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Product Liability
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July 31, 2024
AT&T Faces New Data Breach Class Action By Non-Customers
AT&T, already facing litigation over a data breach it admitted to in mid-July, was hit Tuesday with another putative class action in Texas federal court, this time by two individuals who alleged the telecom giant disregarded the breach's impact on customers of other companies using AT&T's network.
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July 31, 2024
2nd Circ. Paves Way For Conn. Zantac Bellwether, Attys Say
A recent decision by the Second Circuit that upheld the remand to state court of product liability lawsuits alleging that generic versions of Zantac may have caused cancer has paved the way for more than 850 additional plaintiffs to move forward in state court, according to a recent filing.
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July 31, 2024
Ayahuasca Church Can't Get $2.1M For Atty Fees
Attorneys for a Phoenix-based church won't get their fees increased or have any part of their pay covered by the government, an Arizona federal judge has ruled, saying the church is not the winning party in its suit against several federal agencies because the court "never placed its stamp of approval" on a deal that allows the church to use ayahuasca.
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July 31, 2024
Tampax, Kotex Tampons Hid Unsafe Lead Levels, Suits Say
Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble were each slapped with putative class actions in California federal court Tuesday claiming that some tampon products contain toxic levels of lead — and that the information was hidden from consumers.
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July 31, 2024
Federal Judge Overturns NJ Ban On AR-15 Assault Rifles
A New Jersey federal judge has overturned the Garden State's 30-year-old ban on AR-15 assault rifles, finding that even though it is "hard to accept the U.S. Supreme Court's pronouncements that certain firearm policy choices are 'off the table,'" the court is bound to follow the high court's decisions.
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July 31, 2024
Kenyan Firm Sues Ill. Attys Over Ethiopian Airlines Crash Fees
A small Kenyan law firm seeking attorney fees from a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash victims settlement with Boeing is accusing Jenner & Block LLP and another Chicago firm of coaxing its former client into firing the firm, allegedly through misinformation and forged signatures, according to a suit filed in Illinois federal court this week.
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July 31, 2024
Telecom Trespassing On Reservation Land, Oregon Tribes Say
Lumen Technologies Inc. is trespassing on territory that belongs to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and has been for years, according to a lawsuit accusing the telecom of continuing to operate on an expired lease instead of striking a new deal for miles of laid fiber.
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July 31, 2024
737 Max Families Say Boeing Deal 'Morally Reprehensible'
Families of victims of the 737 Max 8 crashes asked a Texas federal court Wednesday to reject Boeing's plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, saying the "rotten deal" lets the American aerospace giant skirt culpability for the deaths of 346 people.
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July 31, 2024
EPA Floats Ban On Many Uses Of Carcinogen 1-BP
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed banning all consumer uses of the carcinogen 1-bromopropane — except in insulation — as well as some industrial and commercial uses.
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July 31, 2024
Philip Morris Nicotine Pouches Are Deceptive, Lawsuit Claims
Philip Morris violated advertising and trade practices laws by selling "highly addictive" nicotine products designed and packaged to resemble breath mints and deceptively telegraphed that the tobacco-free pouches were healthier than cigarettes, according to a proposed class action in Connecticut federal court.
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July 31, 2024
Corteva Unit Ordered To Search 110K Boxes For PFAS Docs
A former North Carolina Superior Court judge in charge of ironing out a dispute between the state and a Corteva Inc. subsidiary over allegedly missing documents ordered the company to search through 110,000 boxes for information related to "forever-chemicals," finding it failed to give assurance the boxes were thoroughly searched.
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July 31, 2024
AIG Units Off Hook In Defending McKesson Opioid Suits
Two AIG insurers have no duty to defend McKesson Corp. over claims it intentionally over-distributed opioids, a California federal court ruled, saying the three underlying suits do not allege a potentially covered occurrence under policies issued between 1999 and 2004.
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July 31, 2024
Judge Refuses To Rethink Injury Firm Conflict Of Interest DQ
A law firm was properly disqualified from a family's design defect lawsuit against Home Depot USA Inc. and makers of a lawn mower, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled, confirming a prior finding that a conflict of interest arose between the father and daughter when the companies countersued the father.
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July 30, 2024
Amazon Must Recall Unsafe Third-Party Products, CPSC Says
Amazon bears legal responsibility for recalling the hundreds of thousands of products sold by third-party sellers on its site that are defective or fail to meet safety standards, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found in an order issued Monday.
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July 30, 2024
2024 Product Liability Areas To Watch
The growing movement in state laws about whether consumers can repair their own products is catching attorneys' eyes, as well as recent changes in rules that govern multidistrict litigation, which often involve pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
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July 30, 2024
Cook Medical Vein Filter Claims Came Too Late, 7th Circ. Says
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld Cook Medical LLC's win in a woman's lawsuit claiming the company's inferior vena cava filter caused her to develop abdominal pain and that the device fractured when it was removed, saying the suit was filed after the statute of limitations had expired.
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July 30, 2024
Meta, TikTok Challenge 'Subway Surfing' Death Claims
TikTok and Meta Platforms have asked a New York court to separate claims against them in a suit over the death of a teen who allegedly took part in a "subway surfing" social media challenge, saying the claims against them are totally different from claims against a state transportation agency.
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July 30, 2024
Colo. Justices Step Into Boulder Climate Change Case
The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered a trial court to defend its decision greenlighting the bulk of municipalities' attempts to make Suncor subsidiaries and Exxon pay for damages allegedly caused by climate change.
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July 30, 2024
Senate Sends Kids' Online Safety, Privacy Bills To House
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday easily approved a pair of bipartisan bills claiming to put more responsibility on social media platforms to ensure children's safety online and enhance data privacy protections for teens, although one of the proposals continues to face First Amendment opposition from consumer advocates as the measures move to the House.
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July 30, 2024
Judge Wants Device Warning Answers From Mich. Justices
A Michigan federal judge ruled Tuesday that medical device manufacturer NuVasive Inc. must face a patient suit alleging its limb-lengthening device caused metal poisoning, while also asking the Michigan Supreme Court to break its silence on medical manufacturers' duty to warn patients directly.
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July 30, 2024
Monsanto PCB Plaintiffs Say Expert Can Survive Appeals Loss
A group of families suing Monsanto alleging chemical poisoning urged a Washington state judge on Monday to reject the company's bid to derail their case nearing trial, arguing testimony from an exposure expert cannot be ruled out just because an appellate court struck some of his opinions in a different case.
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July 30, 2024
Camp Lejeune Judge Limits Settlement Details In Hearings
A North Carolina judge has ruled that updates on settlement offers from suits stemming from decades-long water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune cannot be shown at hearings.
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July 30, 2024
Psychedelics And The Law: A Midyear Review
A groundbreaking effort to secure federal approval for a psychedelic medication hit an unexpected snag. Religious groups asserting the right to access controlled substances had mixed success in federal court. Physicians seeking to administer psilocybin to terminally ill patients will finally have their day in court. Here are the major developments in psychedelics law from the first half of 2024.
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July 30, 2024
DOD Contractors Must Face Suit Over 'Made In U.S.A.' Label
A pair of whistleblowers who claim that tourniquets and other medical equipment sold to the U.S. Department of Defense was mislabeled as "made in U.S.A." can continue with most of their False Claims Act suit against two contractors, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.
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July 30, 2024
Baker Sterchi Expands Northwest In Merger With Seattle Firm
Regional firm Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC is expanding outside the Midwest as it takes on Seattle-based Christie Law Group PLLC on Sept. 1, the firm announced Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials
The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.
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Take AG James' Suit Over Enviro Claims As A Warning
New York Attorney General Letitia James' recent suit against JBS USA Food Co. over allegedly misleading claims about its goal to reach net zero by 2040 indicates that challenges to green claims are likely to continue, and that companies should think twice about ignoring National Advertising Division recommendations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.
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SC Ruling Reinforces All Sums Coverage Trend
A South Carolina state court's recent ruling in Covil v. Pennsylvania National is the latest in a series of decisions, dating back to the 2016 New York Court of Appeals ruling in Viking Pump, that reject insurers' pro rata allocation argument, further supporting that all sums coverage is required whenever a loss could be covered under a policy in any other year, say Raymond Mascia and Thomas Dupont at Anderson Kill.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers
A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.
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What New Waste Management Laws Signal For The Future
Several states have enacted extended producer responsibility and recycling labeling laws that will take effect in the next few years and force manufacturers to take responsibility for the end of life of their products, so companies should closely follow compliance timelines and push to innovate in the area, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
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2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise
The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.
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Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial
Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Opinion
Proposed MDL Management Rule Needs Refining
Proponents of the recently proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 believe it may enhance efficiency in multidistrict litigation proceedings if adopted, but there are serious concerns that it could actually hinder plaintiffs' access to justice through the courts — and there are fundamental flaws that deserve our attention, says Ashleigh Raso at Nigh Goldenberg.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
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Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
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Rebuttal
High Court Should Maintain Insurer Neutrality In Bankruptcy
While a recent Law360 guest article argues that the U.S. Supreme Court should endorse insurer standing in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, doing so would create a playground for mischief and delay, and the high court should instead uphold insurance neutrality, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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3 Litigation Strategies To Combat 'Safetyism'
Amid the rise of safetyism — the idea that every person should be free from the risk of harm or discomfort — among jurors and even judges, defense counsel can mount several tactics from the very start of litigation to counteract these views and blunt the potential for jackpot damages, says Ann Marie Duffy at Hollingsworth.