Product Liability

  • April 03, 2024

    Beekeeper Groups Seek Fees From EPA After 9th Circ. Appeal

    Attorneys for beekeeper groups in an appeal over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision on insecticides have asked the Ninth Circuit to award nearly $750,000 in legal fees after a ruling that hammered the EPA but left the agency's decision intact.

  • April 03, 2024

    Ethiopian Air Trial Set For November Over Boeing's Objections

    An Illinois federal judge said Wednesday that some pending lawsuits over a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash will go to trial late this year, despite Boeing's objections that he should hold off on setting a trial date to allow for fruitful settlement negotiations.

  • April 03, 2024

    Forchelli Appoints Environmental Practice Chair

    Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP has announced the hiring of a partner with experience in organizations such as Miller Environmental Group Inc. and New York American Water to chair its environmental practice group.

  • April 03, 2024

    Blue Bell Creameries Panel Seeks Del. Derivative Suit Revival

    Citing a failure to reach a mediated settlement, a Blue Bell Creameries Inc. board panel has moved to reactivate a long-sidelined Delaware Court of Chancery derivative suit seeking to hold the ice cream company's past directors and officers accountable for deadly food-safety oversight failures in 2015.

  • April 02, 2024

    Citi Says 'Misguided' NY Fraud Protection Suit 'Mangles' Law

    Citibank NA on Tuesday urged a New York federal court to throw out the Empire State attorney general's suit claiming it lacks necessary online security measures, slamming the complaint as "misguided" and arguing that it "mangles" the text of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

  • April 02, 2024

    Uber Seeks Exit From Texas Riders' Claims In Assault MDL

    Uber urged a California federal court Monday to toss Texas plaintiffs' claims in the multidistrict litigation seeking to hold the ride-hailing company liable for drivers' sexual assault, saying it can't be held responsible for the actions of individual drivers under Texas law.

  • April 02, 2024

    Alaska Judge Tosses Opioid Nuisance Case Against Pharmacies

    Retail pharmacies including Walgreens Co. and Walmart Inc. have escaped a suit brought by Alaska in state court over their role in the opioid epidemic after a judge found the state's public nuisance claims were a "bridge too far."

  • April 02, 2024

    9th Circ. To Hear Ex-Theranos Execs' Criminal Appeals In June

    The Ninth Circuit has set oral arguments in former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' high-stakes appeal of her criminal securities fraud conviction and 11-year prison sentence for June 11 — the same day the panel is scheduled to hear arguments in convicted ex-Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani's appeal.

  • April 02, 2024

    Utility Cos. Must Face Uri MDL Gross Negligence Claims

    Transmission and distribution utility providers can't escape allegations they were grossly negligent in cutting off power to Texans during winter storm Uri, a Texas state appeals court ruled Tuesday in an opinion that keeps intact only two claims against the companies in the multidistrict litigation created to handle consumer actions from the severe weather event.

  • April 02, 2024

    OxyChem Opposes Feds' $150M Lower Passaic Deal

    Occidental Chemical Corp. is fighting the federal government's proposed $150 million consent decree with 82 small companies that share some responsibility for New Jersey's Lower Passaic River pollution, with the businesses filing a brief supporting the deal.

  • April 02, 2024

    Transportation Department Finalizes New Train Crew Size Rule

    The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule requiring freight trains to be operated with at least two people, forging ahead with a mandate long supported by rail workers' unions and safety advocates, but one that major rail carriers have decried as unnecessary and costly.

  • April 02, 2024

    2 Firms Seek To Lead Boeing 737 Max Safety Investor Suit

    Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP have each asked a Virginia federal judge for a lead role in a securities lawsuit against Boeing over the safety of its 737 Max jets and the role Boeing's top brass allegedly played in diminishing shareholder value.

  • April 02, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Revive Parents' Claims in Abbott Formula Row

    The Seventh Circuit upheld on Tuesday the dismissal of parents' claims they were economically harmed from buying infant formula that could have been contaminated with bacteria at an Abbott Laboratories plant, saying their alleged injuries aren't enough to prove standing. 

  • April 02, 2024

    4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In March

    A former Harvard Business School professor who was denied tenure after his angry emails to a restaurant went viral was among the winners from a slate of recent Massachusetts state court decisions, which also addressed claims about "forever chemicals" in firefighting gear and a popular gym shut down during the pandemic.

  • April 02, 2024

    Mich. Warns PFAS Ruling Could Fuel More Agency Challenges

    Michigan has warned the state's high court that an appellate decision invalidating PFAS drinking water limits could pave the way for future litigants to attack state regulations by pointing to imperfect cost estimates, urging the court to revive the PFAS rules.

  • April 02, 2024

    Rental Co. Sues Family Of Child Who Drowned On Property

    A North Carolina beach vacation rental company, facing a negligence lawsuit brought by a father whose son died in one of its pools, has in turn filed suit against the deceased child's extended family members, claiming that any blame for the death should be on their shoulders.

  • April 02, 2024

    FDA Sued Again Over Years Of Delays On Menthol Ban

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday was hit with a suit over a yearslong delay on banning menthol cigarettes, the second one brought by public health groups that say the agency's failure has caused thousands of premature deaths.

  • April 02, 2024

    CSX Denies Liability In Backroads Bridge Crash Suit

    Freight railway giant CSX on Monday denied wrongdoing and insisted it can't be held liable for the injuries of two women who blamed the company's shoddy upkeep of a backroads bridge for a 2022 car crash.

  • April 02, 2024

    Kids' Clothier Didn't Deceive By Silence On PFAS, Judge Says

    An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a proposed class suit alleging that The Children's Place Inc. hid the presence of so-called "forever chemicals" in its school uniforms, saying the plaintiffs haven't alleged any duty to disclose or that the company's statements were misleading.

  • April 02, 2024

    Conn. Firm Defends Infant Death Probe In Sanctions Feud

    A Connecticut firm is defending its investigation leading up to a product liability lawsuit against two companies it claims produced and sold an infant lounger linked to a number of baby deaths, asking a Connecticut federal court to quash motions for Rule 11 sanctions accusing it of pursuing frivolous claims.

  • April 02, 2024

    20 Republican-Led States Urge Justices To Ax Climate Suits

    A coalition of 20 Republican-led states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with eight others, have thrown their support behind fossil fuel companies in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put an end to climate change torts lodged by state and local governments.

  • April 01, 2024

    Nike Defeats Greenwashing Suit Over 'Sustainability' Line

    Nike has defeated a proposed class action alleging it greenwashes its clothing by claiming they're made sustainably while using methods that harm the environment, after a Missouri federal judge concluded the plaintiff doesn't explain how she knows the products aren't made with recycled or organic materials and only provides conclusory statements.

  • April 01, 2024

    Ga., FTC Seek $17M+ Fine And Ban On Doc's Stem Cell Ads

    After securing an early win last week against a Georgia doctor and a series of companies that marketed stem cell therapy as a cure-all miracle treatment, federal regulators and the state of Georgia asked a federal judge Monday for $17.7 million in fines and an injunction barring the defendants from any future endeavors in the medical marketing industry.

  • April 01, 2024

    Pool Co. Seeks $4.36M In Atty Fees After False Ad Verdict

    Attorneys from McCarter & English LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson LLP are seeking more than $4 million in fees following a multimillion-dollar verdict in a North Carolina false advertising and unfair business practices suit involving rival pool supply companies.

  • April 01, 2024

    Swedish Match Sued Over Allegedly Youth Targeted Zyn Ads

    Philip Morris International and its subsidiary Swedish Match North America LLC have been hit with a putative class action from an unnamed California man alleging he became addicted to the company's Zyn smokeless oral nicotine pouches when he was a minor because of the product's marketing campaign.

Expert Analysis

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Jurors' Great Resignation Views Affect Corp. Defendants

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    With recent surveys finding that many workers expect to leave their jobs in the next year, corporate defendants should consider measuring potential jurors’ attitudes about the "great resignation," which may reveal biases against large corporations and beliefs about personal responsibility, say Jorge Monroy and David Metz at IMS Consulting.

  • 10 Legal Subject Matters Popping Up In AI Litigation

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    The past five years have brought judicial opinions addressing artificial intelligence in many different legal areas, so a study of existing case law is an important first step for in-house counsel addressing how to advise on the uncertainty driving many of the AI legal disputes, says Mark Davies at Orrick.

  • Steps To Take On AI Operations Amid FTC's ChatGPT Probe

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    Following the Federal Trade Commission's civil investigative demand for OpenAI, it is foreseeable that many more investigations into artificial intelligence and its impact on consumers are coming, but companies can be prepared, say David Shonka and Benjamin Redgrave at Redgrave.

  • Insurers, Prepare For Large Exposures From PFAS Claims

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    With thousands of lawsuits concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances pending across the country, several large settlements already reached, and both regulators and the plaintiffs bar increasingly focusing on PFAS, it is becoming clear that these "forever chemicals" present major exposures to insurers and their policyholders, say Scott Seaman and Jennifer Arnold at Hinshaw.

  • What's Notable In Connecticut's New Cannabis Laws

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    The Connecticut Legislature recently passed four bills containing cannabis provisions — ranging from applicable tax credits to labor agreement requirements — that may prove to be a mixed bag for state operators, say Sarah Westby and Deanna McWeeney at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

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    Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

  • Aviation Watch: Osprey Aircraft May Face Tort Claims

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    A recent U.S. Marine Corps Command report found that the cause of a 2022 Osprey crash was a problem known to the manufacturer and the military for over 10 years — and the aircraft may now be on its way to a day of reckoning in the tort liability arena, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • FTC's 'Made in USA' Enforcement Goes Beyond Labeling Rule

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against a group of businesses for falsely claiming that clothing was made domestically demonstrates that even where the agency's "Made in USA" labeling rule is not violated, other kinds of improper claims about products' origins can get companies in trouble, say Wrede Smith and Kali Yallourakis at McGuireWoods.

  • Opinion

    3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

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    The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

  • Cannabis Plain Packaging Rules: Examples And Opportunities

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    States that have legalized adult-use cannabis in recent years have adopted stringent requirements for product packaging and labeling in an effort to protect minors, and these rules may provide a vehicle for compromise between proponents and opponents of legalization, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Ohio Rulings Are Cautionary Tales For Attorneys In Crisis

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    Two recent decisions from Ohio state courts provide a sobering reminder that a counsel’s personal emergencies will not always suffice to alter court deadlines or excuse procedural missteps, and that prompt communication and documentation are crucial in the Buckeye State and beyond, says L. Bradfield Hughes at Porter Wright.

  • EPA Focus On Lead Could Heighten Private Litigation Risk

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues a series of initiatives aimed at reducing lead exposure, including last month's proposal to strengthen removal requirements for lead-based paint, the risks of private suits from citizens groups over lead contamination grow, say Jonathan Brightbill and Madalyn Brown Feiger at Winston & Strawn.

  • Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

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    As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

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