Product Liability

  • July 22, 2025

    YouTube, TikTok Poised To Beat 'Choking Challenge' Suit

    A California federal magistrate judge appeared inclined Tuesday to toss a proposed class action alleging YouTube's and TikTok's reporting features are defectively designed to overlook deadly "choking challenge" videos and similar dangerous content, noting that content moderation tools are typically shielded by Section 230, even if those tools "get it wrong."

  • July 22, 2025

    Pa. Gas Cos. Sued Over Heater Explosion That Killed 6

    Natural gas from a leaking pipeline allegedly filled the basement of a suburban Pittsburgh home, fueling an explosion that leveled three houses and killed six people in 2023, according to lawsuits filed Tuesday by the families of three victims.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

    An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.

  • July 22, 2025

    Transportation Cases To Watch: Midyear Report 2025

    Litigation concerning whether local delivery drivers qualify as transportation workers exempt from arbitration and clashes over the scope of federal preemption in personal injury cases involving freight brokers and motor carriers are among the court battles that transportation attorneys are watching in the latter half of 2025.

  • July 22, 2025

    Boeing Says Calif. Ties Not Related To 737 Max Midair Blowout

    The Boeing Co. is asking a California federal court to throw out claims against it stemming from the midair blowout of a door plug on one of its 737 Max 9 jets, saying the plaintiffs have failed to show that the incident had anything to do with the company's ties to California.

  • July 22, 2025

    Fiat Chrysler Denies Misleading Court Over Settlement Delays

    Fiat Chrysler told a Michigan federal judge on Monday that changes to management and internal procedures are in part to blame for the continued delay in submitting documents to finalize a deal resolving allegations that the automaker sold vehicles with engines prone to catching fire, urging the court not to sanction the company.

  • July 21, 2025

    Man Tweaks Suit Over Gun Purchase Ban Tied To Pot Conviction

    A man who claims he was wrongly denied the right to buy a gun despite his four-decades-old marijuana felony being expunged has tweaked his legal efforts, dropping the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as defendants in his lawsuit in Kansas federal court.

  • July 21, 2025

    Enterprise Need Only Check License, Conn. Panel Rules

    Enterprise Rent-A-Car can not be held liable for renting a vehicle to a man who became intoxicated and struck a jogger and his dog later that day, a Connecticut appeals court ruled, saying the company was only required to inspect the driver's physical license and not to find out if the state had limited him to vehicles equipped with car breathalyzers.

  • July 21, 2025

    Avon, Insurers Spar At Ch. 11 Plan Hearing Over Talc Trust

    Avon made its case Monday to a Delaware bankruptcy judge for its Chapter 11 liquidation plan, while insurers that issued policies to the cosmetics company alleged its proposal to pay talc injury claims through a trust funded by insurance coverage was unfair to them.

  • July 21, 2025

    Tesla Driver In Crash Says He Was 'Too Comfortable' With Car

    The Tesla driver who killed a woman in a crash in the Florida Keys told jurors Monday that he had been "potentially too comfortable" with the vehicle's autopilot software that he regularly engaged on his 100-mile commute.

  • July 21, 2025

    Energy Litigation To Watch In The 2nd Half Of 2025

    Courtroom showdowns between the Trump administration and blue states over U.S. energy and climate change policy will dominate the energy litigation landscape for the rest of 2025. Here is what the energy industry will be watching closely in the second half of the year.

  • July 21, 2025

    EPA Asks 9th Circ. To Reverse Calif. Judge In Fluoride Suit

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking the Ninth Circuit to reverse a California federal judge who ruled that the EPA's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ.

  • July 21, 2025

    Judge Allows Calif. Tribe In Casino Suit, Denies Dismissal Bid

    A California tribe at the center of a dispute over a decision to take 70 acres into trust for its proposed Sonoma County hotel and casino project can intervene in the litigation, a federal judge said, while finding that the Indigenous nation cannot dismiss the case based on sovereign immunity.

  • July 21, 2025

    Erie Insurance Blames BMW For $2M Mini Cooper Fire Loss

    An insurer for a Pittsburgh car dealership and car owner told a Pennsylvania state court that BMW's North American division owes nearly $2 million in coverage reimbursement for a Mini Cooper vehicle fire because of a faulty battery housing or related components.

  • July 21, 2025

    Ruger Says Colo. Shooting Suits Can't Lean On Conn. Ruling 

    Sturm Ruger & Co. on Monday asked a Connecticut state judge to strike lawsuits by the families of the victims of a Colorado mass shooting, saying litigation from the Sandy Hook massacre does not open the Constitution State's unfair trade practices statute to all advertising-based claims against gunmakers.

  • July 21, 2025

    Faegre Drinker Adds Another Greenberg Product Liability Atty

    Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has added another former Greenberg Traurig LLP attorney to its product liability and mass torts team, this time a New York-based counsel who focuses on medical device litigation.

  • July 18, 2025

    Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 18, 2025

    Boeing Urges 4th Circ. To Decertify 737 Max Investor Class

    Boeing told the Fourth Circuit on Friday that a Virginia district court flouted U.S. Supreme Court precedent by certifying a class of investors alleging the company misrepresented the safety of its 737 Max 9 fleet after a door plug blowout, saying there's zero evidence backing the plaintiffs' damages theories.

  • July 18, 2025

    Hearing Set In Phoenix For Oak Flat Copper Mine Lawsuits

    An Arizona federal judge has set an August hearing date to consider injunction bids by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmental groups in their lawsuits seeking to block Resolution Copper Co.'s mining project on Oak Flat, an ancient tribal worship site.

  • July 18, 2025

    Plaintiffs' Expert Says Tesla Deleted Data From Crashed Car

    A vehicle accident reconstruction expert told jurors Thursday that data from the Tesla Model S involved in a fatal Florida Keys crash had been deleted after the crash by the automaker, which is defending its autopilot system at a trial in Miami.

  • July 18, 2025

    Social Media MDL Judge Could Bifurcate Bellwether Trials

    A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation by school districts and personal injury plaintiffs claiming social media is addictive said Friday she'll likely bifurcate bellwether trials into two phases, with the judge presiding over the second phase, if plaintiffs seek any relief "that may be injunctive in nature."

  • July 18, 2025

    Safeway Can't Arbitrate False Ad Wine Discount Suit

    Safeway can't force customers to arbitrate their proposed false advertising class action alleging it markets bogus, limited-time offers of discounts on wine for its rewards members, after a California federal judge ruled that there's no evidence they agreed to arbitrate their disputes or had notice of Safeway's arbitration terms. 

  • July 18, 2025

    Ga. Facility Exposed Workers, Families To Mercury, Suit Says

    A group of former employees and contractors, as well as their family members, have filed suit in Georgia federal court over allegations they were exposed to dangerous and harmful levels of mercury at Olin Corp.'s Augusta, Georgia, facility from 1965 forward.

  • July 18, 2025

    Suit Says Mazda's Sensors Missed Motorcyclist In Blind Spot

    Mazda Motor Corp. manufactured its CX-5 SUV with a defective blind spot monitoring system that failed to warn its driver that there was a motorcyclist in the lane he merged into, according to a lawsuit filed by a Pittsburgh-area family that claims the biker suffered life-altering injuries.

  • July 18, 2025

    Off The Bench: Latest NASCAR Win, Trans Athlete Fights Ban

    In this week's Off The Bench, Michael Jordan's racing team fails to bounce back right away from a tough defeat in its battle with NASCAR, a transgender woman fights a last-minute expulsion from a college women's track and field event, and a football player sees his window to playing an extra college season slammed shut by the NCAA and the Seventh Circuit.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement

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    A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Forensic Challenges In Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Cases

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    Lawsuits over lithium-ion battery fires and explosions often center on the core question of whether the battery was defective or combusted due to some other external factor — so both plaintiff and defense attorneys litigating these cases must understand the forensic issues involved, says Drew LaFramboise at Joseph Greenwald.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Canadian Suit Offers Disclosure Lesson For US Cannabis Cos.

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    A Canadian class action asserting that Aurora Cannabis failed to warn consumers about the risk of developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome may spawn copycat filings in the U.S., and is a cautionary tale for cannabis and hemp industries to prioritize risk disclosure, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.

  • Tesla's Robotaxi Push Exposes Gaps In Product Liability Law

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    As Tesla's deployment of robotaxis on public roads in Austin, Texas, faces regulatory scrutiny and legislative pushback, the legal community confronts an unprecedented challenge: how to apply traditional fault principles, product liability laws and insurance practices to vehicles that operate as rolling computers, says Don Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Justices' NRC Ruling Raises New Regulatory Questions

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    In Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided ruling on the NRC's authority to license private, temporary nuclear waste storage facilities — and this failure to reach the merits question creates new regulatory uncertainty where none had existed for decades, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

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