Product Liability

  • September 25, 2024

    Wyden Pitches New Bill To Regulate Intoxicating Hemp

    U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a new bill on Wednesday to more tightly regulate products with hemp-derived cannabinoids, with an emphasis on age gating, manufacturing standards and labeling requirements.

  • September 25, 2024

    Poppi's 'Gut Healthy' Sodas Are Harmful To The Gut, Suit Says

    The maker of Poppi-brand sodas misleadingly advertises the products as "prebiotics for a healthy gut," despite the fact that it's full of sugar, which is harmful to overall health and heightens the risk of obesity, Type II diabetes and other issues, alleges a putative class action filed in California federal court.

  • September 25, 2024

    Slovenian Plane Parts Maker Escapes Fla. Fatal Crash Suit

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday threw out a wrongful death suit against a Slovenian aircraft parts manufacturer, saying an uncontroverted affidavit from the company showing it has no connections to the Sunshine State warrants dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

  • September 25, 2024

    Calif. Judge Says Fluoride In Water Risks Lowering Kids' IQ

    A California federal judge on Tuesday agreed with green groups that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current "optimal" level of fluoride in drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of lowering children's IQ and directed the EPA to act.

  • September 25, 2024

    Vape Co. Sues Buchalter Alleging Malpractice After IP Action

    A Los Angeles-based cannabis company called Smoke Tokes LLC has filed a legal malpractice suit accusing Buchalter PC and two of its attorneys of causing a federal trademark action to drag on unnecessarily even after Smoke Tokes took all necessary steps to satisfy a judgment and injunction.

  • September 25, 2024

    Pittsburgh Council OKs $500K To Settle Bridge Collapse Suits

    The city of Pittsburgh approved handing a Pennsylvania state court $500,000 — the city's maximum liability under state law — so it can bow out of lawsuits brought by people injured in the 2022 collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge.

  • September 25, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Names New CLO After Ouster Of Execs

    Norfolk Southern Corp. has promoted an employee who has worked in its legal department since 2010 to serve as its chief legal officer following the firing of the woman who previously held the post over her relationship with the transportation giant's ousted CEO.

  • September 24, 2024

    Amazon Scolded Over Improper Privilege In Alexa Privacy Suit

    Amazon.com Inc. must re-produce documents it clawed back during discovery from unregistered Alexa users who allege they were illegally recorded, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, scolding the e-commerce giant for "improperly" trying to conceal its business and strategic documents behind attorney-client privilege.

  • September 24, 2024

    Calif. Gov.'s Emergency Hemp Intoxicant Ban Wins Approval

    California retailers are no longer allowed to sell hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol after the Golden State's Office of Administrative Law on Monday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's emergency ban, a move a leading hemp trade group has vowed to challenge.

  • September 24, 2024

    P&G Says FDA Review Moots Class Suit Over Lead In Tampons

    Since the FDA has announced it will be looking into claims that commercially available tampons contain harmful levels of heavy metals, Tampax owner Procter & Gamble believes it shouldn't have to keep fighting a proposed California federal class action targeting alleged lead levels in its own products.

  • September 24, 2024

    Texas Fair Gun Ban Stands, State Appeals Court Says

    A Texas appeals court has rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid for emergency relief prohibiting the State Fair of Texas from enforcing its new policy banning firearms on fairgrounds, handing the state a loss in a Tuesday order and keeping the ban in place ahead of the fair's opening Friday.

  • September 24, 2024

    DC Circ. Open To Industry Challenge To TSCA Reporting Rule

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday seemed receptive to two trade associations' challenge to new federal regulations aimed at increasing Toxic Substances Control Act transparency, pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a facet of the rule that opponents say would lead confidential chemical information to be divulged.

  • September 24, 2024

    Nissan, Truck Owner Split On Seriousness Of Juror Remarks

    Nissan told a state appellate panel Tuesday a Harris County judge's investigation into alleged juror misconduct during deliberations in a product liability case against the car manufacturer "presents the most serious invasion of the sanctity of jury deliberations in Texas in a generation," as it fought off an order requiring the case be retried.

  • September 24, 2024

    Electrolux Stove Defect Suit In NC On Hold For Earlier Case

    A North Carolina federal judge Tuesday paused a proposed class action alleging Electrolux Home Products sells defective ranges that turn on too easily, adopting a magistrate judge's report that said a stay is appropriate to await the outcome of a preceding case with similar allegations pending in Michigan federal court.

  • September 24, 2024

    Electric Mustang Drivers Drop Ford Battery Defect Suit

    Mustang Mach-E drivers have quietly dropped their suit accusing Ford Motor Co. of selling nearly 50,000 of electric vehicles with a dangerous battery defect that makes the car spontaneously shut off while driving.

  • September 24, 2024

    Lloyd's Units Seek To Keep $3.4M Yacht Dispute Alive

    A group of Lloyd's syndicates and underwriters urged a Washington federal court to reject a yacht builder's bid to avoid reimbursing them for the $3.4 million in coverage they paid after a luxury yacht suffered severe damage when a mobile boat hoist failed during an August 2020 vessel launch.

  • September 24, 2024

    Md. Says Shipowner Liable For $2B Baltimore Bridge Rebuild

    Maryland said the owner and manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge must be held liable for the estimated $1.7 billion cost of rebuilding the bridge, claiming Tuesday that their negligence has caused "grievous impact" to Marylanders, the environment and the regional economy.

  • September 24, 2024

    Revlon Talc Claimants Can Appeal Directly To 2nd Circ.

    A New York bankruptcy judge has found the Second Circuit can review his decision to reject 42 asbestos-tainted talc exposure claims against Revlon as having come too late because the claimants' appeal presents questions new and significant enough to justify skipping the district court.

  • September 24, 2024

    FAA Chief Updates House Panel On Boeing Safety Culture Fix

    The Federal Aviation Administration's chief told a House panel Tuesday that the agency has "dramatically" increased its oversight of Boeing, as lawmakers raised concerns about the pace of Boeing's safety culture overhaul amid an ongoing labor dispute with 33,000 workers.

  • September 24, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Says Stock Drop Suit Based On 'Hindsight'

    Norfolk Southern Corp. is urging a Georgia federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging it duped stockholders by misleading them about the safety of its operations, leading to a stock drop after last year's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, saying the claims are a bid to capitalize in hindsight on the crash.

  • September 24, 2024

    4th Circ. Poised To Uphold $1M Sanction For Court 'Attack'

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday appeared ready to uphold a roughly $1 million sanction against New York plaintiffs attorney Paul Napoli for his purportedly frivolous filings in a battle with another firm over asbestos litigation client referrals, with one judge accusing Napoli of making a "collateral attack" on a federal court's authority.

  • September 24, 2024

    8th Circ. Mulls Arkansas' Authority To Regulate Hemp

    An Eighth Circuit panel on Monday pushed attorneys for the state of Arkansas and a group of hemp companies to define precisely how much power states have to restrict the production and sale of intoxicating products derived from federally legal hemp.

  • September 24, 2024

    NJ Judge Leaves J&J Ch. 11 Venue Change To Texas Judge

    A New Jersey bankruptcy judge on Tuesday declined the U.S. trustee's request to move Johnson & Johnson's latest talc-unit Chapter 11 from Texas to the Garden State, saying the issue could be as ably decided by a Texas court while avoiding a thorny issue of authority.

  • September 23, 2024

    Nike, Others Let TikTok 'Fingerprint' Sites, Suits Claim

    Nike, its subsidiary Converse and telehealth company Teladoc were each hit with proposed class actions on Friday in California federal court over allegations that they violated the state's "trap and trace" law by using TikTok software to collect personal data from visitors to their websites.

  • September 23, 2024

    Need To Bag Your Groceries? You Can Have Paper, Calif. Says

    California grocery stores won't be allowed to offer plastic bags of any kind in their checkout lines under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom a day before the California Attorney General's Office on Monday accused Exxon Mobil Corp. of inundating the state with plastic waste.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

  • Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial

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    Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining

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    Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year

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    As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Rebuttal

    High Court Should Maintain Insurer Neutrality In Bankruptcy

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    While a recent Law360 guest article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should endorse insurer standing in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, doing so would create a playground for mischief and delay, and the high court should instead uphold insurance neutrality, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • 3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'

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    Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

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    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • 5 Things Trial Attorneys Can Learn From Good Teachers

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    Jennifer Cuculich at IMS Legal Strategies recounts lessons she learned during her time as a math teacher that can help trial attorneys connect with jurors, from the importance of framing core issues to the incorporation of different learning styles.

  • Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies

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    As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.

  • Opinion

    Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable

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    Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.

  • Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims

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    Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

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