Product Liability

  • September 23, 2024

    John Paul Mitchell Beats Dry Shampoo Benzene Suit, For Now

    An Illinois federal judge ruled Monday a putative consumer class action claiming a Paul Mitchell dry shampoo contains cancer-causing benzene didn't sufficiently show an "injury-in-fact" to warrant damages or even that the product contained the carcinogen, but gave the consumers a chance to amend their complaint.

  • September 23, 2024

    Calif. Gov. Vetoes Privacy Bill, OKs Social Media Addiction Law

    California's governor has refused to enact legislation that would have required browser developers to make it easier for consumers to stop the sale and sharing of their personal information, while approving a bill that will block online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children without parental consent.

  • September 23, 2024

    Mallinckrodt Brass Can't Avoid Investor Suit Over 2nd Ch. 11

    A New Jersey federal judge ruled Monday that senior leaders of drugmaker Mallinckrodt cannot escape a lawsuit brought by shareholders alleging the company tricked them into thinking it had recovered from bankruptcy and would make a $200 million payment to opioid claimants, finding the investors sufficiently pleaded securities law violations.

  • September 23, 2024

    Helicopter Co. Used Code Names To Oust Supplier, Jury Hears

    Under the code name "Project Cicada," Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. worked for years to replace California-based digital avionics equipment supplier Rogerson Aircraft Corporation with a competitor, a jury heard in a Texas state court Monday, using Rogerson's trade secrets to prep the rival for the eventual shift.

  • September 23, 2024

    Gordon Rees Gets Insurer's Wash. Malpractice Suit Trimmed

    A Washington judge issued a mixed order in a lawsuit brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer over allegations that misconduct by a Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney — coupled with another insurer's decision to yank coverage — forced the manufacturer into a settlement over a climber's fall.

  • September 23, 2024

    EPA Admits Mistakes In Approving New Chevron Chemicals

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday told the D.C. Circuit that it overestimated the risk of allowing Chevron Corp. to create new fuel chemicals derived from plastic waste, asking the appeals court to remand the order authorizing the new substances back to federal regulators.

  • September 23, 2024

    'Bluey,' 'Paw Patrol' App Maker Sued Over 'Stealth Marketing'

    A proposed class of parents is suing Budge Studios Inc., the maker of licensed phone and tablet applications for children's cartoons such as "Bluey" and "Paw Patrol," alleging that the company used predatory "stealth marketing" and "dark patterns" to entice children into getting their parents to pay for monthly subscriptions and in-app purchases.

  • September 23, 2024

    Toyota Accused Of 'Rotten' Forklift Emissions Compliance

    Toyota has been misrepresenting the true emissions levels of the engines in its forklifts and construction machinery, leading businesses to believe the engines were far more environmentally friendly than they actually were, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • September 23, 2024

    Wash. Agency No Longer Seeking Names In 3M Earplug Case

    The Washington state agency that handles child support claims seems no longer interested in seeking information on service members who are expected to receive payments from the 6 billion settlement from 3M Co. over injuries stemming from its Combat Arms Earplugs.

  • September 23, 2024

    Calif. Sues Exxon For Plastic Pollution And Recycling Deception

    California's attorney general and a coalition of conservation groups hit Exxon Mobil Corp. with a pair of lawsuits on Monday claiming the petrochemical giant has inundated the state with harmful plastic waste while misleading people about recycling's ability to ever make a dent in the problem.

  • September 23, 2024

    Brockovich, Attys Warn Of PFAS Dangers At Ga. Town Halls

    More than 400 people gathered in northwest Georgia over the weekend to attend two town hall meetings hosted by a group of law firms and paralegal-turned-environmental advocate Erin Brockovich concerning claims of local water and environmental contamination allegedly caused by chemical giant 3M Co., as well as the potential health risks associated with so-called forever chemicals.

  • September 23, 2024

    Class Gets Cert In Suit Over Dave's Killer Bread Protein Claims

    A California federal judge on Friday granted class certification to a group of consumers alleging that Dave's Killer Bread and Flowers Foods violated U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling regulations by leaving out required protein content information, finding that the consumers had standing.

  • September 23, 2024

    J&J Accuses Beasley Allen Of Casting Bogus Talc Ballots

    Johnson & Johnson has accused the Beasley Allen Law Firm of casting about two dozen false ballots against the company's latest talc bankruptcy plan without voters' consent and urged a New Jersey federal court to remove the firm from the plaintiff's steering committee as a consequence.

  • September 23, 2024

    Insurer Can't Escape Toddler Injury Suit Over Dollar Tree Mints

    A Missouri federal judge tossed an insurer's bid to escape coverage of underlying litigation alleging a toddler suffered severe esophageal injuries after swallowing freshening drops sold by Dollar Tree, writing that the carrier's "broad interpretation" of its total pollution exclusion "yields an absurd result."

  • September 23, 2024

    Kratom Co. Gets Claims Trimmed In Addiction False Ad Row

    A California federal judge has tossed four out of six claims from a proposed class action alleging Ashlynn Marketing Group Inc. hid from buyers the addictive qualities of its kratom products, leaving only fraud and Consumer Legal Remedies Act claims.

  • September 20, 2024

    Family Dollar Must Face Arkansas AG's Rodent Infestation Suit

    Family Dollar can't escape a lawsuit by the Arkansas attorney general seeking damages for knowingly selling products potentially contaminated by rodents, both dead and alive, at a warehouse in West Memphis, a state judge has ruled.

  • September 20, 2024

    Family Of NY Helicopter Crash Victim Wins $116M Verdict

    A Manhattan jury has held that three aviation companies must pay a total of more than $116 million for negligence and design defects that contributed to a 26-year-old man's death during a sightseeing helicopter crash in New York's East River.

  • September 20, 2024

    Amazon Seller Rips Rival As 'Bully' In Fake Reviews Suit

    A maker of jump starters for cars on Thursday urged an Ohio federal court to reject a sanctions bid by a Chinese competitor that it accuses of posting fake reviews on Amazon in order to win market share, saying that the company is trying to "bully" its way out of the suit.

  • September 20, 2024

    3rd Circ. Rejects 'Close' Case For Preemption In Fosamax MDL

    A U.S. Food and Drug Administration letter denying changes to the label of Merck's osteoporosis drug Fosamax does not count as a final agency action triggering federal preemption of state law "failure to warn" claims, the Third Circuit ruled Friday in a precedential decision.

  • September 20, 2024

    Del. Justices Uphold Toss Of AmerisourceBergen Syringe Suit

    Delaware's Supreme Court upheld with little comment Friday a lower court dismissal of a nearly 5-year-old shareholder derivative suit accusing AmerisourceBergen Corp. directors of failing to investigate and stop illegal repackaging of cancer drugs.

  • September 20, 2024

    Families Of 6 Who Died Sue Over Baltimore Bridge Collapse

    The families of six workers who died in the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore hit the companies that owned the cargo ship that brought down the structure with lawsuits Friday in Maryland federal court over their deaths.

  • September 20, 2024

    DuPont Cos. Can't Escape Cape Fear River PFAS Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge said DuPont and several corporate spin-offs can't escape a lawsuit brought by four Tar Heel State residents who claim the companies knowingly poisoned the Cape Fear River with toxic forever chemicals pollution.

  • September 20, 2024

    Plaintiffs Firms Battle Over Proposed $9B Deal In J&J Talc Suit

    Two leading plaintiffs law firms in the multibillion-dollar litigation over Johnson & Johnson's tainted talcum powder are now warring among themselves, with Smith Law Firm PLLC suing Beasley Allen Law Firm for defamation after Beasley Allen accused the former of selling out clients to pay off litigation funders.

  • September 20, 2024

    Q&A With Former CPSC Chair Elliot Kaye

    The legal career of Elliot Kaye, who was chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission from 2014 to 2017, has intrepidly crossed the government, private and nonprofit sectors. Kaye talked with Law360 about life after leaving the CPSC, which include a kidney transplant and being on the ground in Ukraine while working for World Central Kitchen.

  • September 20, 2024

    Jenner & Block Seeks Exit From Plane Crash Fees Suit

    Jenner & Block LLP wants out of a lawsuit brought by Kenyan law firm Arwa & Change Advocates LLP related to a 2019 Boeing aircraft crash that killed all passengers on board, arguing that it can't be sued for providing legal advice to a client.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Challenges Of Measuring Harm In Slack-Fill Cases

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    A recent California federal court partial class certification ruling was a rare victory for plaintiffs in a case over slack-fill empty space in packaged products, indicating that damages arguments may be important at the certification stage, say Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi at Edgeworth Economics.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy

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    In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC

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    The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition

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    Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Proposed RCRA Regs For PFAS: What Cos. Must Know

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    Two rules recently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lead to more per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances being regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and would increase the frequency and scope of corrective action — so affected industries should prepare for more significant cleanup efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Using Arbitration And Class Waivers As Privacy Suit Tools

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    Amid a surge in data breach class actions over the last few years, several federal court decisions indicate that arbitration clauses and class action waiver provisions can be possible alternatives to public court battles and potentially reduce the costs of privacy litigation, say Mark Olthoff and Courtney Klaus at Polsinelli.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Why Fla. High Court Adopting Apex Doctrine Is Monumental

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    The Florida Supreme Court recently solidified the apex doctrine in the Sunshine State, an important development that extends the scope of the doctrine in the state to include both corporate and government officials, and formalizes the requirements for a high-level corporate official to challenge a request for a deposition, says Laura Renstrom at Holland & Knight.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Retailers Must Be Mindful Of Sale Ads As Class Actions Rise

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    A recent uptick in class actions filed against retailers over a breadth of allegedly deceptive pricing practices — including misleading reference prices for sales and discounts offered on a perpetual basis — show no sign of slowing down, indicating that class counsel are laser-focused on challenging advertising strategies, say Louis DiLorenzo and Paavana Kumar at Davis+Gilbert.

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