Product LiabilityRSS

  • March 6, 2009

    Bill Aims To Give FDA Power To Recall Tainted Food

    In response to a series of foodborne illness scares, two U.S. lawmakers have unveiled a bill that would for the first time give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to recall contaminated food.

  • March 6, 2009

    Snapple 'All Natural' Claims Don't Hold Water: Suit

    Snapple Beverage Corp. has been slapped with a putative class action that alleges the drink maker deceptively markets its drinks as “all natural” and that the products are not, as the company claims, “made from the best stuff on Earth,” but rather from artificial ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup.

  • March 6, 2009

    Tobacco Cos. Win Dismissal Of Medicare Tax Spat

    A federal judge has snuffed out a suit against Philip Morris USA Inc. and other tobacco companies that sought to recover tax money spent on the treatment of Medicare patients’ tobacco-related illnesses.

  • March 6, 2009

    Waffle Maker Accused Of Sugarcoating Nutrition Info

    The makers of a popular “all-natural” line of frozen waffles and the grocers who sell them, including Whole Foods Market Inc. and Trader Joe's Co., have been hit with a putative class action alleging that Van’s Waffles have double, sometimes triple, the amount of fat or calories listed on the packaging.

  • March 5, 2009

    Claims V. Dow, Pharmacia Pared In CERCLA Suit

    A federal judge in Superfund litigation over a wood treatment facility in Minnesota has dismissed liability and breach of contract claims against Dow Chemical Co. and Pharmacia Corp. that allege they supplied a chemical that contaminated residential properties.

  • March 5, 2009

    9th Circ. Shuts Down Laptop Defect Action Against HP

    A federal appeals court has affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action accusing Hewlett-Packard Co. of fraudulently concealing defects in its Pavilion-brand laptop computer screens in violation of California law.

  • March 5, 2009

    DOJ Eyes Medtronic Cardiac Ablation Marketing

    The U.S. Department of Justice is taking a closer look at Medtronic Inc.'s marketing practices, reimbursement counsel and therapy delivery concerning its yet-to-be-approved medical tools aimed at controlling irregular heartbeats.

  • March 5, 2009

    Judge Rejects Sanctions For WVa In Zyprexa MDL

    A federal magistrate judge in charge of discovery in the multidistrict litigation over Eli Lilly & Co.'s anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa has denied the drugmaker's motion for sanctions against West Virginia's attorney general, saying the state's failure to produce a usable Medicaid database was neither in bad faith nor willful.

  • March 5, 2009

    Dems Push To Undo Riegel After Wyeth Ruling

    A day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law did not preempt state product liability claims against drugmakers, Democrats in Congress have reportedly moved to overturn an earlier high court ruling that protected medical device makers from the same claims.

  • March 4, 2009

    High Court Rejects Preemption In Wyeth

    Drugmakers failed to get the big win from the U.S. Supreme Court they were hoping for Wednesday in Wyeth v. Levine, when the court said in a 6-3 decision that product liability claims made under state law were not preempted by federal law.

  • March 5, 2009

    Impact Of Wyeth Decision To Be Broad, Immediate

    As the dust settles from the U.S. Supreme Court's sweeping preemption decision in Wyeth v. Levine, lawyers say the case could almost immediately have a profound impact on litigation.

  • March 4, 2009

    SC Court Tightens Rules For Trade Secrets Discovery

    In an unusual move, the Supreme Court of South Carolina has reversed a lower court order compelling Bridgestone Corp. to hand over a trade secret in a suit alleging a faulty Bridgestone tire caused a fatal car crash, a ruling that tightens the standard for discovery of trade secrets in South Carolina.

  • March 4, 2009

    Bipartisan Bill Aims To Revamp Food Safety System

    U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday to revamp the food safety system at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the wake of one of the largest food recalls in history.

  • March 4, 2009

    NY Seeks Private Buyer For Insolvent Insurer Midland

    In a first-ever attempt for a state to sell a liquidating insurer on the private market, the state of New York has decided to solicit buyers for Midland Insurance Corp., an insurer and reinsurer pushed into insolvency decades ago by claims related to asbestos, defective breast implants and HIV-tainted blood products.

  • March 3, 2009

    Vicor Prevails Against Insurers' Bid For New Trial

    A federal judge Monday denied insurers a new trial in a coverage dispute with Vicor Corp., but slashed $4 million from $17 million awarded to the manufacturer in connection with settlements over faulty power converters.

  • March 2, 2009

    Security Hits Back At US Fire In Lubrizol Suit

    Security Insurance Co. of Hartford has fired back at United States Fire Insurance Co.'s claim that Security acted in bad faith by not settling claims brought by Lubrizol Corp. over the cost of cleaning up a Superfund site in Texas.

  • March 2, 2009

    Obama Picks Kan. Gov. Sebelius To Head HHS

    Seeking to fill a key opening that has remained vacant since former Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew himself from consideration, President Obama has named Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a position expected to play an important role in the administration’s health care reform efforts.

  • March 2, 2009

    Judge Threatens To Sanction Firm In Prempro MDL

    A judge has ordered a law firm representing hundreds of plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation over Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s hormone replacement pill Prempro to produce completed fact sheets for each of its clients within 45 days or risk dismissal and sanctions from the court.

  • March 2, 2009

    Docs Show AstraZeneca Knew Of Seroquel Risks

    Court documents unsealed Friday indicate that AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP officials were mulling concerns as long as a decade ago that the company's blockbuster anti-psychotic medication Seroquel could lead to weight gain and diabetes, with one memo lauding the project physician's “great 'smoke-and-mirrors' job!"

  • March 2, 2009

    WR Grace Shows Its Reorganization Cards

    Hoping to finally depart Chapter 11, chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. has filed the disclosure statement for its first amended joint plan of reorganization, summarizing the various settlements reached with asbestos claimants and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in addition to setting a course for the future.