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Product Liability
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May 22, 2013
EU Lawmakers Adopt New Offshore Drilling Rules
In what they believe will help avoid a Deepwater Horizon-type disaster, European lawmakers on Tuesday approved offshore drilling regulations that would require producers to prove they have sufficient financial muscle to cover potential accidents and any resulting cleanup and liability before obtaining a drilling license.
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May 22, 2013
MGM Says ThyssenKrupp Must Defend Elevator Accident Suit
MGM Resorts Mississippi Inc. filed a declaratory relief action in federal court Tuesday seeking to force ThyssenKrupp Elevator Corp. to provide it with a defense to a premises liability suit over an elevator accident at its Gold Strike Casino & Resort that allegedly injured three people.
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May 22, 2013
Senate Panel Advances Drug Compounder Oversight Bill
A U.S. Senate committee unanimously voted Wednesday to advance legislation that places the U.S. Food and Drug Administration solely in charge of regulating compounding pharmacies and also paves the way for added drug security along the supply chain.
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May 22, 2013
Nobel To Pay $1.3M To Settle Faulty Implant Suit
A California federal judge on Tuesday granted preliminary approval to a settlement resolving a $450 million class action accusing Nobel Biocare Holding AG of marketing defective dental implants that caused bone and gum problems, after the parties resolved a dispute over the deal.
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May 21, 2013
9th Circ. Revives False Ad Suit Over Kohl's Price Discounts
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday revived a putative class action brought against Kohl’s Corp. by a consumer who alleged false advertising, rejecting the company’s argument that the customers suffered no economic injury when allegedly deceived into buying items with falsely advertised discounts.
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May 21, 2013
RJ Reynolds Attacks Engle Ruling In 11th Circ. Appeal
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday that the Florida Supreme Court was wrong to hold that the Engle tobacco litigation did not violate its due process rights, saying it mistakenly ruled that claims against the company could not be relitigated.
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May 21, 2013
House Panel Advances Asbestos Trust Transparency Bill
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on Tuesday that would require more transparency from trusts set up to disburse insolvent companies' funds to asbestos victims, narrowly defeating amendments from Democrats concerned the bill would threaten victims' privacy.
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May 21, 2013
Boehringer, Hospira Products Adulterated, FDA Warns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday released warning letters it sent to generic-drug maker Hospira Inc. and German pharmaceutical company Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG warning the companies of several products that are considered adulterated due to inadequate manufacturing processes.
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May 21, 2013
Norfolk Southern Gets Rail Yard Safety Order Tossed
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Monday sided with Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. in ruling that federal regulations preempt a 1975 order from the state’s Public Utility Commission requiring the railroad to employ two brakemen around the clock to maintain safety at a rail yard.
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May 21, 2013
BP, La. Fend Off Deepwater Berm Claims In 5th Circ.
A group of commercial oyster harvesters suing BP PLC, Louisiana and several contractors over alleged damages from berms built in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster was dealt serious setbacks on Monday by the Fifth Circuit and a Louisiana federal court.
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May 21, 2013
Edison Strikes $37M Deal Over Malibu Wildfire Damage
Southern California Edison Co. said Monday that it has reached a $37 million settlement with the California Public Utilities Commission over its role in the 2007 Malibu Canyon Fire that charred nearly 4,000 acres.
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May 21, 2013
5th Circ. Upholds Texas' Under-21 Concealed Gun Ban
The Fifth Circuit on Monday struck the National Rifle Association of America's challenge against a Texas law that bars 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns in public, saying it doesn't violate the Second Amendment because Texas has an important interest in maintaining public safety.
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May 20, 2013
Carnival Wants Suits Over Deadly Cruise Wreck Sent To Italy
Two Florida judges are weighing whether to keep putative class actions filed by survivors of the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in their court or dismiss them for refiling in Italy, which Carnival Corp. argued Monday would be a more appropriate venue.
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May 20, 2013
Ex-BP Exec Gets Obstruction Charge Thrown Out
A Louisiana federal judge on Monday dropped an obstruction charge from the indictment of the former BP PLC executive who was second-in-command during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, finding the government didn’t allege he knew of the congressional investigation he was charged with obstructing.
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May 20, 2013
Nike, Apple Face False Ad Suit Over Fitness Wristband
Sports apparel retailer Nike Inc. and electronics giant Apple Inc. were hit with a proposed class action Friday that challenges their advertising claims that the Nike Plus FuelBand electronic wristband accurately records each calorie burned by its wearer during physical activity.
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May 20, 2013
Specialty Products Judge Pegs $1.1B For Asbestos Liability
A bankruptcy judge on Monday estimated Specialty Products Holding Corp.'s current and future liability for asbestos-related mesothelioma claims at $1.1 billion, a valuation that tops the debtors' various projections by hundreds of millions of dollars.
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May 20, 2013
Fighting Agencies May Be Tougher After High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday ruling in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, which held that courts should apply a deferential standard of review when federal agencies interpret the limits of their own authority, may make it tougher for regulated businesses to fight agency actions, attorneys say.
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May 20, 2013
High Court's Atty Fee Ruling May Spur More Vaccine Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that attorneys can still recover fees and costs for vaccine injury claims that a government compensation program determines to be time-barred, a decision that will make lawyers more likely to take calculated gambles on cases with timeliness concerns.
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May 20, 2013
Plan B Ruling Shouldn't Be Stayed, 2nd Circ. Told
Reproductive health advocates on Monday urged the Second Circuit not to delay a court order that Plan B and other emergency birth control pills be made available over the counter without age restrictions, saying a New York federal judge acted reasonably to address political obstructionism.
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May 20, 2013
Airlines May Launch 'Act Of War' Defense At 9/11 WTC Trial
The owner of the World Trade Center failed Monday to persuade a New York federal judge to prevent American Airlines Inc. and United Airlines Inc. from arguing that the 9/11 attacks were an "act of war" that they could not be held responsible for.
Expert Analysis
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How To Run Team Meetings In Complex Cases — Part 1
Many litigation teams struggle with making good decisions and running effective team meetings for three reasons: compromised decision-making, lack of healthy meeting conflict, and lack of alternative meeting structures, says David Dolkas of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
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EU's New Package Of Consumer Product Safety Rules
The European Commission has put forward a new set of measures to provide more consistency in European Union legislation on consumer product and market surveillance. It is likely that manufacturers, importers and distributors will find additional obligations relating to labeling, product identification and corrective actions imposed as a result of the new rules, say attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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Know Your Codes Before Litigation Blows Up
A recent analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data on boiler incidents at workplaces illustrates the need for manufacturers, designers and operators to be aware of applicable codes and standards. If litigation results from a catastrophic incident, any violations of applicable codes, standards and safety rules will be important evidence, says Jonathan Shoebotham of Thompson & Knight LLP.
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Pa. Makes Its Mark On Chinese Drywall Dispute
Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that the shipment of defective drywall from China to the United States constituted one “occurrence” for purposes of insurance coverage. While the case provides rare guidance on the number of occurrences issue in the Chinese drywall context, the impact of the decision is still limited, says Andrea Cortland of Cozen O'Connor.
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It’s My Expert, And I’ll Call Her If I Want To
The recent decision in Washington v. Perez is a useful reminder that defense counsel must remain mindful during opening statement and cross-examination that it may later decide not to call certain experts. Fortunately, this decision clarifies that New Jersey appellate courts recognize that the defense is entitled to change strategy as the case progresses, says Adam Tolin of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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A Look At The FCC's Action On RF Exposure Limits
A recent Federal Communications Commission action consists of technical changes in how radio frequency exposure is evaluated and how compliance with the existing RF exposure limit is demonstrated. Many companies are likely to take an interest in the proceeding given its potential to affect an array of sectors, say attorneys with Mayer Brown LLP.
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Caronia And Harkonen — Lessons For The Gov't
After U.S. v. Caronia and U.S. v. Harkonen, there can be little question that the landscape has shifted — securing a final conviction in a misbranding case, based not on a false or misleading label on the drug but rather on oral statements made in promoting the drug for a nonapproved use, is, at best, a difficult quagmire for the government, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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An Update On Daubert And Class Certification
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Comcast v. Behrend clearly endorses an in-depth analysis of plaintiffs’ class action theories at the class certification stage even where the merits are implicated. This suggests that the court may favor a full Daubert analysis with regard to experts’ class certification opinions, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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Know Your Way Around Social Media Evidence
Investigations into a plaintiff’s social media activity should be incorporated into product liability cases, and social media evidence should be sought in discovery as it may prove useful to refuting a plaintiff’s injury regardless of admissibility at trial, say attorneys with Miles & Stockbridge PC.
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Kiobel Ruling Curbs Potential ATS Liability — For Now
While the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Second Circuit ruling on the reach of the Alien Tort Statute, the court's narrow holding in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, issues raised in concurring opinions and the submission of voluminous amicus briefs all suggest a strong likelihood of continued challenges regarding overseas violations of international law. Mining, oil and pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers and financial institutions doing business on foreign soil should take note, say Benjamin Haglund and Barbara Yu of Day Pitney LLP.