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Product Liability
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June 24, 2024
Boeing Says Turbulent Securities Suit Should Be Dismissed
Boeing has moved to dismiss a proposed securities fraud suit in Virginia federal court accusing it of misleading investors about the overall safety of its 737 Max jets, saying that the plaintiffs' "kitchen-sink" approach falls short of pleading requirements.
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June 24, 2024
LA Schools Says Pseudoscience Infected 9th Circ. Vax Ruling
The Los Angeles Unified School District said Friday that a split Ninth Circuit panel leaned on pseudoscience when ruling that a rescinded employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate implicated the right of district employees to refuse medical treatment, urging an en banc panel to correct the "fatally flawed" decision.
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June 24, 2024
Gucci Goods Sourced From Mistreated Reptiles, Suit Says
Gucci and parent company Kering Americas are facing a proposed class action in Illinois state court by a former sales associate who accuses the luxury retailers of falsely claiming that their exotic-skin goods are humanely sourced, even though an investigation purportedly revealed that at least two Kering-owned tanneries were subjecting crocodiles and pythons to abusive slaughtering practices.
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June 24, 2024
Ark. AG Sues Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Opioids
The Arkansas attorney general said Monday that he had sued pharmacy benefit managers Optum Inc. and Express Scripts Inc. in state court, claiming they contributed to the opioid crisis and profited from the drug epidemic.
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June 24, 2024
Suit Over Medical Screws Filed Too Late, Texas Panel Finds
A Texas appeals court won't revive a woman's suit against BioPro Inc. alleging that surgical screws used in her feet were defective, saying the evidence establishes that she filed her suit after the two-year statute of limitations had expired.
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June 24, 2024
US DOT Final Rule Ups Freight Rail Hazmat Disclosures
Freight railroads must provide more detailed, real-time information on trains transporting hazardous materials to state and local first responders, under a new U.S. Department of Transportation final rule announced Monday that was largely spurred by last year's fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
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June 24, 2024
$12.8M Deal Ending Some Chiquita MDL Claims Gets Approval
A Florida federal judge said Monday he would sign off on a proposed $12.8 million settlement between Chiquita Brands International Inc. and some of the victims suing the banana company over its funding of Colombian paramilitary groups.
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June 24, 2024
Altria Subsidiary Allowed To Sell Menthol-Flavored Vapes
Altria Group Inc. subsidiary NJOY has secured permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell four menthol-flavored vapes, marking the first time any kind of flavored e-cigarette has secured federal approval.
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June 24, 2024
6th Circ. Won't Rethink Partial Revival Of Sanofi Pollution Suit
The full Sixth Circuit has declined to review a split panel's decision reviving parts of a Sanofi unit's lawsuit against a Tennessee landfill owner it accused of improperly shuttering the dump, which then led to the contamination of water at its property.
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June 24, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Atty's Appeal Of DQ From Product Case
An attorney who allegedly made false statements about a magistrate judge that subsequently got him booted as plaintiff's counsel in a suit against a handheld torch manufacturer can't appeal his disqualification after the Supreme Court declined to review his bid Monday.
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June 24, 2024
Justices Affirm 6th Circ. Decision Allowing Bump Stocks
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the government's appeal of a Sixth Circuit decision blocking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' ban on so-called bump stocks, after finding in a separate case that the ATF rule went beyond the agency's authority.
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June 21, 2024
Apple Won't Offer AI Tools In EU Due To Regulatory Concerns
Apple confirmed Friday that the tech giant isn't planning on releasing new artificial intelligence features in the European Union this year due to "regulatory uncertainties" involving the bloc's new Digital Markets Act and the potential security risks that complying with the DMA could pose to Apple users.
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June 21, 2024
Kenyan Firm Says Chicago Attys Blocked Ethiopian Air Fees
A Kenyan law firm wants an Illinois federal judge to help it get attorney fees after Chicago counsel allegedly shut it out of a former client's Ethiopian Air crash settlement, a request the Chicago attorney blasted Friday as apparent retaliation for aiding an investigation into theft of that client's money.
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June 21, 2024
Google Ditches Wiretap Suit Over AI Customer Service Calls
A California federal judge has tossed, for now, a proposed class action accusing Google LLC of using a "human-like" customer service product powered by generative artificial intelligence to illegally eavesdrop on Verizon users' calls, finding that Google was exempt from liability because it was acting as Verizon's agent.
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June 21, 2024
Vape Co. Settles With FDA Over Denied Product Applications
The maker of Juno brand e-cigarettes is just weeks away from settling a dispute with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over allegations that the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act by refusing to review the manufacturer's applications on 12 products.
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June 21, 2024
Texas Fines Major Carriers $10.2M For Deceptive Advertising
Some of the nation's biggest mobile carriers — including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — have inked a $10 million deal with Texas to end the state's probe into what the Lonestar State says are the carriers' "deceptive and misleading" advertising practices.
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June 21, 2024
Meta's Child Porn Defense 'Disingenuous,' MDL Judge Says
A California federal judge appeared skeptical Friday of Meta's bid to cut child pornography possession allegations from sprawling multidistrict litigation over social media platforms' allegedly addictive designs, telling defense counsel that Meta's claim it didn't know about the illegal content on its platforms is "a bit disingenuous."
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June 21, 2024
Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems Say Blowout Suit Not Fit For Calif.
The Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems Inc. are asking a California federal judge to throw out a suit from a group of passengers from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which experienced a midair door plug blowout in January, saying the California courts don't have jurisdiction over their claims.
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June 21, 2024
Costco Sued Over PFAS In Kirkland Brand Baby Wipes
Costco is facing a proposed class action over its fragrance-free "natural" baby wipes, which consumers claim are made with toxic levels of forever chemicals, rendering them unsafe for use on children.
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June 21, 2024
Wolverine Inks Deal To End PFAS Coverage Fight
Footwear company Wolverine and one of its insurers have told a Michigan federal judge that they have reached a settlement in a coverage dispute over underlying chemical exposure actions, saying they "have agreed to a signed, confidential term sheet to resolve this action."
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June 21, 2024
Justices Keep Domestic Abusers Disarmed, Clarify Bruen
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Texas man's constitutional challenge to a federal law prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms Friday, providing limited guidance to lower courts on how to apply the high court's Second Amendment historical analogue test.
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June 20, 2024
TikTok Says Alternatives To 'Dangerous' Ban Were Ignored
TikTok said Thursday that federal lawmakers likely didn't even consider its "exhaustive, multi-year efforts" to address national security concerns before deciding to ban the social media platform, slamming the law as "unprecedented" and warning that it sets "a dangerous precedent."
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June 20, 2024
BMW Escapes Suit Over Leaky Coolant Lines, For Now
BMW drivers seeking to sue the automotive maker over allegedly defective engine cooling lines will have to get more specific in their allegations, a New Jersey federal judge said in a dismissal order, giving the consumers another chance to correct the issue and refile.
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June 20, 2024
Eli Lilly Launches Round Of Diabetes Drug Suits
Eli Lilly on Thursday hit various compounding pharmacies and medical spas in five states and the District of Columbia with suits saying that they trick consumers into thinking that they sell Eli Lilly medications that treat diabetes and obesity when actually they are copycats and are untested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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June 20, 2024
Attys In Chiquita Case Say Victims Can't Proceed Together
A long-standing rift among plaintiffs' attorneys for victims of violence committed by paramilitary groups funded by Chiquita Brands International Inc. has reached a fever pitch, as attorneys have now told the court they cannot proceed together in a second bellwether trial of the multidistrict litigation set to start next month.
Expert Analysis
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Alter Paraphernalia Imports
The Biden administration's recent proposal to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana use raises questions about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement policies may shift when it comes to enforcing a separate federal ban on marijuana accessory imports, says R. Kevin Williams at Clark Hill.
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Boeing Saga Underscores Need For Ethical Corporate Culture
In the wake of recent allegations about Boeing’s safety culture, and amid the U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower incentives, business leaders should reinvigorate their emphasis on compliance by making clear that long-term profitability requires ethical business practices, says Maxwell Carr-Howard at Dentons.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Opinion
Bankruptcy Judges Can Justly Resolve Mass Tort Cases
Johnson & Johnson’s recent announcement of a prepackaged reorganization plan for its talc unit highlights that Chapter 11 is a continually evolving living statute that can address new types of problems with reorganization, value and job preservation, and just treatment for creditors, says Kenneth Rosen at Ken Rosen Advisors PC.
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How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving
Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.
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An Insurance Coverage Checklist For PFAS Defendants
With PFAS liability exposures attracting increased media attention, now is a good time for companies that could be exposed to liability related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to review existing and past insurance policies, and consider taking proactive steps to maximize their likelihood of coverage, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.
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Opinion
It's Time To Defuse The Ticking Time Bomb Of US Landfills
After recent fires at landfills in Alabama and California sent toxic fumes into surrounding communities, it is clear that existing penalties for landfill mismanagement are insufficient — so policymakers must enact major changes to the way we dispose of solid waste, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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EPA Heavy-Duty Vehicle GHG Rules Face Bumpy Road Ahead
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles are facing opposition from both states and the transportation industry, and their arguments will mirror two pending cases challenging the EPA's authority, says Grant Laizer at Adams and Reese.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.