Product Liability

  • March 14, 2024

    DOJ, FTC Tell Copyright Office To Expand Right To Repair

    Federal law enforcement and trade officials said Thursday that the U.S. Copyright Office should not only retain a policy that gives consumers more leeway to fix things like cars, it should also expand those protections to things like industrial equipment.

  • March 14, 2024

    PE Firm Riverspan Agrees To Pay $32M For Barretts' Assets

    Barretts Minerals Inc. told a Texas bankruptcy court Thursday that a unit of private equity firm Riverspan Partners had won an auction for its assets with a $32 million cash offer, money that the talc-mining company intends to use to fund a settlement trust for alleged victims of asbestos exposure. 

  • March 14, 2024

    FTC Says Consolidation Endangering Infant-Formula Market

    The Federal Trade Commission has found the country's small number of baby formula manufacturers and the effects of a federal nutrition program contributed to shortages in 2022 and are still making the supply chain vulnerable to disruption.

  • March 14, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Must Face Most Derailment Suit Claims

    Norfolk Southern must face the bulk of the claims in consolidated suits brought over a train derailment and subsequent chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, a federal judge ruled in a spate of opinions that also kept intact most of the rail giant's third-party claims against a chemical company and two railcar leasing firms.

  • March 14, 2024

    Mont. Youths Urge State High Court To Uphold Climate Ruling

    A group of youth plaintiffs on Wednesday urged the Montana Supreme Court to uphold a state court's ruling that invalidated laws barring the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in permitting decisions.

  • March 14, 2024

    Ford Slammed For Bid To 'Sidestep' Faulty Axle-Bolt Suit

    Two Washington SUV owners suing Ford for allegedly slacking on safety in newer Explorer models have accused the vehicle maker of trying to "sidestep liability" in their proposed class action by pointing to two recalls that didn't address the design flaw at issue.

  • March 14, 2024

    Fla. High Court Denies Atty Reinstatement After Bar Objection

    Florida's high court on Thursday denied the reinstatement of a Jacksonville-area attorney who was suspended after filing numerous unauthorized tobacco-related claims, saying he failed to produce "clear and convincing evidence" that he was rehabilitated after selling his firm to a longtime acquaintance under whom he was to be supervised.

  • March 14, 2024

    Sidley Product Liability Ace Jumps To Shook Hardy In LA

    Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP has brought on a longtime Sidley Austin LLP partner and practice co-chair with expertise in large, high-stakes class action litigation and product liability around pharmaceuticals, medical devices and more to its product liability practice group in Los Angeles.

  • March 14, 2024

    NJ Law Firm Avoids Malpractice Suit Over Texas Kratom Death

    A Lone Star State appeals court let the New Jersey-based Oshman Firm LLC off the hook on jurisdictional grounds Thursday in a malpractice lawsuit filed by a Texas father who faulted the firm for not filing a wrongful death lawsuit before the statute of limitations expired.

  • March 14, 2024

    In 3rd Win, Sig Sauer Beats ICE Agent's Defective-Gun Suit

    Sig Sauer has defeated a third product liability lawsuit from a user who claimed its P320 pistol spontaneously discharged, injuring him without the trigger being touched, convincing another federal judge that the plaintiff's expert witness testimony should be disqualified.

  • March 14, 2024

    Feds Seek 20 Mos. For Aegerion Fraud 'Puppet Master'

    A pharmaceutical sales representative who gloated about being a "puppet master" for false insurance claims for Aegerion's cholesterol drug should serve 20 months in prison, the U.S. government has told a Boston federal judge.

  • March 14, 2024

    Whirlpool Can't Toss Defect Suit Over Ice Buildup In Fridges

    A California federal judge has declined to throw out a putative class action claiming Whirlpool hid a defect in its refrigerators that led to cooling failures due to frost buildup, finding the suit sufficiently alleged Whirlpool knew of the problem since it issued technical service pointers noting customers could possibly experience buildup.

  • March 14, 2024

    EPA Slashes Ethylene Oxide Emissions Levels For Sterilizers

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized new Clean Air Act standards that it said will reduce emissions of ethylene oxide from commercial sterilization facilities by 90%, an action the agency said is necessary to help reduce the impact of the carcinogen on communities.

  • March 13, 2024

    Netflix Doesn't Want 'Hatchet Wielding' Killer In Suit Either

    While Netflix disputes that it defamed a Kentucky man for his appearance in its true-crime documentary titled "The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker," the streaming giant does agree with the plaintiff in the case that the real hatchet-wielding hitchhiker doesn't belong in the lawsuit.

  • March 13, 2024

    EPA Designates First Navajo Nation Superfund Site

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding the Lukachukai Mountains Mining District in northeastern Arizona to its National Priorities List, with the district's uranium mining waste piles marking the first designated Superfund site on the Navajo Nation.

  • March 13, 2024

    Mich. Justice Torn Over 'Unfairness' Of Law In Treadmill Suit

    A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday seemed sympathetic to the plight of a woman who was injured when she fell off a treadmill because federal court proceedings affected her ability to timely bring state claims but said he didn't think the state's top court could tackle the likely legislative issue.

  • March 13, 2024

    Judge Says 'Exotic' Camp Lejeune Files Must Stay Intact

    A North Carolina federal judge ruled that the federal government must produce water modeling project files in litigation over alleged injuries caused by decades-long water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, ordering the government to avoid changing the format of some "exotic" files that could make them harder to parse.

  • March 13, 2024

    Juul Investor Tells Chancery: 'We Were Trying To Help'

    A director of Juul Labs Inc. denied on Wednesday that he kept the company out of bankruptcy in 2022 to profit from his own investments, telling Delaware's Chancery Court that he helped Juul refinance and backstopped millions worth of settlements because he wanted the e-cigarette company to succeed.

  • March 13, 2024

    Autism Claims Tossed In Lockheed Martin Toxic Land Suit

    A Florida federal judge has thrown out autism-related claims in a suit alleging Lockheed Martin Corp.'s weapons factory in Orlando leaked toxic chemicals, saying the science underlying the plaintiffs' expert's opinion "is just not there."

  • March 13, 2024

    HP Says It's Upfront About Blocking Ink Cartridges

    HP has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out consumers' claims that it has a monopoly over the replacement-ink cartridge market and used software updates to block consumers from using cheaper rival cartridges in HP printers, saying it "goes to great lengths" to disclose that its printers are intended to work only with cartridges that have an HP security chip.

  • March 13, 2024

    Flint Found In Contempt Over Lead Pipe Replacement Delays

    A Michigan federal judge has found the city of Flint in contempt for dragging its heels on court orders to replace the city's lead pipes after a 2017 settlement, finding that its belated, partial compliance was not enough to avoid the sanction.

  • March 12, 2024

    'Schrodinger's Gun' Beats ATF Bid To Defeat Pistol-Brace Suit

    A firearms retailer can move forward with its lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's rule change classifying pistols fitted with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles, a Florida federal judge ruled, saying the "bar for overcoming" a Second Amendment claim "has recently been raised — significantly."

  • March 12, 2024

    Quaker Hit With False Ad Suit Over Pesticide In Oat Products

    The Quaker Oats Co. faces a proposed class action in Illinois federal court alleging it markets its oat-based foods as being safe, healthy and nutritious while touting its commitment to high quality standards, despite omitting the risk of a toxic chemical pesticide in its products.

  • March 12, 2024

    Amazon Denies Concealing Texts In Alexa Users' Privacy Suit

    Amazon has rebuffed claims that it withheld text messages in a proposed class action brought by unregistered Alexa users who alleged they were illegally recorded, arguing the plaintiffs accused the technology giant of yet another failure as discovery closes to "cast aspersions on Amazon's diligence and motives."

  • March 12, 2024

    NY Jury Rules Some Claims About Prevagen Are Misleading

    A New York federal jury said some statements made by Quincy Bioscience about its memory booster Prevagen were misleading to consumers but found that most statements about the supplement were made on solid grounds.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable

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    Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • 5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy

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    In Hanson v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition

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    Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Proposed RCRA Regs For PFAS: What Cos. Must Know

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    Two rules recently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lead to more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances being regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and would increase the frequency and scope of corrective action — so affected industries should prepare for more significant cleanup efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

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