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Product Liability
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November 26, 2024
Chemical Co. Demands Defense Coverage In PFAS Foam MDL
Specialty chemical company Clariant Corp. is suing five of its insurers in the North Carolina Business Court seeking defense costs in a host of underlying mass tort lawsuits over forever chemicals found in firefighting foam products.
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November 25, 2024
Pom Juice Maker Trims But Can't Nix 'Forever Chemicals' Suit
A Manhattan federal judge on Monday pared down a putative class action alleging the makers of Pom pomegranate juice misled consumers about whether its products contained harmful "forever chemicals" while allowing claims of negligence and violation of New York's business laws to go forward.
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November 25, 2024
Calif. Court Says Son Can't Take Up Dead Father's Suit
Canada's Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. can't be held liable for injuries a man, who later died, allegedly suffered in one of its all-terrain utility vehicles, a California state appellate panel ruled, saying the trial court properly tossed the case as abandoned after the plaintiff's son failed to make himself the successor for the litigation.
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November 25, 2024
GATX Rips Norfolk Southern's Bid To Shift Derailment Liability
GATX Corp. and its subsidiary General American Marks Co. have told an Ohio federal court that Norfolk Southern cannot offload liability for the February 2023 East Palestine derailment and toxic chemical spill, saying there's zero evidence GATX improperly maintained or inspected a tank car involved in the accident.
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November 25, 2024
Monsanto Attacks 'Frankenstein' Ruling In $185M PCB Verdict
Even though a lower state appellate court upended a $185 million jury verdict in a PCB tort brought by schoolteachers, Monsanto says Washington's high court should reject the part of the ruling that created a "Frankenstein's monster" that could let the teachers get around the state's ban on punitive damages in product liability cases by relying on Missouri law.
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November 25, 2024
Baltimore Atty Convicted Over $25M Hospital Extortion Plan
A Baltimore federal jury on Friday convicted a prominent medical malpractice attorney on all charges in a case alleging he threatened the University of Maryland with bad publicity about "diseased" organs being transplanted into patients unless it paid him $25 million.
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November 25, 2024
High Court Refuses To Review FDA Cigarette Warning Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said that it won't take up a challenge to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring larger warnings on cigarette boxes, in a suit brought by tobacco companies.
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November 22, 2024
Del Monte's 'Fruit Naturals' Label Not Deceptive, 9th Circ. Says
The Ninth Circuit on Friday refused to revive a California woman's proposed class action accusing Del Monte Foods of falsely advertising fruit cups as being "natural" despite containing synthetic preservatives, saying a reasonable consumer would know to read the products' back label to confirm the ingredients.
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November 22, 2024
Trump Makes Picks For FDA, CDC And Surgeon General
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday revealed his nominations for several health agencies, picking Johns Hopkins surgeon and professor Dr. Marty Makary for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, former Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, and Fox News contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for surgeon general.
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November 22, 2024
Judge Trims Suit Over Tesla Collision Alert Defect
Tesla Inc. has beaten some of a lawsuit brought by a driver who claims its vehicles' collision monitoring system erroneously detects objects in its path, causing the cars to suddenly brake, after an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday that the driver needed to do more to show significant financial injury.
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November 22, 2024
Procter & Gamble Unit's Hair Oil Causes Hair Loss, Suit Says
The Procter & Gamble Co. and its unit Mielle Organics LLC are deceptively marketing their brand of hair oil as being safe to use, even though it has caused hair loss in some users, a putative class action filed Thursday in Illinois federal court alleged.
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November 22, 2024
CooperSurgical Product Caused Embryo Loss, Couple Say
Connecticut-based medical device company CooperSurgical Inc. produced a defective culture media that led to the destruction of six embryos conceived through assisted reproductive technology, a California couple have claimed in a lawsuit that seeks an array of damages for negligence and an alleged delay in recalling the product.
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November 22, 2024
Chemical Co.'s PFAS Coverage Suit In SC Gets Tossed
A South Carolina federal court tossed BASF Corp.'s suit seeking coverage for thousands of underlying allegations that the chemical manufacturer's firefighting foam caused pollution and injury, finding Friday that a parallel suit in New Jersey state court favors abstention.
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November 22, 2024
Nissan Automatic Brake Classes Dismantled By 6th Circ.
A Sixth Circuit panel vacated class certification Friday for Nissan drivers who say their cars' automatic braking system activates unnecessarily, finding the trial judge failed to grapple with software upgrades that may have fixed the alleged flaw for some of the class vehicles.
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November 22, 2024
Judge Revives Ford Fire Risk Suit After Feds Question Recall
A Michigan federal judge on Friday reopened a putative class action alleging certain Ford Motor Co. Escapes and Bronco Sports SUVs have a defect that caused engine fires, ruling that a query letter from highway safety regulators gave new life to claims the automaker's recall didn't fix the underlying problem.
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November 22, 2024
Mich. Justices Want To Know If 3M Water Challenge Is Moot
The Michigan Supreme Court ordered additional briefing Friday in 3M Co.'s challenge to regulations on PFAS in drinking water to address whether subsequent regulatory changes made 3M's lawsuit moot, echoing a focal point of last week's oral arguments in the case.
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November 22, 2024
Social Media MDL Judge Threatens States With Contempt
A California federal judge presiding over multidistrict litigation concerning social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs told counsel Friday that she's considering holding California and South Carolina state agencies in contempt for refusing to comply with discovery orders, telling counsel, "I can guarantee I will not let this stand."
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November 22, 2024
PFAS Foam MDL Attys Score $95.8M For Tyco, BASF Deals
A South Carolina federal judge awarded nearly $96 million in combined fees and costs Friday to lead counsel representing public water systems for reaching a $316.5 million deal with BASF Corp. and $750 million with Tyco Fire Products LP over forever chemicals, lauding them as "some of the most qualified mass tort litigators in America."
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November 22, 2024
LA Power Dept. Inks $60M Settlement Over Valley Gas Leak
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has reached a $59.9 million settlement over allegations that it hid a dangerous natural gas leak from San Fernando Valley residents for over three years, according to the plaintiffs' counsel.
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November 22, 2024
Squire Patton Lawyer Dies In Laos Amid Poisoning Reports
A junior lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs LLP has died in Laos, the law firm confirmed Friday, amid reports in the media that she was the victim of a suspected mass poisoning incident.
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November 21, 2024
Snap Moves To Toss New Mexico's Child 'Sextortion' Suit
Snap Inc. has moved to toss New Mexico's lawsuit accusing it of enabling child sexual exploitation on its instant messaging app, Snapchat, telling a New Mexico state court that the state's attorney general lodged a "sensationalist" lawsuit rife with patently false allegations.
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November 21, 2024
Social Media MDL Judge Rips State Attys Defying Orders
A California federal magistrate judge overseeing discovery in multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs on Thursday ordered states to provide the names and state bar numbers of agency counsel who have refused to comply with discovery orders, threatening sanctions and asking, "What happened to the rule of law?"
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November 21, 2024
Boehringer Trial Over Zantac's Cancer Link Ends In Mistrial
A California state judge declared a mistrial Thursday, ending a monthslong trial over product liability claims by a bladder cancer survivor who alleges Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. failed to disclose cancer risks associated with the company's Zantac heartburn medication, according to the plaintiff's counsel.
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November 21, 2024
No New Trial In Suit Over Fatal Nissan Truck Fire In Texas
A Texas appeals court on Thursday vacated an order for a new trial in a suit against Nissan North America Inc. over a fatal truck fire, saying the trial court abused its discretion when it found that juror misconduct and other cumulative errors prejudiced the plaintiff.
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November 21, 2024
Philly Jury Awards $11M To Man Shot By Own Sig Sauer Gun
A Philadelphia jury has awarded $11 million to a man who was shot when his Sig Sauer handgun spontaneously fired while holstered, in another trial setback for the gunmaker over its popular P320 pistol.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Series
After Chevron: Environmental Law May Face Hurdles
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling overturning Chevron deference could prove to be as influential as the original 1984 decision, with far-reaching implications for U.S. environmental laws, including rendering recently promulgated regulations more vulnerable to challenges, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Calif. Ruling Heightens Medical Product Maker Liability
The California Supreme Court's decision in Himes v. Somatics last month articulates a new causation standard for medical product manufacturer liability that may lead to stronger product disclosures nationwide and greater friction between manufacturers and physicians, say attorneys at Cooley.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.