestos Claimants Back New Quigley Ch. 11 Plan
Pfizer Inc.’s bankrupt unit Quigley Co. Inc. on Thursday submitted its fifth amended reorganization plan that will pay asbestos claimants in cash, rights to insurance proceeds and common stock, but a small group of claimants still argue that the plan is unbalanced.
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June 13, 2013
Fla. Appeals Court Upholds $20M Award For Smoker's Widow
A Florida appeals court on Thursday affirmed a judgment of $20 million against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for causing the death of a smoker, saying its hands were tied because the company failed to argue its right to object during rehearing in the trial court.
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June 13, 2013
DLA Piper Hires Product Liability Expert From Duane Morris
DLA Piper has pulled in a Duane Morris LLP attorney with expertise in product liability and banking cases to bolster its litigation practice in its New York office, the firm said Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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When In Doubt, Write Your Doctor A Letter
Tietz v. Abbott Laboratories Inc. has significant implications for the future of failure-to-warn litigation involving prescription drugs as it has opened the door to the argument that a drug manufacturer has a duty to send a "Dear Doctor" letter before the letter is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.