Product Liability

  • March 06, 2024

    5th Circ. Weighs 'Very Complex' Chemo Hair Loss Dispute

    The Fifth Circuit is weighing whether two drug manufacturers had an obligation to expedite changing the label on their chemotherapy medications to warn of permanent hair loss in a case one justice describes as "a very complex situation" that will have far-reaching consequences for drugmakers and patients.

  • March 06, 2024

    Ford Settles Georgia Auto Crash Death Suit Days Before Trial

    Ford Motor Co. has reached a settlement less than a week before a jury trial was set to begin in a suit alleging it was liable for a rollover crash that killed a teenage motorist, the parties told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday.

  • March 06, 2024

    Judge May Sit In On Depos In Abbott Formula MDL

    An Illinois federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation in which Abbott Laboratories' Similac infant formula is alleged to have caused a deadly illness in premature babies said Wednesday she would hold off on appointing a special master following claims of improper deposition conduct, offering to tune in to depositions to help move things along.

  • March 06, 2024

    NTSB Chief Says Boeing Isn't Sharing Info In Blowout Probe

    The National Transportation Safety Board's chief told a Senate panel Wednesday that The Boeing Co. still hasn't provided information about the door plug that blew off a 737 Max 9 jet two months ago, fueling troubling new questions as Boeing faces multiple probes into its safety culture and quality control.

  • March 06, 2024

    NY Gets $7.8M Default Win Against Seller Of 'Ghost Gun' Kits

    A New York federal judge on Monday awarded the state $7.8 million in a default judgment against Indie Guns LLC, which was accused of selling "ghost guns," noting the company has been without an attorney for a year.

  • March 06, 2024

    Fla. Law Blocks Punitive Damages In Smoker Death Suit

    A Florida appeals panel on Wednesday denied a woman's bid for punitive damages against Philip Morris USA Inc. in a wrongful death suit, saying the trial court properly found that a state law blocks the damages.

  • March 06, 2024

    PacifiCorp Must Pay $42.4M To Oregon Fire Victims, Jury Says

    A Portland jury said Tuesday that electric power company PacifiCorp must pay $42.4 million to compensate another 10 victims of devastating Labor Day fires that burned in Oregon in 2020, with thousands more class members awaiting potential trials.

  • March 06, 2024

    Otterbourg Formalizes Bankruptcy, Mass Torts Practice Group

    As many BigLaw firms continue chasing bankruptcy talent, Otterbourg PC announced the formalization of a cross-departmental mass tort bankruptcy practice group under the leadership of a recently hired restructuring attorney and a longtime Otterbourg litigator.

  • March 06, 2024

    Power Co. Can't Escape Explosion Fraud Claim

    An infrastructure supply company can't toss a fraud claim brought by an industrial company's insurers in a suit seeking to recoup $18.7 million in damages for a manufacturing facility explosion, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding that the carriers can bring both a breach of contract claim and a fraud claim.

  • March 05, 2024

    Poland Springs Sued Over Microplastics In 'Natural' Water

    Poland Springs is being falsely marketed as "100% natural spring water," a description that isn't accurate thanks to the "dangerous levels of microplastics" found in the bottled water, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in New York federal court.

  • March 05, 2024

    Tank Car Cos. Can Inspect Derailed Train Parts, Judge Says

    An Ohio federal magistrate judge said Tuesday that the National Transportation Safety Board must allow rail tank car owners facing claims in sprawling consolidated litigation to inspect crucial components from the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine last year.

  • March 05, 2024

    Gibson Dunn AI Leader On Weathering The AI Policy Blizzard

    Like a mountaineer leading a team through a snowstorm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's artificial intelligence co-chair Cassandra L. Gaedt-Sheckter is guiding companies developing and using artificial intelligence through a blizzard of new laws and regulations coming online in Europe and the U.S., saying that assessing AI risks is the North Star to mitigating them.

  • March 05, 2024

    Pharmacist Takes Deal In Mich. Over Fatal Meningitis Outbreak

    The founder of a Massachusetts drug compounding center that was the source of a deadly meningitis outbreak has pled no contest to 11 counts of manslaughter brought by Michigan state prosecutors, the latter state's Department of Attorney General announced Tuesday.

  • March 05, 2024

    Texas Court Clears Gun Dealer In Suit Over Woman's Suicide

    A suit accusing sporting goods giant Academy Sports + Outdoor of negligently selling a handgun to a woman who used it to kill herself was properly dismissed, a Texas appeals court ruled Tuesday, saying that because the company's sale was lawful it can't be blamed for her death.

  • March 05, 2024

    FTC Chair Decries PE's Healthcare Impacts As Probe Starts

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Tuesday lamented what she deemed the "financialization" of healthcare resulting from private equity buyouts, in remarks coinciding with the launch of a multijurisdictional request for public comment on PE and other companies' growing control over the healthcare system.

  • March 05, 2024

    Social Media Created Public Nuisance, Schools Say

    School districts on Monday urged a California federal judge not to toss their suits in multidistrict litigation alleging that social media giants like Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. purposefully addict minors, saying that their deliberate targeting of students during the school day created a public nuisance.

  • March 05, 2024

    Meta Tells Chancery It Didn't 'Utterly Fail' To Stop Exploitation

    Shareholders accusing Meta's leaders of "utterly failing" to eliminate pedophilia, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms didn't ask enough about the company's efforts and haven't shown any "corporate trauma," an attorney for Meta's board told Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday.

  • March 05, 2024

    Ohio Pot Facility Explosion Sparks Suit Against Lighting Co.

    An Ohio cannabis grower and its insurer accused a lighting products company of failing to warn them about the dangers of its merchandise after one of its lamps allegedly exploded in a growth facility, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

  • March 05, 2024

    FDA Rejection Of Fosamax's Label Fix Not Final, 3rd Circ. Told

    Counsel for patients suing Merck over its osteoporosis drug Fosamax's alleged risk of causing painful bone fractures told a Third Circuit panel Tuesday that a Food and Drug Administration letter denying changes to the drug's label does not count as a final agency action triggering federal preemption of state law failure to warn claims.

  • March 05, 2024

    Cheese Producer Cops To Selling Listeria-Tainted Products

    A former New York raw milk cheese manufacturer and his company pled guilty Tuesday to introducing cheese into the market that was linked to a deadly outbreak of listeriosis.

  • March 05, 2024

    Monsanto Nabs 1st Win In Philly's Roundup Trial Blitz

    A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday cleared Monsanto of liability in a Pennsylvania cancer patient's suit alleging he developed his illness after using the weed killer Roundup, handing the company its first win in the venue where plaintiffs have won more than $2.5 billion in damages on tort claims over the Bayer AG unit's signature product.

  • March 05, 2024

    J&J Trial Over Doctor's Cancer Death Ends In Hung Jury

    A Florida state judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors said they were "hopelessly deadlocked" over whether Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused the cancer that killed a Miami anesthesiologist.

  • March 05, 2024

    Hemp Cos. Say NY Regulations Will Sink Industry In State

    A group of hemp product makers, distributors and sellers are suing the New York State Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management in federal court, saying newly adopted regulations will hamstring the industry and cost the businesses millions.

  • March 04, 2024

    Nestle Misbranded Perrier As Natural Mineral Water, Suit Says

    Nestle USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action Monday claiming that the multinational food and beverage conglomerate misled consumers as to the purity of its Perrier mineral water because the water actually comes from a contaminated spring that requires filtration and treatment.

  • March 04, 2024

    Apple Inks Deal To End Derivative Suit Over Slow IPhones

    Apple investors are urging a California federal judge to approve a noncash settlement of their derivative shareholder suit claiming the tech giant's top brass secretly slowed older iPhones, saying the deal will bring needed board committee reforms and notify consumers about battery options when their phones' performance degrades.

Expert Analysis

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Tracking MDL Geography

    Author Photo

    In recent years, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has predominantly selected states east of the Mississippi River as venues for new MDLs — but with half of the proceedings it has created in recent months venued in Arizona and California, the panel is not neglecting the western part of the country, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Opinion

    FDA And Companies Must Move Quickly On Drug Recalls

    Author Photo

    When a drug doesn't work as promised — whether it causes harm, like eyedrops recalled last month by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or is merely useless, like a widely used decongestant ingredient recently acknowledged by the agency to be ineffective — the public must be notified in a timely manner, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.

  • The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

    Author Photo

    In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

    Author Photo

    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

    Author Photo

    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Transparency And Explainability Are Critical To AI Compliance

    Author Photo

    Although there is not yet a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence, regulators have tools to hold businesses accountable, and companies need to focus on ensuring that consumers and key stakeholders understand how their AI systems operate and make decisions, say Chanley Howell and Lauren Hudon at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

    Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • How Social Media Can Affect Trial Outcomes

    Author Photo

    With social media’s ability to seize upon an issue and spin it into a specifically designed narrative, it is more critical than ever that a litigation communications strategy be part of trial planning to manage the impact of legal action on a company's reputation, say Sean Murphy and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

    Author Photo

    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Opinion

    Civil Litigation Against Gun Businesses Can Reduce Violence

    Author Photo

    With mass shootings skyrocketing, and gun control legislation blocked by powerful interest groups, civil litigation can help obtain justice for victims by targeting parties responsible beyond the immediate perpetrator — including gun manufacturers, dealers and retailers, says Tom D'Amore at D'Amore Law Group.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

    Author Photo

    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

    Author Photo

    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Time To Ban Deferred Prosecution For Fatal Corporate Crime

    Author Photo

    As illustrated by prosecutors’ deals with Boeing and other companies, deferred prosecution agreements have strayed far from their original purpose, and Congress must ban the use of this tool in cases where corporate misconduct has led to fatalities, says Peter Reilly at Texas A&M University School of Law.

  • Why Hemp-Synthesized Intoxicants Need Uniform Regs

    Author Photo

    State laws regulating hemp-synthesized intoxicants are a patchwork with little consistency between any given state, and without the adoption of a uniform regulatory framework, producers and consumers alike will need to be very cautious, say Dylan Anderson and Seth Goldberg at Duane Morris.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Product Liability archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!