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Product Liability
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June 02, 2023
Texas Supreme Court To Review $26M Honda Crash Judgment
The Texas Supreme Court agreed Friday to reconsider a $25.9 million judgment in a dispute over the role of a seat belt in an Uber crash that resulted in the paralysis of a Dallas woman, giving life to Honda's claim that the judgment should be reversed because the belt met federal safety standards.
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June 02, 2023
Solar Co. System Fire Suits Get Consolidated In Wisconsin
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation roped together and shipped off five cases to Wisconsin federal court Friday alleging a solar company's power systems have caused a variety of issues, including fires, marking a win for the company, which requested consolidation in the Badger State.
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June 02, 2023
9th Circ. Revives Lanham Act Suit As Dissent Raises Red Flag
A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday revived Enigma Software's unfair competition lawsuit against Malwarebytes Inc. over the cybersecurity company labeling Enigma's software as a threat, with the dissenting judge saying the decision sends "a chilling message" that cybersecurity companies could be held liable by classifying a program as malware.
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June 02, 2023
Oakland Schools Say Social Media Cos. Causing Health Crisis
The Oakland Unified School District sued Meta, Google and other major social media companies in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that their platforms are responsible for causing a mental health crisis among America's youth that requires school districts to increase their funding for mental health programs and counselors.
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June 02, 2023
Kia And Hyundai Slapped With Another Car Theft Loss Suit
Another group of insurers has sued Kia and Hyundai in California federal court, alleging that the manufacturers' failure to install anti-theft machinery on millions of vehicles left insurers liable for losses when those vehicles were stolen or damaged.
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June 02, 2023
10th Circ. Backs Early Win For FCA In Airbag Defect Suit
A New Mexico driver suing FCA US over an allegedly faulty airbag will not be allowed to revive his case after the Tenth Circuit ruled on Friday that a lower court properly dismissed the suit when the driver failed to provide an expert witness to substantiate the driver's claims.
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June 02, 2023
GM Must Face Fraud, Omission Claims In 'Flex Fuel' Suit
An Illinois federal judge held Friday that GM must face two claims in a potential class action alleging the company duped buyers by failing to tell them upfront that "flex fuel" cars can be damaged by excessive use of ethanol-based fuel, allowing the drivers' deceptive omission and fraudulent concealment allegations to move forward.
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June 02, 2023
Continental Tire Not Liable In Rollover Death
A New Mexico federal judge has cleared Continental Tire in a suit alleging it had made a defective tire that caused a fatal one-vehicle crash in 2016, concluding that the tire wasn't defective but instead failed because of the "rugged and abusive conditions" it was put through.
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June 02, 2023
Diversified And EQT Can't Escape W.Va. Unplugged Wells Suit
Diversified Energy Co. can't evade landowners' claims alleging it and other gas companies failed to decommission thousands of West Virginia wells, after a federal judge rejected the company's contention that thousands of mineral owners could lose out on relief if not included in the proposed class.
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June 02, 2023
DuPont, Others Strike $1B Deal In 'Forever Chemicals' Suits
Chemical companies DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva have struck a deal worth more than $1.1 billion with water companies around the U.S. over drinking water polluted by so-called forever chemicals, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys in multidistrict litigation.
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June 01, 2023
J&J Tells Jury 1970s Talc Findings Irrelevant Now
A lawyer for Johnson & Johnson insisted Thursday that 1970s research identifying asbestos in talc isn't currently credible as opening arguments continued in a trial brought by a 24-year-old with terminal mesothelioma.
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June 01, 2023
Software And Mortgage Cos. Sued Over Data Breach
A class of consumers says a mortgage company and its call center vendor's failure to safeguard customers' sensitive personal information opened the companies to a March data breach that affected millions of people, according to a new lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court.
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June 01, 2023
3M, Daikin And Others Seek Toss Of Ga. Water Pollution Suit
Several chemical and manufacturing companies and a regional waste authority asked a Georgia federal court on Wednesday to free them from a proposed class action over water pollution tied to the Peach State's carpet manufacturing industry.
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June 01, 2023
Leader Berkon Atty Out After Alleged Wig Grab Goes Viral
A Leader Berkon Colao & Silverstein LLP associate was no longer at the firm after a video began circulating on social media of the attorney allegedly ripping off a Black woman's wig in New York City late at night over Memorial Day weekend.
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June 01, 2023
6th Circ. Urged To Revive Drivers' Suit Over Ford Engine Fires
Drivers are urging the Sixth Circuit to revive their proposed class action over fire-prone Ford hybrid vehicles, arguing the lower court wrongly dismissed their case after the company's voluntary recall as that recall did next to nothing for their claims.
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June 01, 2023
Texas Judge Grants Injunction on ATF's Pistol Braces Rule
A Texas federal judge has partially blocked the Biden administration from upping the regulations on pistols fitted with a stabilizing brace, saying the state would probably "suffer irreparable harm" financially should the change occur despite Texas not "detailing the exact dollar amount" it would cost its law enforcement.
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June 01, 2023
Uvalde Victim's Family Says County Can't Evade Liability
The mother of a child killed in the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting called on a federal judge to reject Uvalde County and its sheriff's attempt to avoid culpability, sticking to her argument accusing the county of creating a policy that trapped children with a killer and prevented them from being saved.
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June 01, 2023
Calif. Assembly Advances Autonomous Trucking Bill
The California State Assembly has advanced a proposal seeking to ban autonomous heavy-duty trucks from operating without a human driver in the vehicle, heightening a battle between labor groups and autonomous vehicle developers over the measure's impact on highway safety, job security and industry innovation.
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June 01, 2023
Napoli Trio Puts Process Servers Through Paces In Bias Row
A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday gave counsel for a lawyer who has accused Napoli Shkolnik PLLC of bias extra time to serve three firm leaders who live in Puerto Rico and have not voluntarily accepted service of the complaint.
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June 01, 2023
United Airlines' Website Inhibits Legally Blind, Suit Says
United Airlines got hit Wednesday with proposed class action claims in Illinois federal court by a customer who says the airline has unlawfully failed to develop and operate a website that is accessible for legally blind customers.
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June 01, 2023
Engstrom Lipscomb Faces SoCalGas Leak Malpractice Suit
Five people who were not included in a $1.8 billion settlement reached after the 2015 Southern California Gas leak in Aliso Canyon have now sued their former attorneys at Engstrom Lipscomb & Lack in California state court, alleging malpractice, which they say cut them out of their share of the 2021 windfall.
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June 01, 2023
Walmart Toxic Baby Food Claims Not Covered, Insurer Says
A Nationwide unit should have no duty to defend Walmart as an additional insured in multiple suits accusing the retail giant of selling baby food products with dangerous levels of heavy metals, the insurer told an Illinois federal court.
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June 01, 2023
Jaguar Driver Can't Get 3rd Circ. To Revive Infotainment Suit
The Third Circuit won't revive a proposed class action over issues with Jaguar's vehicle "infotainment" systems draining batteries because the proposed lead plaintiff failed to show that the limited-time warranty was "unconscionable" or that her vehicle's issues were even linked to the battery-draining problem.
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May 31, 2023
J&J Defends Talc Powder As 1st Post-Spinoff Trial Begins
Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday began its first talc trial since the spinoff and bankruptcy of its talc business, defending against a terminal mesothelioma patient's claims that the company has sought to minimize or ignore data indicating asbestos contamination.
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May 31, 2023
PG&E To Pay $50M To End Criminal Case Over Zogg Fire
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve the Shasta County district attorney's criminal charges over its alleged role in sparking the 2020 Zogg fire, which destroyed hundreds of structures and killed four local residents including an 8-year-old, according to a PG&E statement Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Dealing With Dogmatic Jurors: Voir Dire And Trial Strategies
Dogmatic jurors — whose rigid reliance on external authority can inhibit accurate, objective decision making — may be both good and bad for plaintiffs and defense counsel, so attorneys should understand how to identify such jurors in voir dire and how to meet them where they are during trial, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.
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Opinion
Federal Restrictions On Phthalates Are Long Overdue
The health risks of phthalates — chemicals used to increase the durability and flexibility of plastics, and found in hundreds of household products — have been known for decades, so the lack of comprehensive federal policies restricting their use is a problem, given the compelling warnings of their hazards, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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USDA Salmonella Proposal Propels New Food Safety Journey
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent proposed policy to declare salmonella an adulterant in breaded stuffed raw chicken products could have major implications not only for the specialized products at issue, but also the entire poultry industry and beyond, say Bob Hibbert and Amaru Sanchez at Wiley.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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Dissecting The Case Law On Automaker Arbitration Provisions
As automakers increasingly turn to arbitration agreements for trimming and defending putative class action lawsuits, there are five factors driving courts' disparate outcomes when resolving an automaker's motion to compel arbitration, say Ellisse Thompson and Brandon Boxler at Klein Thomas.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: MDLs As A Last Resort
While the number of individual actions included in multidistrict litigation proceedings has exploded in recent years, it's important to remember that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation views creation of an MDL as something that should happen only after consideration of all other options, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.
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Opinion
High Court's Ethics Statement Places Justices Above The Law
The U.S. Supreme Court justices' disappointing statement on the court's ethics principles and practices reveals that not only are they satisfied with a status quo in which they are bound by fewer ethics rules than other federal judges, but also that they've twisted the few rules that do apply to them, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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Opinion
Time For Law Schools To Rethink Unsung Role Of Adjuncts
As law schools prepare for the fall 2023 semester, administrators should reevaluate the role of the underappreciated, indispensable adjunct, and consider 16 concrete actions to improve the adjuncts' teaching experience, overall happiness and feeling of belonging, say T. Markus Funk at Perkins Coie, Andrew Boutros at Dechert and Eugene Volokh at UCLA.
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Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy
Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.
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PFAS Coverage Litigation Strategy Lessons For Policyholders
While policyholders' efforts to recover insurance proceeds for PFAS-related costs are in the early stages, it appears from litigation so far that substantial coverage should be available for PFAS-related liabilities, including both defense costs and indemnity payments in connection with those liabilities, say Benedict Lenhart and Alexis Dyschkant at Covington.
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Unique Issues To Look Out For In Generative AI Transactions
With the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding generative artificial intelligence models, both model providers and model customers are faced with navigating certain challenging issues associated with these transactions, such as training data, user prompts and generative model outputs, say Aaron Rubin and Heather Whitney at MoFo.
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When Are Cos. Liable For Building Customers' Designs?
The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Cash-Darling v. Recycling Equipment serves as a warning to manufacturers regarding the extent to which they may become involved in customers' design decisions without exposing themselves to liability, and highlights the fact-sensitive nature of such cases, says Timothy Freeman at Tanenbaum Keale.