Product Liability

  • March 03, 2025

    Countertop Co. Demands Insurer Cover Over 100 Injury Suits

    A distributor of countertops and flooring accused a Liberty Mutual unit in New York federal court of reversing its coverage position on nearly 130 underlying personal injury lawsuits in bad faith, arguing that each underlying plaintiff's alleged injuries should constitute separate occurrences.

  • March 03, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs CPSC In Challenge To New Magnet Rule

    The Tenth Circuit on Monday denied a petition challenging a new Consumer Product Safety Commission rule regulating the sale of small, high-powered magnets, finding that the evidence the CPSC provided supports the rule and the commission's structure is constitutional.

  • March 03, 2025

    Justices Turn Away Peru Mining Pollution Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by a mining company controlled by billionaire Ira Rennert to resolve whether the Eighth Circuit incorrectly denied the dismissal of claims raised by over 1,000 Peruvians alleging improper pollution.

  • February 28, 2025

    J&J Talc Spinoff Wraps Two-Week Chapter 11 Trial

    A marathon Chapter 11 trial for Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit wrapped up Friday, with attorneys defending the $10 billion plan against competing efforts to toss the Texas bankruptcy.

  • February 28, 2025

    Group Blasts Judge's Call For Women In Contraception MDL

    A judicial organization dedicated to fighting "leftist lawfare" filed a complaint Thursday against the Florida federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, claiming that her comments about women needing to be represented in the MDL leadership show an impermissible bias.

  • February 28, 2025

    Ford Insists Recalls Thwart Engine Fire Defect Class Action

    Ford Motor Co. asked a Michigan federal judge on Friday to snuff an amended proposed class action alleging it sold hybrid electric vehicles with defective engines that could spontaneously stall and catch fire, reiterating that two voluntary recalls of affected vehicles voids the drivers' claims.

  • February 28, 2025

    Galaxy Gas Hides A Dangerous Buzz, Class Action Says

    Galaxy Gas, the maker of a popular line of flavored nitrous oxide dispensers, was hit with a putative class action Friday accusing the company of pushing a commonly abused, addictive, dangerous, and perfectly legal recreational drug under the guise of a "culinary tool."

  • February 28, 2025

    Seattle Property Owner Slaps Exxon With Cleanup Suit

    A Seattle property owner hit Exxon Mobil Corp. with a lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for the costs of cleaning up pollution from a former gas station, according to a complaint the energy giant removed to federal court on Friday.

  • February 28, 2025

    GM Parking Defect Suit Dismissed After Settlement

    A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a class action alleging General Motors LLC sold vehicles with a defective shifter that couldn't detect when the vehicles are in park following a notice that the parties had reached a settlement.

  • February 28, 2025

    11th Circ. Asked To Revive Defect Claims In Tesla Crash Suit

    The father of a teenager killed in a Tesla crash asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to revive his battery defect claims against the electric car maker, arguing that the lower court should have allowed them to go to a jury.

  • February 28, 2025

    Lewis Brisbois Adds Miami Litigation Trio From Fowler White

    Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP added a trio of experienced litigation partners to its products liability practice in Miami from Fowler White Burnett PA.

  • February 28, 2025

    Fla. Justices Say Atty Broke Rules With Nonviable Engle Suits

    The Florida Supreme Court has found an attorney guilty of violating court rules by filing baseless Engle progeny suits and failing to properly communicate with his clients, and told a referee to determine the appropriate sanction.

  • February 27, 2025

    Ford's Electric Mustang Can Trap Occupants, Drivers Say

    The Ford Motor Co.'s electric Mustang's electronically latched doors could pose a significant danger and trap the car's occupants in the event of a battery failure or loss of power to the vehicle, according to a proposed class action filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • February 27, 2025

    Norfolk Southern Escapes Investors' Derailment Fraud Suit

    A New York federal judge on Thursday dumped a proposed securities fraud class action alleging Norfolk Southern misled investors by falsely touting its commitments to safety while embarking on risky cost-cutting operational and staffing changes that ultimately led to 2023's fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

  • February 27, 2025

    Feds Can't Dodge Firefighting Foam Suits Yet, SC Judge Rules

    A South Carolina federal judge on Thursday denied the U.S. government's push to escape dozens of suits over contamination allegedly stemming from its use of forever chemical-containing firefighting foams, saying cases involving a military base in New Mexico showed its global motion to dismiss to be inappropriate.

  • February 27, 2025

    Safeway Peanut Butter Cookies Caused Death, Suit Says

    Albertsons and Safeway are facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of an elderly Washington woman who allegedly bought supermarket cookies mislabeled as oatmeal raisin that contained undeclared peanuts, which triggered a fatal allergic reaction.

  • February 27, 2025

    NRA Urges High Court to Consider NY Carry Law Case

    The National Rifle Association and the superintendent of New York State Police are at odds over whether the U.S. Supreme Court should take up a case regarding a state law requiring "good moral character" as a prerequisite to obtaining a gun permit, with both sides filing dueling briefs to the justices.

  • February 27, 2025

    CooperSurgical Says Unique IVF Claims Require Separate Trials

    Fertility company CooperSurgical Inc. is pushing back against the suggestion that four lawsuits accusing the company of negligently destroying embryos with its recalled culture media could be consolidated into one trial, saying the couples' varied location and unique IVF situations preclude joining them.

  • February 27, 2025

    Alsup Halts 'Illegal' Firings Of Probationary Federal Workers

    U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Thursday temporarily blocked the mass firings of probationary federal employees ordered by President Donald Trump's administration, determining that the Office of Personnel Management illegally directed government agencies to terminate the probationary employees without authority to do so from Congress.

  • February 27, 2025

    Landlords Can't Duck Injury Claim From Dweller Not On Lease

    A Washington state appeals court said Thursday that landlords must face a claim from a pregnant woman who was injured from a fall down a flight of stairs, even though she had not signed the rental lease, in an opinion that said the lower court erred by tossing the case on the eve of trial without giving proper notice.

  • February 27, 2025

    $40M Deal OK'd For Suit Over Emergent Vax Flub

    A Maryland federal judge approved a $40 million settlement between Emergent BioSolutions Inc. and a class of investors claiming that it misled them about its ability to meet the demands of two high-profile contracts to produce components of COVID-19 vaccines, leading the stock price to tumble after production deficiencies were discovered.

  • February 27, 2025

    Lead Testing Co. Director To Admit False Statements

    A former quality assurance director for Magellan Diagnostics will plead guilty to making misleading statements to the government about a malfunction in a device that measures lead levels in blood, according to filings in Massachusetts federal court Thursday.

  • February 27, 2025

    Judge Limits Atty Expert Witnesses In Legal Malpractice Trial

    An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday barred attorneys who aren't expert witnesses from giving testimony about what they would have done differently from Quinn Johnston Henderson & Pretorius Chtd. in an upcoming trial on claims the firm's botched defense caused their client "enormous loss."

  • February 27, 2025

    Abbott Beats Ill. Customers' Similac Metals Suit

    Similac customers who say Abbott Laboratories illegally failed to warn the public about heavy metals in its infant formula cannot take those claims to trial because they haven't established damages, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

  • February 27, 2025

    Georgia's Outside Funding Regulations Clear State Senate

    The Georgia State Senate unanimously advanced new regulations on third-party litigation funding Thursday as Gov. Brian Kemp's marquee tort reform package continues to march largely unimpeded through the state Legislature.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

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    General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Consultants Should Be Aware Of DOJ's Potential New Reach

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent first-of-its-kind settlement with McKinsey & Co. indicates not only the DOJ's more aggressive stance toward businesses' potential criminal wrongdoings, but also the benefits of self-disclosure and cooperation when wrongdoing becomes apparent, says Dom Caamano at Kibler Fowler.

  • Product Safety Issues In 2024 Highlight Need For Vigilance

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    A look at some of the medications and foods that led to significant class actions last year demonstrates the need for robust regulatory systems and proactive measures to protect consumers from defective and harmful products, says Jennifer Taylor at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin.

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