Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Product Liability
-
September 27, 2024
Claims Trimmed In Delaware Jeep Hybrid Defect Class Action
A Delaware federal judge threw out a number of claims Friday from a proposed class action against automaker FCA US LLC alleging it sold Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee plug-in hybrid vehicles with a defective feature that renders electric driving unavailable, adopting the bulk of a magistrate judge's report filed in July.
-
September 27, 2024
9th Circ. Says Stem Cell Treatment Not Exempt From FDA Rule
Two California clinics' experimental stem cell treatments are "drugs" subject to Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulations, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, reviving the federal government's bid to stop the clinic from marketing the products as cures for certain diseases without U.S. Food and Drug Administration review.
-
September 27, 2024
NJ Town Urges Court To Keep $1B DuPont Pollution Suit Alive
Carneys Point Township urged a New Jersey state judge Friday to keep alive its billion dollar lawsuit over pollution from the former Dupont Chambers Works facility, arguing its complaint and the Garden State environmental regulator's enforcement action seeking the remediation of the same site have nothing to do with each other.
-
September 27, 2024
Hemp Org., Cheech & Chong Take Aim At New Calif. THC Ban
A leading hemp industry trade organization has teamed up with the cannabis brand fronted by stoner comedians Cheech and Chong to challenge new emergency regulations in California that ban the sale of hemp products containing the psychoactive cannabinoid THC.
-
September 27, 2024
GM, LG Get Go-Ahead On $150M EV Battery Settlement
A Michigan federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $150 million settlement to resolve claims that General Motors LLC sold Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles with faulty batteries made by LG units, finding the deal to be fair and reasonable in resolving the claims.
-
September 27, 2024
Philip Morris Says Nicotine Pouch Suit Is Preempted
Philip Morris International Inc. and a subsidiary are urging a Connecticut federal judge to throw out claims that they falsely advertised nicotine pouches as safe and healthy and marketed them to adolescents, saying the claims are preempted by federal law.
-
September 27, 2024
EPA, Ohio Refinery Ink $169M Wastewater Cleanup Deal
A Cenovus Energy unit has reached a $169 million deal to resolve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's complaint over pollution from a petroleum refinery in Lima, Ohio, the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA announced Friday.
-
September 26, 2024
Texas Supreme Court Leaves State Fair Gun Ban Intact
The state's high court rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's attempt to toss out the State Fair of Texas' new policy prohibiting fairgoers from carrying handguns, with three justices finding in a late Thursday opinion that, as a private entity, the State Fair has the right to determine if people carry guns at the fair.
-
September 26, 2024
Nestlé Customers Win Class Cert. In Child Labor Labeling Suit
A California federal judge on Thursday granted class certification in litigation alleging Nestle USA misleads the public with "sustainably sourced" chocolate labels when its cocoa is produced through child labor and deforestation, rejecting the company's contention that classes can't be lumped together for different labels on different products.
-
September 26, 2024
General Mills Seeks To Ax Suit Claiming Cocoa Puffs Has Lead
General Mills urged a California federal court to toss a proposed consumer class action claiming its Cocoa Puffs cereal contains undisclosed and high levels of lead, saying the suit is based on a "flawed and implausible theory" that doesn't show lead is present in the cereal at unsafe levels.
-
September 26, 2024
Feds Rip Railroads' 11th Circ. Bid To Void Train Crew Size Rule
The U.S. Department of Transportation has told the Eleventh Circuit that its new train crew size rule is intended to promote rail safety, yet railroads have misconstrued the requirement and overblown their purported cost burdens in an effort to torpedo the rule.
-
September 26, 2024
Helicopter-Maker Claims Supplier Had 'Reliability Issues'
A former Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. engineer claimed a supplier at the center of a $100 million trade secrets lawsuit delivered parts that had "reliability issues," saying Thursday during a trial in Texas state court that the supplier had long-standing problems.
-
September 26, 2024
Walgreens Struggles To Exit 'Non-Drowsy' Label Suit In Wash.
The Washington State Supreme Court questioned Thursday whether Walgreens could avoid state consumer protection claims over its "non-drowsy" cough medicine label by pointing to a lack of federal labeling requirements for the drug, with one justice calling the argument a non sequitur.
-
September 26, 2024
Chancery Tosses Carvana Suit Alleging Faulty Sales
Delaware's chancellor has dismissed a stockholder derivative case against online used-car dealer Carvana Inc. that sought damages for alleged insider trading and legal complaince monitoring failures, a case that defense attorneys had branded "repackaged" from past or pending federal securities actions.
-
September 26, 2024
EPA Cleared Of Allegations Of Mishandling Ohio Derailment
An Ohio federal judge has dismissed allegations that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mishandled its response to the 2023 East Palestine train derailment, finding little evidence that government officials wrongly cleared air and water quality as safe enough for residents to return home.
-
September 26, 2024
Ford Says $1.7B Ga. Verdict No Excuse For Delayed Claims
Lawyers for Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it strains credulity that Super Duty truck drivers didn't learn about their allegedly weak roofs until a billion-dollar jury verdict in Georgia, arguing in Michigan that decades of other suits and government documents could have clued in the plaintiffs sooner.
-
September 26, 2024
Conn. PFAS Water Pollution Suit Returned To State Court
A Connecticut federal judge has sent back to state court a proposed class action accusing the Connecticut Water Co. of knowingly selling water contaminated with dangerous levels of PFAS and failing to take steps to remove the pollutants, saying the water supply system's arguments are "fatally flawed."
-
September 26, 2024
6th Circ. Upholds Philips' Win In Glass Plant Pollution Suit
The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday stood by a Kentucky federal jury's verdict clearing Philips Electronics of proposed class claims brought by Bluegrass State property owners over pollution, agreeing with the jurors and the lower court that the claims over the company's former glass plant were filed too late.
-
September 26, 2024
11th Circ. Wary Of Ineffective-Counsel Claim In Salmonella Case
Peanut Corp. of America's former president and a food broker convicted for their roles in a salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened more than 700 in 2008 and 2009 urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to overturn a district court order refusing to vacate their prison sentences.
-
September 26, 2024
Atty Sheehan Owes $144K Fees For 'Frivolous' Big Lots Suit
Prolific New York-based consumer advocate attorney Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC must cover the approximately $144,000 tab for attorney fees incurred amid the "frivolous" coffee labeling suit he brought against national retailer Big Lots Inc., a Florida federal judge has ordered.
-
September 25, 2024
Ohio Train Derailment Plaintiffs Win Final OK Of $600M Deal
An Ohio federal judge on Wednesday gave her final blessing to a $600 million settlement resolving claims brought by residents and others affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, last year.
-
September 25, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Co., Firm Seem To Share Sanctions Blame
A Washington appeals court judge said Wednesday that a climbing equipment manufacturer and its former trial counsel, Sinars Slowikowski Tomaska LLC, appear to share blame for discovery violations in a product liability lawsuit and that a trial court appeared to have the authority to issue sanctions.
-
September 25, 2024
Target Can't Escape Claims Over Deceptive 'Clean' Label
A California federal judge on Wednesday said that Target Corp. still has to face class claims that its Target Clean range of beauty products actually contain chemicals that harm humans and the environment, saying the allegations are a bit "unique" and are not typical product liability claims.
-
September 25, 2024
Paxton Asks Texas Justices To Reverse State Fair Gun Ban
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the state's highest court for emergency relief to prohibit a new State Fair of Texas rule that bans fairgoers from carrying handguns, saying in a Wednesday appeal that the Fifteenth Court of Appeals abused its discretion by denying relief.
-
September 25, 2024
Baltimore Bridge Wreck: 6 Months Later, Claims Mount
A court deadline to challenge liability limits over Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse shows an intense legal battle brewing as the U.S. government, Maryland and private plaintiffs sharpen their claims for damages against the owner and manager of the cargo ship that slammed into the bridge six months ago.
Expert Analysis
-
5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
-
Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
-
4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
-
How Purdue Pharma High Court Case May Change Bankruptcy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Purdue Pharma may be the death of most third-party releases in Chapter 11 cases, and depending on the decision’s breadth, could have much more far-reaching effects on the entire bankruptcy system, say Brian Shaw and David Doyle at Cozen O'Connor.
-
Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
-
Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
-
Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
-
California Shows A Viable Way Forward For PFAS Testing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no good way of testing for the presence of specific per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in food packaging — but a widely available test for a range of fluorine compounds that's now being used in California may offer a good solution, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.