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Product Liability
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April 16, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Won't Rehear Case Over Agency Protections
A divided Fifth Circuit on Tuesday denied en banc rehearing of a panel decision that likely sets up a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of long-standing limits to the president's power to fire executive branch subordinates.
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April 16, 2024
Cooperation Helped Cable Co. Avoid Prosecution, Feds Say
The U.S. Department of Justice's fraud section has indicated it won't prosecute Proterial Cable America for allegedly fraudulently misrepresenting the safety standards compliance of its motorcycle brake hose assemblies because of the company's timely self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation, among other things.
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April 16, 2024
Cashed Check Kills VW Emissions Deal Appeal, 9th Circ. Says
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday threw out an attempt to unravel an $80 million deal resolving consolidated consumer litigation alleging Volkswagen and Porsche manipulated emissions and fuel-economy tests for nearly 500,000 gas-powered vehicles, saying the objector has already cashed his portion of the settlement.
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April 16, 2024
'Wide As The Ocean': Apple Judge Pans Investor Deal Release
A California federal judge declined Monday to preliminarily approve Apple's nonmonetary settlement in a derivative-shareholder suit over claims it secretly slowed iPhones, criticizing the deal's release of claims that "relate" to the case as overbroad and noting that, "in practice, lawyers argue that 'relate' is as wide as the ocean."
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April 16, 2024
Mercedes Rusty Subframe Suit Is Too Vague, Judge Is Told
Mercedes-Benz argued in court Tuesday that a proposed class action over a claimed subframe defect should be dismissed as an improper shotgun pleading as it directs allegations at "Mercedes" without specifying whether the German parent company or its Atlanta subsidiary are supposedly to blame.
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April 16, 2024
Feds, PPG Reach $22.8M Deal To Clean Up NJ Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a settlement with PPG Industries Inc. on Tuesday under which the company has agreed to cough up more than $22.8 million to cover the estimated future cleanup costs and maintenance at the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund Site in Newark, New Jersey.
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April 16, 2024
Absent Proof Of Direct Effect, Pa. Sen. Loses Wastewater Row
A Pennsylvania state senator lacks individual standing to stop the state Department of Environmental Protection from allowing wastewater discharges into a tributary of the Susquehanna River because she hasn't given enough evidence that potential pollution would directly affect her, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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April 16, 2024
Colo. Shooting Case Could Return To State Court, Judge Hints
A federal judge in Connecticut hinted Tuesday that he might send cases by Colorado mass shooting victims against gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co. back to state court, noting that only rarely may district court judges hear core state law claims when federal law provides an ingredient in the analysis.
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April 16, 2024
Appeals Court Won't Block 3M 'Fishing Expedition' Deposition
A state appeals court on Tuesday declined to halt a presuit deposition requested by 3M Co. against a Texas attorney to investigate claims that the lawyer was aware of false statements his co-counsel made in a coal-related lung disease suit out of Kentucky.
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April 16, 2024
Zuckerberg Dodges Liability In Meta Addiction MDL, For Now
A California federal judge has tossed certain fraud-by-omission claims seeking to hold Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally liable in sprawling multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive design, but she allowed the plaintiffs to amend their allegations to assert a new theory of corporate officer liability against Zuckerberg.
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April 16, 2024
Sikorsky Calls Chopper Crash Suit 'Beyond' US Court's Power
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. is pushing a Pennsylvania federal judge to toss liability claims brought by the families of six Canadian military personnel who died in one of its helicopters, arguing that the witnesses and evidence for the case are in Canada, "beyond the compulsory process of this court."
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April 16, 2024
DOL Finalizes Rule To Curb Miners' Exposure To Silica Dust
A U.S. Department of Labor agency released final regulations Tuesday that tighten limits on miners' exposure to workplace silica dust, a toxic substance that increases the risk of death and chronic health conditions.
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April 15, 2024
EPA Says Legacy Asbestos Poses Unreasonable Risk
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released on Monday its long-awaited draft for the second part of its asbestos risk evaluation, which determined handling asbestos associated with legacy uses presents undue human health risks.
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April 15, 2024
Calif. Cannabis Co. Stiiizy Sued Over Delta-8 Products
California cannabis giant Stiiizy has been accused of selling products which were touted as federally compliant hemp wares but purportedly had high enough levels of psychoactive THC to qualify as marijuana products, according to a proposed class action in Illinois federal court.
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April 15, 2024
Feds Call Off $5.7M Bid To Recoup Costs For Damaged V-22
The federal government agreed to drop its $5.7 million lawsuit against the city of San Diego and the commercial aviation companies that operated the aircraft that rammed into a parked Marine Corps tiltrotor transport in 2020, according to a Monday court filing.
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April 15, 2024
Shopper Says ConAgra Beans Poisoned Her With Ammonia
A Colorado woman is suing ConAgra over alleged ammonia contamination in one of its refried bean products, claiming in a lawsuit removed to Colorado federal court Monday that one bite resulted in cuts, blisters and bleeding in her mouth and throat.
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April 15, 2024
Panera Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Sprouted Grain' Bagel
A customer hit Panera LLC with a proposed class action accusing the restaurant chain of falsely marketing its bagels as made with sprouted grains despite the main ingredient being less healthy non-sprouted grains, according to a suit removed to California federal court Friday.
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April 15, 2024
Baltimore Taps DiCello Levitt, Saltz Mongeluzzi For Key Bridge
The city of Baltimore announced Monday it has hired DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC as it plans legal action against those responsible for a container ship destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, the same day FBI agents boarded the ship as part of a criminal investigation.
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April 15, 2024
Boeing Says Virgin Can't Use Another Court To Avoid IP Suit
Boeing has urged the Virginia federal judge overseeing its breach of contract and trade secrets dispute with Virgin Galactic to block Virgin from moving forward with a "copycat" lawsuit in California, saying Virgin is wrongly trying to avoid the original lawsuit.
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April 15, 2024
Vermont's 3M PFAS Suit Remanded To State Court
A Vermont federal judge has sent the state's "forever chemicals" suit against 3M Co., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. and others back to state court, finding that 3M filed its notice of removal too late after learning that the claims concerned a facility that made products for the military.
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April 15, 2024
Subaru Agrees To Replace And Refund Defective Windshields
Subaru of America Inc. and a proposed class of customers have asked a New Jersey federal judge for the preliminary approval of a settlement that could cover 100% or more of out of pocket losses and conclude a 4-year-long dispute over spontaneously cracking windshields.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Nix FDA Labeling Preemption For State Claims
The Supreme Court on Monday let stand lower court findings that the unique authority of the federal Food and Drug Administration preempted and, therefore, justified dismissing a proposed class action that alleged a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary broke Massachusetts law by misbranding Lactaid drug products as dietary supplements.
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April 15, 2024
Bomb Dog Trainer Links Cancer To Job In Benefits Denial Suit
A Massachusetts state police trooper says he was diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to hazardous materials while training an explosives-detection dog at Logan Airport, according to a suit seeking line of duty injury benefits.
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April 15, 2024
Pain Patch Buyer Seeks Class Cert. In Kroger False Ad Suit
A Chicago woman who accused The Kroger Co. of misleading consumers about the effectiveness of its over-the-counter lidocaine pain relief patches via the product's label has asked an Illinois federal judge to certify her proposed class of fellow Prairie State consumers who were purportedly duped by the grocer.
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April 15, 2024
Consumer Class Action Trio Joins Morgan Lewis From Crowell
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP said Monday that it has added three partners from Crowell & Moring LLP to its consumer class action and product liability practice.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise
The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.
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Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial
Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Opinion
Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining
Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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Rebuttal
High Court Should Maintain Insurer Neutrality In Bankruptcy
While a recent Law360 guest article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should endorse insurer standing in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, doing so would create a playground for mischief and delay, and the high court should instead uphold insurance neutrality, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'
Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.
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Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs
After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers
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.
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Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
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.
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Opinion
Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable
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.
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Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
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.