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Product Liability
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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."
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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.
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March 12, 2024
Tire Cos. Seek Exit From Salmon-Harming Chemical Suit
A dozen tire companies are asking a California federal judge to toss a suit claiming a rubber additive is harming protected salmon, arguing that the litigation stretches the Endangered Species Act "beyond its breaking point" and that regulation of the substance belongs with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, not in courts.
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March 12, 2024
'Ghost Gun' Co. Sued In Mich. For Selling To Teen Shooter
A Michigan resident who was shot by his friend with a handgun made using a do-it-yourself kit has sued a leading supplier of so-called ghost gun kits in state court, alleging the company was negligent by allowing a 17-year-old to buy a gun kit without making sure he was legally able to buy a firearm.
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March 12, 2024
Camp Lejeune Water Plaintiffs Push For Jury Denial Appeal
The plaintiffs suing the U.S. government over contamination of water at Camp Lejeune are urging a North Carolina federal court to allow them to appeal an order striking their bid for a jury trial, arguing there is substantial room for disagreement over whether the Camp Lejeune Justice Act allows for jury trials.
Expert Analysis
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Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga
Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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The Section 230 Immunity Provision Debate Continues
The Fifth Circuit last month voted in Doe v. Snap Inc. not to reconsider en banc its decade-old interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally allows websites to police objectionable content as they see fit — but a growing number of judges appear motivated to further limit the scope of its immunity, say Jordan Rice and Caleb Hayes-Deats at MoloLamken.
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Opinion
Why Justices Should Protect Public From Bump Stocks
In Garland v. Cargill, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to restore the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' rule banning bump stocks — thus preserving Congress' original intent to protect the American people from particularly dangerous firearms, says Douglas Letter at Brady United Against Gun Violence.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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Time To Step Up PFAS Due Diligence In Cross-Border M&A
Regulations in the U.S. and EU governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will likely evolve to become global standards out of necessity and scale, so PFAS due diligence — particularly for buyers, sellers, and lenders and investors involved in multijurisdictional mergers and acquisitions — will be essential in 2024, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Landmark Product Safety Prosecution May Signal Sea Change
U.S. v. Chu, a novel prosecution and guilty verdict of corporate executives for failing to report product defects under a consumer safety law, will certainly not be the last case of its kind, and companies will need to prepare for the government’s increasingly aggressive enforcement approach, say attorneys at Cooley.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement
Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.
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What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury
Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.
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Evaluating Retroactivity Of Mich. Drugmaker Immunity Repeal
In assessing whether a new Michigan law lifting drugmakers' blanket immunity from product liability suits will apply retroactively, there are four key factors that Michigan courts will likely consider, say Sherry Knutson and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast
A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.