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Product Liability
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July 30, 2024
Litigator Rejoins Faegre Drinker From Medical Device Co.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP's newest lateral hire is stepping back into private practice after two years as associate general counsel for orthopedic implant company Exactech, and should be a familiar face around the firm's Indianapolis office.
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July 29, 2024
Chemical Groups Say Chevron Sinks EPA Ethylene Oxide Rule
A chemical company and two chemical associations are telling the D.C. Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision undermines the federal government's risk value for ethylene oxide, which they are challenging as being too high.
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July 29, 2024
Avon Hit With $24M Verdict For Janitor's Talc Exposure
A Cook County Circuit Court jury has awarded more than $24 million to the family of a former janitor who worked in one of Avon Products' Illinois facilities in the 1980s, finding the company negligently exposed him to asbestos-contaminated talc that caused him to develop mesothelioma.
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July 29, 2024
7th Circ. Affirms Defective Protein Pouch Suit Came Too Late
The Seventh Circuit on Friday upheld a Wisconsin federal court's decision to dismiss a suit brought by a protein powder maker founded by a bodybuilder over the manufacturer of zipper pouches on the grounds that statutes of limitations and other laws barred its claims.
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July 29, 2024
Railroads Ask 11th Circ. To Void New Train Crew Size Rule
Rail giants have told the Eleventh Circuit that the Federal Railroad Administration overstepped with its new two-person train crew rule, saying rail labor costs would surge if "one of the most consequential rulemakings in the history of American railroading" were allowed to stand.
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July 29, 2024
Subcontractor Partially Nixes Claims Over Defense Of MDL
A subcontractor facing consolidated personal injury claims over a chemical leak at a LyondellBasell facility in La Porte, Texas, voluntarily tossed its coverage claims against one of its insurers in Texas federal court, while noting it's still pursuing its coverage demands against two other insurers.
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July 29, 2024
4 Takeaways After Courts Block ERISA Advice Regs
Two Texas federal judges' takedowns of the U.S. Department of Labor's recently expanded definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act has limited the agency's authority to oversee certain kinds of retirement investment advice, attorneys say, including some rollover situations. Here, Law360 looks at four things benefits lawyers have taken away from the decisions.
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July 29, 2024
EPA, Army Reveal Joint PFAS Sampling Project
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army unveiled a joint national project to test private drinking water wells near Army installations for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, identifying 235 locations where they will carry out their more in-depth investigation.
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July 29, 2024
Magistrate Eyes Cuts To Norfolk Southern Investors' Suit
A New York federal magistrate judge has recommended tossing a portion of a securities suit filed against Norfolk Southern Corp. in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, reasoning that the retirement funds serving as lead plaintiffs fell short of pleading standards.
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July 29, 2024
Senate To Vote On Bills To Protect Kids Online
The Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on a package of two major bipartisan bills to protect children online that could represent a watershed moment in technology regulation.
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July 29, 2024
Gun Owner Says He Legally Carried When Sig Sauer Shot Him
A gun owner suing Sig Sauer Inc. alleging a faulty pistol went off in his holster and shot him in the leg is asking a North Carolina federal court to reject the gun company's bid to add a defense that he was breaking the law when it went off by concealing the weapon.
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July 29, 2024
Legalization Org Taps Cannabis Atty As New Treasurer
The pro-legalization advocacy organization Marijuana Policy Project announced Monday that a preeminent member of the cannabis bar had been tapped as the group's newest treasurer.
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July 29, 2024
GSK Settles Ill. Zantac Cancer Suit
GlaxoSmithKline said Monday it has settled a lawsuit brought by an Illinois man who took the heartburn medication Zantac or its generic counterpart for more than 20 years and claimed the drug caused his prostate cancer.
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July 29, 2024
Law Firm Can't Nix $2.9M Judgment Over Concussion Fees
A law firm that represented National Football League players in a multidistrict litigation over the league's handling of concussions can't avoid a litigation funding agency's $2.9 million judgment against it, after a Pennsylvania federal judge shot down Mitnick Law Office's arguments that the fees being garnished fell under various exceptions.
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July 29, 2024
NC Attys Dismissed From Malpractice Suit Over Missed Filing
A pair of North Carolina-based attorneys involved in a legal malpractice suit filed by the parents of two children who died in a car fire were voluntarily dismissed from the family's suit against their former firm.
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July 29, 2024
6th Circ. Revives Challenge Of Clean Water Rule
Just 11 days after oral arguments, the Sixth Circuit on Monday revived Kentucky and industry groups' challenges to a federal government rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, finding a district court judge had improperly dismissed the case.
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July 26, 2024
Product Liability Cases To Watch 2024: A Midyear Report
Litigation over claims that social media addict children and harm mental health continues to hold attorneys' attention, along with claims that "forever chemicals" are a source of cancer.
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July 26, 2024
Abbott Owes $495M In Baby Formula Bellwether Trial
A Missouri jury awarded $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages Friday over bellwether claims that Abbott Laboratories' baby formula caused a premature baby to suffer a fully disabling condition.
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July 26, 2024
EV Group Seeks To Defend Fuel Economy Rule In 6th Circ.
A coalition of electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers want in on a consolidated challenge in the Sixth Circuit to the U.S. Department of Transportation's new fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks, saying the EV industry's future viability banks on the stringent new standards.
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July 26, 2024
Indivior To Pay $86M To Settle Opioid Claims By 5 States
Indivior will pay $86 million to settle claims by a group of state attorneys general over the drugmaker's alleged contributions to the American opioid crisis.
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July 26, 2024
Tyco Inks Deal With Insurer Over Foam MDL Coverage
Firefighting foam maker Tyco Fire Products LP told a South Carolina federal judge Friday that it reached a tentative settlement with one of several of its insurers to resolve its fight to score coverage in sprawling multidistrict litigation over pollution from so-called forever chemicals.
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July 26, 2024
Hearing Set Over Bid To Recuse Judge In Philly Zantac Cases
A Philadelphia judge will hear arguments next month over a recusal motion filed by plaintiffs' counsel in the city's Zantac mass tort program that argues the judge should remove himself from the proceedings after he disclosed his wife is a partner at Reed Smith, which represents GlaxoSmithKline, a manufacturer of the drug.
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July 26, 2024
Washington Cases To Watch 2024: A Midyear Report
Two Washington tribes are testing whether they can hold Big Oil companies accountable in state court for climate change-related catastrophes, the attorney general is defending a ban on large-capacity gun magazines, and a key test of the state's anti-patent troll law is set for trial.
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July 25, 2024
3rd Circ. Again Tosses J&J Talc Unit's 'Texas Two-Step' Ch. 11
The Third Circuit on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of the reworked Chapter 11 case of Johnson & Johnson's talc unit that used a controversial "Texas two-step" maneuver, saying the company still hasn't displayed the financial distress required to justify bankruptcy protection.
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July 25, 2024
Seattle, Monsanto Ink $160M Deal Over PCBs In Duwamish
Bayer AG's Monsanto Co. has agreed to pay $160 million to resolve allegations that it contaminated Seattle's stormwater and drainage systems as well as the Lower Duwamish Waterway with polychlorinated biphenyls, the city attorney's office announced Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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6th Circ. Ruling Breathes New Life Into Article III Traceability
The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Hardwick v. 3M Co. to vacate a district court's certification of one of the largest class actions in American jurisprudence for lack of Article III standing has potentially broader implications for class action practice in the product liability sphere, particularly in medical monitoring cases involving far-fetched theories of causation, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Storytelling Strategies To Defuse Courtroom Conspiracies
Misinformation continues to proliferate in all sectors of society, including in the courtroom, as jurors try to fill in the gaps of incomplete trial narratives — underscoring the need for attorneys to tell a complete, consistent and credible story before and during trial, says David Metz at IMS Legal Strategies.
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Aviation Watch: 737 Max Blowout Raises Major Safety Issues
The sudden in-flight loss of a side panel on an Alaska Air 737-9 Max last month, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane's cabin, highlighted ongoing quality issues at Boeing, the jet's manufacturer — but the failure also arose from decisions made by the airline, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict
In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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Opinion
New Rule 702 Helps Judges Keep Bad Science Out Of Court
A court's recent decision to exclude dubious testimony from the plaintiffs' experts in multidistrict litigation over acetaminophen highlights the responsibility that judges have to keep questionable scientific evidence out of courtrooms, particularly under recent amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702, says Sherman Joyce at the American Tort Reform Association.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Opinion
Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs
While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Opinion
Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals
The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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Opinion
3rd-Party Financiers Have Power To Drive Mass Tort Cases
The abnormal recovery premium presented by modern mass tort cases coupled with their deemphasized role for attorneys creates an opportunity for third-party financiers to both create and control these cases, says Samir Parikh at Lewis & Clark Law School.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.