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Product Liability
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May 09, 2024
Insurer Still Can't Escape Explosion Coverage Row
An insurer cannot yet avoid defending gas companies in personal injury litigation after a subcontractor caused an explosion injuring three people, an Indiana federal court has ruled, reiterating a previous finding that the subcontractor's ultimate release from liability following a settlement has no bearing on the gas companies' additional insured status.
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May 09, 2024
GE Dropped From Louisiana Factory Contamination Suit
A Louisiana federal judge has dropped General Electric from property owners' suit alleging widespread contamination caused by a now-closed manufacturing facility, finding an earlier merger by a subsidiary did not make the company a liable successor.
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May 09, 2024
4th Circ. Mulls Scope Of Farm Bill In Virginia Hemp Fight
A Fourth Circuit panel on Thursday pushed attorneys for the state of Virginia and a group of hemp companies and customers to define precisely how much power states have to restrict the production and sale of intoxicating products derived from federally legal hemp.
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May 09, 2024
11th Circ. Rejects Monsanto's Roundup Suit Redo Request
The full Eleventh Circuit has rejected Monsanto's renewed request for review of a panel's ruling that a Georgia doctor can allege the company failed to warn about cancer risks associated with the use of Roundup weedkiller despite federal pesticide labeling requirements.
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May 09, 2024
Fla. Justices Say Widow Is Surviving Spouse Under The Law
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the widow of a mesothelioma victim who married her spouse after his injury can be considered a surviving spouse under the state's Wrongful Death Act.
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May 08, 2024
Kroger Must Keep Fighting Metal-Tainted Baby Food Claims
An Ohio federal judge Wednesday refused to throw out a proposed class action accusing the Kroger Co. and its subsidiaries of selling baby food tainted with toxic metals, ruling that the mothers who sued have plausibly alleged that they wouldn't have purchased the product had they known the truth.
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May 08, 2024
Wash. Families Fight Monsanto's Bid To Split Up PCB Trial
Three families suing Monsanto over alleged PCB contamination at a Washington school pushed back against the company's motion to sever their future toxic tort trial in Washington state court, calling it the defense counsel's latest stunt to protest more than $1 billion in losses thus far in the series of cases.
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May 08, 2024
Biden Signs Law To Protect Children From Online Exploitation
President Joe Biden has signed into law a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing online child sex exploitation by strengthening requirements for social media companies and other service providers to report abuse to the nation's centralized reporting system.
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May 08, 2024
BIA Tells 8th Circ. Energy Co. Can't Revive Lease Suit
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked the Eighth Circuit to uphold a North Dakota federal judge's dismissal of Prima Exploration Inc.'s oil and gas lease termination suit, saying the lower court correctly dismissed the case for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
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May 08, 2024
Hawaii Utility Seeks Exit From Shareholder Suit Over Maui Fire
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. has asked a California federal judge to toss an investor suit over a downturn in the company's stock price after a deadly fire broke out on Maui, saying it did not mislead investors about efforts to mitigate fire risk or completely outrule the risk of fire.
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May 08, 2024
Conn. Healthcare Facility Owes $13.4M For Patient's Death
A state trial court judge on Wednesday refused a Connecticut healthcare facility's requests to scuttle a $10 million jury verdict over a patient's death, agreeing to ratchet an estate's victory up to nearly $13.4 million because of interest dating back more than four years.
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May 08, 2024
9th Circ. Says Calif. Can Give Gun Buyer Info To Researchers
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a constitutional challenge to a California law requiring the state to provide biographical information about firearm purchasers and those with carry-conceal permits to accredited research institutions studying gun violence, saying the information at issue isn't highly personal and doesn't implicate the right to privacy.
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May 08, 2024
Auto Cos. Brace For EV Battery Compliance Hurdles
New federal regulations aimed at shoring up the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain give automakers a much-needed two-year cushion to navigate a compliance minefield, and to figure out how to reinvigorate the recent waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.
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May 08, 2024
Vape Fluid Co. Urges Justices To Take Up FDA Challenge
Lotus Vaping Technologies LLC is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its application to market bottled flavored e-cigarette fluids, saying the case provides an appropriate vehicle to examine the FDA's policies.
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May 08, 2024
Kimberly-Clark Blasts 'Illogical' Connecticut PFAS Claims
Kimberly-Clark Corp. is urging a federal judge to toss a proposed class action brought by three Connecticut residents who argued that the company contaminated private property near its New Milford manufacturing plant with toxic "forever chemicals," calling the allegations "illogical," speculative and incomplete.
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May 08, 2024
Mercedes-Benz Hit With Wheel Defect Suit In Ga.
Mercedes-Benz has been slapped with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court by a sedan owner alleging that a wheel configuration defect in certain sedan models can lead to sudden tire blowouts and cracked rims.
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May 08, 2024
NC Court Clerks, Administrators Escape Digital Courts Suit
Plaintiffs in a proposed class action have voluntarily dropped North Carolina court administrators and clerks from a lawsuit alleging that flaws in the state's electronic court filing system led to unlawful arrests and longer jail stays.
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May 07, 2024
DOJ's 'Dr. Doom' Sees AI's Crime-Fighting Abilities, And Risks
The U.S. Department of Justice is using artificial intelligence to bolster its investigations, including into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference at which she dove into the beneficial uses of AI alongside its threats to security and democracy.
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May 07, 2024
AIG Insurers Near Deal With Foam Co. Over MDL Coverage
Firefighting foam company Tyco Fire Products LP and a group of AIG insurers have reached a tentative settlement that would resolve a dispute over coverage of multidistrict litigation involving Tyco over so-called forever chemicals, according to a notice filed Tuesday in South Carolina federal court.
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May 07, 2024
Target Sued Over Citric Acid In Good & Gather Pasta Sauce
Target has been hit with a putative class action in California federal court by a shopper who alleges the retail giant falsely touts that its line of Good & Gather pasta sauces contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives despite containing citric acid.
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May 07, 2024
NY Officials Tout Crackdown On Illicit Cannabis Market
New York state cannabis regulators on Tuesday touted new legislative changes empowering them to more swiftly crack down on unregulated marijuana sales, the same day that New York City officials announced a program to step up enforcement against unlicensed retailers.
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May 07, 2024
Boeing Can't Widen Ethiopian Airlines Test Case Pool
An Illinois federal judge chose six cases Tuesday for a November trial over the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash and gave Boeing the power to decide the order in which they'll face a jury, finding a middle road between sides sparring over how to select the bellwether cases.
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May 07, 2024
Contract's 1-Year Limit Doesn't Block NC Mold Claims
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a couple's suit against a contractor they say failed to remediate water and mold damage in their house, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the contract's one-year limitation on claims applied to the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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May 07, 2024
Policy Dispute Should Be Heard In Wash., Colo. Judge Says
A Colorado federal court has tossed an insurer's suit seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe $4 million in coverage to a climbing equipment manufacturer and its primary insurer, finding that a related case in Washington state court provides a better opportunity to resolve the parties' dispute.
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May 07, 2024
Fla. Schools And Hospitals Fight To Save Opioid Claims
Five public hospital districts and two school districts told a Florida appeals court Tuesday that their claims for damages from the opioid crisis should not be eclipsed by the attorney general's settlements with opioid makers and distributors, arguing that she did not have the authority to bring claims on their behalf.
Expert Analysis
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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Time To Step Up PFAS Due Diligence In Cross-Border M&A
Regulations in the U.S. and EU governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will likely evolve to become global standards out of necessity and scale, so PFAS due diligence — particularly for buyers, sellers, and lenders and investors involved in multijurisdictional mergers and acquisitions — will be essential in 2024, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Landmark Product Safety Prosecution May Signal Sea Change
U.S. v. Chu, a novel prosecution and guilty verdict of corporate executives for failing to report product defects under a consumer safety law, will certainly not be the last case of its kind, and companies will need to prepare for the government’s increasingly aggressive enforcement approach, say attorneys at Cooley.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement
Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.
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What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury
Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.
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Evaluating Retroactivity Of Mich. Drugmaker Immunity Repeal
In assessing whether a new Michigan law lifting drugmakers' blanket immunity from product liability suits will apply retroactively, there are four key factors that Michigan courts will likely consider, say Sherry Knutson and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast
A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News
Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
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How 2023 Shaped Drug And Medical Device Legal Trends
2023 brought a number of positive developments for the life sciences industry, including great trial and multidistrict litigation outcomes, but also some heavy-handed regulations and other concerning developments that lay the groundwork for significant litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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5 Trends That Will Affect Food Litigation In 2024
In 2024, food and beverage companies are likely to continue to face threats of litigation relating to so-called forever chemicals, citric and malic acid, and ESG claims, but recent developments in case law have created potential avenues for defense, say Abby Meyer and Khirin Bunker at Sheppard Mullin.
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Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends
Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.