Product Liability

  • April 29, 2025

    FTC Defends John Deere Right-To-Repair Suit

    Farm machinery-maker Deere & Co. is trying to get out of an FTC enforcement action using the same arguments that didn't help it escape multidistrict litigation accusing the company of breaking antitrust laws by restricting access to repair services, the government says.

  • April 29, 2025

    Justices Wary Of Issuing 'Advisory' Ruling In Class Cert. Row

    The U.S. Supreme Court's latest attempt to address a pressing question about class certification standards may be doomed by a procedural hiccup, with a majority of justices expressing concern Tuesday that they didn't have the authority to wade into a dispute over approval of a class that contains uninjured members.

  • April 29, 2025

    Examining The EPA's Forever Chemical Plans

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to clarify who is liable for forever chemical contamination and hold polluters accountable, though questions remain as to whether current standards could be loosened and how much help could be needed from Congress.

  • April 29, 2025

    After High Court Reversal, 4th Circ. OKs Asbestos Ch. 11 Plan

    The Fourth Circuit upheld on Tuesday the Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan for Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc., which have faced a raft of asbestos injury claims, agreeing with lower courts that the plan was reached in good faith despite one insurer's objections.

  • April 29, 2025

    Gore-Tex Maker Seeks Dismissal Of PFAS Suit

    The company behind the waterproof fabric brand Gore-Tex urged a Washington federal court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of manufacturing with toxic forever chemicals while also "greenwashing" its image, arguing that the buyers, who did not actually test their garments, provide no proof that the clothing they bought contains these substances.

  • April 29, 2025

    Honda America Asks To Halt Faulty Brakes Suit

    American Honda Motor Co. urged a California federal judge Monday to throw out an amended proposed class action alleging some of the automaker's vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking are unsafe, arguing the claims are meritless because the owner's manuals disclose the possibility of false activations of the braking system.

  • April 29, 2025

    Kim Kardashian, Celebs Challenge Crypto Buyers' Cert. Bid

    The co-founder of the EthereumMax crypto token and celebrities who allegedly promoted the offering told a California federal judge that a group of spurned buyers should not be able to certify their class action since they have not provided a way to determine how many transactions would fall in each category.

  • April 29, 2025

    Michigan Asks Justices To Sustain Remand Of Pipeline Fight

    The Michigan attorney general on Tuesday told the U.S. Supreme Court that there's no need for it to review a Sixth Circuit decision remanding to state court a lawsuit seeking to shut down an Enbridge Energy LP crude oil and natural gas pipeline.

  • April 29, 2025

    Apple Beats Claim Amber Alert On AirPod Hurt Boy's Hearing

    A California federal judge on Monday tossed a Texas mother's lawsuit accusing Apple Inc. of being responsible for her teenage son's permanent hearing loss after an Amber Alert allegedly rang through defective AirPods and ruptured his eardrums, saying a physician's expert opinion they leaned on was unreliable for proving causation.

  • April 29, 2025

    PacifiCorp Hit With $11M Verdict In Latest Wildfire Case

    A Portland, Oregon, jury awarded around $10.8 million in noneconomic damages Tuesday to nine plaintiffs who suffered property damage in a group of 2020 wildfires attributed to PacifiCorp's negligence, with the awards likely to be increased to account for punitive damages.

  • April 29, 2025

    Opioid MDL Judge Won't Recuse Over Ex Parte Allegations

    An Ohio federal judge will not step aside from multidistrict opioid litigation after the plaintiffs' attorney, who had alleged the judge "regularly communicates" with other lawyers involved in the litigation, testified that there was no such communication after all, the judge ruled Tuesday.

  • April 28, 2025

    Biz Groups Fight NY's Bid To Join Their Climate Suit With States'

    Fossil fuel industry groups countered the New York attorney general's bid to transfer their lawsuit fighting a $75 billion tab they must pay for climate change adaptation projects, saying joining their suit with one from a group of Republican states would serve neither justice nor judicial economy.

  • April 28, 2025

    Second Round Of Conn. Firm Windup Fight Sent To Arbitration

    A Connecticut state court judge has paused a derivative lawsuit that an attorney filed against his onetime 50-50 law partner at Connecticut Trial Firm LLC, sending it instead to arbitration.

  • April 28, 2025

    Century Surety Seeks Exit From Vape Battery Lawsuit

    Insurance provider Century Surety Co. says it shouldn't be on the hook for the legal defense of a smoke shop being sued by a customer who was burned when a vape pen battery caught fire in his pocket, arguing that one defendant isn't actually covered under the larger policy and the incident did not take place at one of the insured's retail locations.

  • April 28, 2025

    Ex-Disney Worker Gets 3 Years For Profanity-Laced Menus

    A former Walt Disney World employee was sentenced to three years behind bars after he pled guilty in Florida federal court to hacking into a program used to create menus for the theme park's restaurants, adding profanities, changing prices and altering allergen information that could have put patrons at risk.

  • April 28, 2025

    Imerys Halts Ch. 11 Trial Over Foreign Claimant Issues

    Bankrupt talc suppliers Imerys Talc America and Cyprus Mines Corp. and parties supporting their Chapter 11 plan to deal with asbestos injury claims unexpectedly announced Monday they wanted to halt the plan confirmation proceedings, following more than four days of evidence, citing issues surrounding the treatment of foreign claims against the debtors.

  • April 28, 2025

    Veolia Settles Flint Water Crisis Claims For $53M

    A Michigan federal judge entered final judgment Monday in litigation brought by the state of Michigan and about 26,000 individuals against Veolia North America alleging it prolonged the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, after a $53 million settlement was approved earlier this month.

  • April 28, 2025

    Judge In NY Dismisses Athlete's Suit Over Gatorade Gummies

    A New York federal judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit lodged by a promising Texas-based sprinter alleging the Gatorade Co. supplied him with contaminated recovery gummies that led to his doping ban, saying lost endorsement opportunities were purely economic harm and not a personal injury.

  • April 28, 2025

    Ziploc 'Microwave Safe' Bags Shed Microplastics, Buyer Says

    S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. falsely markets Ziploc bags and containers as "microwave safe" and suitable for use in freezers despite knowing they are made from materials that shed microplastics into food when the products are used as directed, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • April 28, 2025

    High Court Takes On Removal Issue In Hain Baby Food Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the erroneous dismissal of a defendant upon a case's removal to federal court warrants undoing the years-later final result, agreeing Monday to hear Whole Foods and Hain Celestial Group's bid to preserve a midtrial win over allegedly tainted baby food. 

  • April 28, 2025

    Boeing Rips Investors' Class Cert. Bid In 737 Max Fraud Suit

    Boeing has told an Illinois federal judge that pension funds and private investors cannot certify a sweeping class action seeking a "jaw-dropping" $15 billion in damages by alleging Boeing repeatedly misrepresented the overall safety and certification process for the 737 Max 8 jets after two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

  • April 28, 2025

    Walgreens Opposes Merging 'Non-Drowsy' Labeling Suits

    Walgreens is pushing back on a bid to consolidate two Illinois federal lawsuits alleging the "non-drowsy" label on some of the retailer's cough suppressant medications is misleading, saying the two cases involve different allegations and are at different stages, and arguing that consolidation would cause a delay in the litigation.

  • April 28, 2025

    EPA Touts Intention To Act On PFAS Contamination

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it's planning a series of actions to address pollution from forever chemicals, including the designation of a leader for PFAS regulation and issues at the EPA.

  • April 28, 2025

    Sanofi Challenges Jurisdiction In Conn. Zantac Lawsuits

    Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC on Monday sought to exit nine combined Connecticut lawsuits claiming the heartburn drug ranitidine degraded into a compound that causes cancer, saying it is beyond the state's long-arm statute and that due process guarantees prevent it from being sued in Connecticut.

  • April 28, 2025

    GE, Haier Owe Nearly $3M For Motel Fire, Insurer Says

    An insurer is seeking about $3 million from GE and Haier in connection to a Super 8 motel fire it claims was started by a faulty heating and cooling unit, according to a lawsuit removed to a Texas federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Liability Risk For AI In Medical Devices Demands Greater Care

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    As regulators push for legal reform surrounding artificial intelligence and cases implicating product liability for AI in medical technology continue to rise, manufacturers must adapt and implement new strategies to accommodate evolving risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

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    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits

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    The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors

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    As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • Trump, Tariffs And Tech: The Right To Repair In 2025

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    The "right-to-repair" movement has helped make it easier for independent repair shops and consumers to repair their devices and vehicles — but President-elect Donald Trump's complicated relationship with Big Tech, and his advocacy for increased tariffs, make the immediate future of the movement uncertain, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 230 Debates Will Continue, With Or Without TikTok

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    Regardless of whether TikTok is forced to shut down in the U.S. in the coming weeks, legal disputes will continue over social media platforms' responsibility under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for harms allegedly caused by content shared on their apps, says Carla Varriale-Barker at Segal McCambridge.

  • When Judging Product Label Claims, Follow The Asterisk

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    A recurring question in false advertising class actions is whether misleading or ambiguous statements on a product's front label can be cured by information on the back label — but recent decisions from the Ninth Circuit suggest that a front-label asterisk can help alert consumers to seek further clarification, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Complying With Seasonal Product Labeling Requirements

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    Though the holiday season is in the rearview, many seasonal alcohol products remain in the market, and producers should ensure that their labels comply with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's additional requirements for such products, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules

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    Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • 5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

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    The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: How Court Nixed Boeing Plea Deal Over DEI

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    A Texas federal court's rejection of the plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing over the 737 Max aircraft gratuitously injected the court's views on diversity, equity and inclusion into a case that shouldn't have been a criminal matter in the first place, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

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