Product Liability

  • May 14, 2024

    NC State Fights Cancer Patient's Presuit Building Access

    North Carolina State University is pressing the state appeals court to find it is insulated from an "unusual" order allowing a former graduate student worker diagnosed with cancer to inspect a campus building that tested high for levels of carcinogens.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ship Had Blackouts Day Before Baltimore Bridge Crash, NTSB Says

    A container carrier that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused its collapse in March experienced two electrical outages during maintenance the day before it even left port, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2024

    Calif. City Sues Dow, Shell Over TCP-Tainted Water

    Dow Chemical and Shell USA are facing a negligence suit in California federal court by the city of Pomona, alleging the companies are responsible for manufacturing commercial products containing the toxic 1,2,3-trichloropropane that has migrated into the city's water supply and seeking to recoup costs over response efforts.

  • May 14, 2024

    Insurer Wants Tainted Wine Coverage Suit Axed For Good

    A Nationwide unit asked a California federal court to permanently toss a wine bottling company's suit seeking reimbursement for costs incurred in defending and settling an underlying suit claiming the bottler damaged nearly $1.2 million of wine, saying the company failed to allege facts that would trigger coverage.

  • May 14, 2024

    Tesla Sued By Enviro Group Over Air Pollution At Calif. Plant

    An environmental justice organization filed a citizen action against Tesla on Monday in California federal court alleging that the electric-car maker's plant in Northern California has spewed dangerous pollutants into the air for years and has failed to take sufficient precautions to prevent the emissions.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mich. AG Says Eli Lilly 'Cherry-Picking' Enforcement Data

    Michigan's attorney general has hit back against Eli Lilly's arguments that recent consumer protection law recoveries show her office is not being hampered in its investigations, as she seeks subpoenas in a probe of the pharmaceutical giant's pricing for an insulin drug.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mother Sues American Airlines Over Son's In-Flight Death

    A mother has hit American Airlines with a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming its flight crew members were ill trained and poorly equipped to deal with a medical emergency her teenage son suffered during a flight, according to the complaint filed in Texas federal court.

  • May 14, 2024

    Firms Escape Malpractice Suit Over Chicken Plant Pollution

    Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico LLC and Schochor Staton Goldberg and Cardea PA have escaped a malpractice suit filed in Delaware Superior Court by parents who hired the firms to pursue claims alleging contamination from a Mountaire Corp. chicken plant caused "catastrophic injuries" to their child.

  • May 14, 2024

    Chinese Drug Co. Sanctioned After 'Tortuous' 3-Year Info Fight

    Chinese drug firm Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has been hit with sanctions after its chief executive officer failed to sit for a court-ordered deposition in sprawling multidistrict litigation taking place in New Jersey over generic drugs that U.S. authorities say were contaminated with carcinogens.

  • May 14, 2024

    What's Behind 'Nuclear' Verdicts? Skeptical Juries, Attys Say

    Jurors becoming more skeptical of corporations are handing down sky-high verdicts, and trial attorneys say it's forcing a shift in the strategies they employ as they aim to score — or prevent — so-called nuclear verdicts.

  • May 13, 2024

    Whirlpool Service Plans Don't Guarantee Repairs, Suit Says

    Whirlpool Corp. violates Washington consumer protection laws by selling extended service plans that give the company the option to buy back broken appliances instead of fixing them, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court.

  • May 13, 2024

    Flint Judge Threatens Sanctions After Water Firm's PR Stunt

    The Michigan federal judge overseeing Flint, Michigan, water crisis cases excoriated a water engineering firm and its PR agency for apparently running a smear campaign targeting a lawyer for Flint children, saying Monday she will sanction the firm if it doesn't turn over documents about the campaign by next week. 

  • May 13, 2024

    Zuckerberg Challenges Basis Of Personal Claims In Meta MDL

    Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is asking a California federal court to throw out claims against him in multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive design, saying the personal injury plaintiffs haven't shown he took affirmative actions that would make him personally liable.

  • May 13, 2024

    Philips Wants Cleaner Co. To Chip In For $1B CPAP Deal

    Koninklijke Philips NV has filed a third-party complaint in Pennsylvania federal court against SoClean Inc., which sells cleaning products for breathing devices, claiming SoClean and its parent should contribute to Philips' $1 billion settlement because its cleaners allegedly exacerbated the foam breakdown at the heart of the litigation.

  • May 13, 2024

    EPA Wrongly Approved New Chevron Chemicals, Group Says

    A Mississippi community group has asked the D.C. Circuit to revoke the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authorization for Chevron Corp. to produce 18 new chemicals derived from plastic waste "despite their extreme health risks."

  • May 13, 2024

    Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Can't Appeal Jury Trial Denial Order

    The North Carolina federal court overseeing litigation over water contamination at the Camp Lejeune military base on Monday denied the service members' attempt to appeal an order that struck down their bid for jury trials, saying that it's not an issue that warrants appeal.

  • May 13, 2024

    False Ad AriZona Suit Not In Bad Faith, Fee Opposition Argues

    A plaintiff represented by an attorney known for false advertising suits against food and drink companies is asking an Illinois federal judge not to award attorney fees to AriZona Beverages USA LLC after the court threw out claims that it falsely advertised some of drinks as "lite," saying there was no bad faith in pursuing the suit.

  • May 13, 2024

    'Prolific' Asbestos Injury Firm Accused Of Fraud, Racketeering

    A "prolific" Illinois-based asbestos litigation law firm allegedly engaged in a yearslong scheme involving perjured testimony, suppressed evidence and baseless claims to extract as much money from as many companies as possible, according to one of the companies repeatedly targeted by the firm.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Reject COVID App Makers' Last-Ditch Apple Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Monday to app developers who've struck out at every turn on antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, refusing to look at a Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive the lawsuit.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Ch. 11 Stay In Asbestos Cases

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't review lower courts' decisions allowing the paper-products company Georgia-Pacific to remain shielded from mass tort litigation by way of a subsidiary's Chapter 11 case.

  • May 10, 2024

    Lab Exec Sentenced For Deadly Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

    The founder of a Massachusetts drug compounding center was sentenced in Michigan to 10 to 15 years in prison for his role in a fungal meningitis outbreak after he agreed to a plea deal with state prosecutors earlier this year.

  • May 10, 2024

    Full 4th Circ. Urged To Settle Key 'Texas Two-Step' Questions

    A Fourth Circuit panel left critical issues open when it denied permission to an appeal challenging the so-called Texas two-step Chapter 11 of industrial equipment maker Aldrich Pump, asbestos claimants in two separate bankruptcy cases said, asking the full appeals court to reconsider hearing the case and settle questions that have plagued their own bankruptcies in the Western District of North Carolina.

  • May 10, 2024

    Oil Giants Say Tribal Climate Change Row Must Stay Federal

    Several giant oil companies are fighting a bid by two Native American tribes to remand their consolidated case to state court, telling a Washington federal district court that the claims brought by tribes have always been governed by federal law.

  • May 10, 2024

    Nipple Covers Don't Stick To Body As Advertised, Suit Says

    Cakes Body LLC faces a putative class action filed Thursday in California federal court by a consumer who says the company falsely creates the impression that its reusable nipple covers function as alternatives to bras that adhere to the body, but that the product doesn't work as advertised. 

  • May 10, 2024

    Insurers Don't Owe Chiquita Coverage In Terrorism Settlement

    An Ohio state appeals court ruled Friday that Chiquita Brands International Inc. is not owed coverage by a group of insurers for a settlement with families of six Americans killed by a terrorist group Chiquita had paid for protection, saying any errors the trial court made were harmless because it came to the correct conclusion.

Expert Analysis

  • Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

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    The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

  • AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

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    Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Transparency And Explainability Are Critical To AI Compliance

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    Although there is not yet a comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence, regulators have tools to hold businesses accountable, and companies need to focus on ensuring that consumers and key stakeholders understand how their AI systems operate and make decisions, say Chanley Howell and Lauren Hudon at Foley & Lardner.

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • How Social Media Can Affect Trial Outcomes

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    With social media’s ability to seize upon an issue and spin it into a specifically designed narrative, it is more critical than ever that a litigation communications strategy be part of trial planning to manage the impact of legal action on a company's reputation, say Sean Murphy and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Opinion

    Civil Litigation Against Gun Businesses Can Reduce Violence

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    With mass shootings skyrocketing, and gun control legislation blocked by powerful interest groups, civil litigation can help obtain justice for victims by targeting parties responsible beyond the immediate perpetrator — including gun manufacturers, dealers and retailers, says Tom D'Amore at D'Amore Law Group.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Opinion

    Time To Ban Deferred Prosecution For Fatal Corporate Crime

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    As illustrated by prosecutors’ deals with Boeing and other companies, deferred prosecution agreements have strayed far from their original purpose, and Congress must ban the use of this tool in cases where corporate misconduct has led to fatalities, says Peter Reilly at Texas A&M University School of Law.

  • Why Hemp-Synthesized Intoxicants Need Uniform Regs

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    State laws regulating hemp-synthesized intoxicants are a patchwork with little consistency between any given state, and without the adoption of a uniform regulatory framework, producers and consumers alike will need to be very cautious, say Dylan Anderson and Seth Goldberg at Duane Morris.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Analyzing The Legal Ripples Of The EPA's PFAS Regulation

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes major moves on its pledge to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the developing body of PFAS regulation will lead to an increase in litigation, and personal injury and product liability claims, say attorneys at Gordon & Rees.

  • Boeing Opinion Strikes Blow Against Overpayment Theory

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    The Fifth Circuit's decision in Earl v. Boeing Co. casts doubt on consumers' standing to bring claims of overpayment for products later revealed to have defects — and suggests that it's more likely that those products would have been removed from the market, driving up the price of alternatives, say attorneys at Bush Seyferth.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

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