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Product Liability
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June 04, 2024
Chancery Pauses Meta Suit While Calif., Texas Cases Continue
Delaware's Chancery Court on Tuesday paused a derivative suit seeking potentially massive damages from Meta Platforms Inc.'s leaders for failing to eliminate pedophilia, human trafficking and child exploitation content from its social media sites, pending resolution of direct damages suits in Texas and California.
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June 04, 2024
J&J Owes $260M To Ore. Talc Mesothelioma Patient, Jury Says
An Oregon state jury has ruled that Johnson & Johnson owes $260 million to a woman who said she developed mesothelioma from breathing in asbestos during daily talcum powder use.
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June 04, 2024
10th Circ. Backs CPSC In Baby Lounger Injunction Dispute
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday sided with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in an appeal by a pillow company aiming to block a CPSC proceeding against it over one of its infant products, saying even if the company can show that removal protections for CPSC's commissioners and a judge are unconstitutional, the company hasn't shown how that affects its case.
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June 04, 2024
Wildfire Attys Descend On Colo. As Xcel Litigation Ramps Up
Hundreds of lawsuits seeking to hold Xcel Energy responsible for a devastating 2021 Colorado wildfire are just the latest battleground for a relatively small community of lawyers who have been involved in some of the biggest catastrophic fire suits in the western U.S.
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June 04, 2024
GM Ends Ga. Crash Suit That Nearly Forced CEO To Testify
General Motors and the widower of a woman whose death was alleged to have been caused by one of its vehicles have reached an agreement to end long-running wrongful death litigation that at one point threatened to force the company's CEO to testify, the parties said.
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June 04, 2024
Champion Sports Settles Hurdle Injury Suit With Athlete
Champion Sports has settled claims that it sold a gym a defective hurdle that impaled a gym-goer after he failed to jump over it, according to documents filed recently in South Carolina federal court.
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June 04, 2024
Vape Distributors Push To Exit NYC E-Cigarette Suit
Two groups of e-cigarette distributors are urging a New York state court to toss claims from New York City alleging they're violating city laws by selling flavored e-cigarettes, saying that the law in question only applies to retail sales, not distributor-to-distributor sales.
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June 04, 2024
Alaska Airlines Passengers Drop Boeing 737 Blowout Suit
A group of passengers has agreed to drop claims against The Boeing Co., supplier Spirit AeroSystems and Alaska Airlines over the Jan. 5 mid-flight door plug blowout on a Boeing 737, according to a stipulated dismissal notice filed in Washington state court.
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June 04, 2024
GRSM50 Gains Liability Partner In San Diego
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, the firm now known as GRSM50, has hired an attorney from Murchison & Cumming LLP, who joins the firm in California to continue her general liability practice, the firm announced Monday.
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June 03, 2024
Voir Dire With No Judge Present Persists In State Courts
Data released Friday by the National Center for State Courts revealed that voir dire conducted by lawyers with no judge present in the room persists in 7% of state court trials, but has been virtually eliminated in federal courts.
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June 03, 2024
TikTok Profits Off Of Child Sex Trafficking, Utah Alleges
Utah's Division of Consumer Protection hit TikTok Inc. with a lawsuit in state court Monday, accusing the social media giant of intentionally profiting off of child sex trafficking by implementing an unregulated virtual currency system in its live-streaming feature that allows children to be sexually exploited by adult viewers.
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June 03, 2024
PacifiCorp To Pay $178M To 400 Oregonians Over Fires
PacifiCorp has agreed to pay $178 million to more than 400 Oregon residents affected by a cluster of wildfires that burned more than a million acres of land on Labor Day 2020 amid dangerously dry and windy weather conditions, the utility announced Monday.
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June 03, 2024
Justices Won't Review Contempt Sanctions Against Drug Co.
The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals' challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's $40 million judgment against it for misrepresenting weight-loss drugs and violating an injunction.
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June 03, 2024
Navy Federal Lets AI Co. Monitor Calls, Suit Says
Navy Federal Credit Union has been letting an artificial intelligence software company intercept, analyze and record all its customer calls, according to a new lawsuit accusing the nation's largest credit union of putting its members' confidential, personal and financial information at risk.
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June 03, 2024
No Sanctions For 'Fraudulent' Signatures In 3M Earplug MDL
A Florida federal judge has decided against sanctioning two law firms that signed documents in place of their clients but chastised their lawyers' "obviously improper" act, which could have cut their clients out of their share of the $6 billion settlement in the 3M combat earplugs multidistrict litigation.
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June 03, 2024
Royal Caribbean Sued Over Ship's Wave Simulation Attraction
Royal Caribbean was hit Monday with a lawsuit in Florida federal court alleging its FlowRider wave simulation attraction on one of its cruise ships was "unreasonably dangerous" and led to a passenger being injured.
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June 03, 2024
Mich. Asks 6th Circ. To Keep Airport PFAS Suit In State Court
Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the state attorney general are asking the Sixth Circuit to keep the department's suit against Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over so-called forever chemicals in state court, saying the Airport Authority is not entitled to removal as a "federal officer."
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June 03, 2024
GAO Urges DEA To Streamline Religious Drug Use Requests
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a new report that the nation's drug enforcement agency needs to be more transparent about its process for reviewing religious exemption requests from churches that use controlled substances as sacraments.
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June 03, 2024
New Mexico AG Beats Meta's Bid To Toss Child Abuse Suit
Social media company Meta can't escape a lawsuit claiming sexual predators were allowed to abuse children on Facebook and Instagram, after a New Mexico state judge rejected Meta's claims for immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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June 03, 2024
Jeep Driver Files Proposed Class Suit Over Battery Defect
Stellantis North America has been slapped with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging that although the carmaker's 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4XE suffers from a serious battery system defect, the company has refused to issue a recall or fix the vehicles.
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June 03, 2024
Printing Co. Loses Bid To Revive Tesla Screen Defect Suit
The Fourth Circuit has thrown out a printing company's lawsuit alleging Tesla refused to permanently fix a defective touch screen, with a panel ruling the defect wasn't present when the vehicle was sold, as required by the standards of a breach of warranty lawsuit.
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June 03, 2024
Jury Trials Dwindle In State Courts; Fall Started Before COVID
Jury trials have continued to "vanish" from state courts, despite seeing a slight bump following the pandemic shutdowns, with 2021 seeing fewer than half the number of jury trials as 2019 and one-third the number held in 2007, according to a new report from the National Center for State Courts.
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June 03, 2024
Law Firm Faces Sanctions Bid For Happy Meal 'Extortion' Suit
McDonald's has urged a Florida federal court to sanction Fischer Redavid PLLC and its clients for bringing a recently dismissed lawsuit seeking a warning on Happy Meal containers, accusing them of trying to extort the company for a bigger payout after securing an $800,000 jury verdict in a related case for the second-degree burns suffered by a girl from a dangerously hot Chicken McNugget.
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June 03, 2024
Attys Get $10M In Fees In Family Dollar Infestation Deal
A Tennessee federal judge has granted $10 million in fees to attorneys representing consumers following a settlement to resolve multidistrict litigation stemming from a rodent infestation at a Family Dollar Stores Inc. warehouse, finding the fees reasonable for the work done on the case.
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June 03, 2024
Pool Co. Says It Won't Survive $16M Judgment In Bid For Stay
The American arm of a Chinese swimming pool equipment maker told a North Carolina federal judge it faces insolvency if forced to fork over a $16 million false advertising and unfair business practices judgment, asking instead for a stay without bond while it appeals the verdict.
Expert Analysis
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And Now A Word From The Panel: A Strong Year For MDLs
While the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted even fewer MDL petitions last year than in 2022, hitting a 21st-century low, a closer look at the record-setting number of total actions encompassed within current proceedings reveals that MDL practice is still quite robust, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.
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How Consumer Product Cos. Can Keep Up With Class Actions
Recent cases show California's federal courts and the Ninth Circuit remain the preferred arena for consumers pursuing false advertising and trade deception claims against companies — so manufacturers, distributors and retailers of consumer products should continue to watch these courts for guidance on how to fight class actions, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Series
Competing In Triathlons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
While practicing law and competing in long-distance triathlons can make work and life feel unbalanced at times, participating in the sport has revealed important lessons about versatility, self-care and perseverance that apply to the office as much as they do the racecourse, says Laura Heusel at Butler Snow.
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Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument
Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.
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Perspectives
6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice
An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.
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Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga
Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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The Section 230 Immunity Provision Debate Continues
The Fifth Circuit last month voted in Doe v. Snap Inc. not to reconsider en banc its decade-old interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally allows websites to police objectionable content as they see fit — but a growing number of judges appear motivated to further limit the scope of its immunity, say Jordan Rice and Caleb Hayes-Deats at MoloLamken.
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Opinion
Why Justices Should Protect Public From Bump Stocks
In Garland v. Cargill, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to restore the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' rule banning bump stocks — thus preserving Congress' original intent to protect the American people from particularly dangerous firearms, says Douglas Letter at Brady United Against Gun Violence.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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Time To Step Up PFAS Due Diligence In Cross-Border M&A
Regulations in the U.S. and EU governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will likely evolve to become global standards out of necessity and scale, so PFAS due diligence — particularly for buyers, sellers, and lenders and investors involved in multijurisdictional mergers and acquisitions — will be essential in 2024, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Landmark Product Safety Prosecution May Signal Sea Change
U.S. v. Chu, a novel prosecution and guilty verdict of corporate executives for failing to report product defects under a consumer safety law, will certainly not be the last case of its kind, and companies will need to prepare for the government’s increasingly aggressive enforcement approach, say attorneys at Cooley.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement
Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.