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Product Liability
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August 13, 2024
Tort Report: Disney Blasted For 'Absurd' Arbitration Bid
A Disney unit's unconventional bid to arbitrate a wrongful death suit and a hefty crash suit verdict out of California lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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August 13, 2024
United Customer's Greenwashing Suit Preempted, Judge Says
A Maryland federal judge ruled Tuesday that federal law preempts a proposed class action alleging United Airlines misled customers by deceptively marketing its use of sustainable aviation fuels and its efforts to be green and carbon-neutral.
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August 13, 2024
DC Circ. Backs EPA's Ethylene Oxide Cancer Risk Value
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld federal environmental regulators' assessment of the cancer risk from exposure to certain chemical manufacturers' ethylene oxide emissions, rejecting a challenge from a chemical company and two chemical associations that argued the risk assessment was arbitrary and capricious.
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August 13, 2024
Eversource Hit With $450M Suit Over Fatal Gas Explosion
The family of a Massachusetts man who died in a 2021 natural gas explosion caused by a corroded and leaking pipe says utility provider Eversource put profits ahead of public safety, according to a wrongful death suit filed Tuesday that seeks $450 million in damages.
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August 13, 2024
'Clever' Scheme Is Concealing Talc Litigation Funding, J&J Says
The Beasley Allen Law Firm needs to disclose alleged litigation funding fueling its litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder even if that funding was not given directly to the firm since the disclosure rules apply to "parties" and not "law firms," J&J has told a New Jersey federal court.
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August 13, 2024
Rising Star: Lieff Cabraser's Andrew Kaufman
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP's Andrew Kaufman has helped lead cases in multidistrict litigation against Juul Labs Inc. over its marketing of vapes and Uber Technologies Inc. over allegations of sexual assault of passengers, earning him a spot among product liability attorneys under age 40 recognized by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 13, 2024
Talc Claims Land Cosmetics Giant Avon In Ch. 11
Avon Products filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware, saying it needs to address more than $1 billion in liabilities and allegations of injuries caused by talc in its products.
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August 12, 2024
Groups Call On IHS To End Amalgam Use On Tribal Lands
A consortium of groups, including Consumers for Dental Choice and the International Indian Treaty Council, are calling on the U.S. Indian Health Service and other governments to immediately stop using mercury-containing dental fillings on Native Americans.
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August 12, 2024
Gun Rights Group Drops Suit Challenging Colo. Magazine Ban
A Colorado federal judge dismissed a gun rights group's lawsuit challenging a state ban on "large capacity" magazines after the parties agreed to walk away from the suit on Monday.
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August 12, 2024
Navy Federal, Recording Software Co. Want Privacy Suit Nixed
Navy Federal Credit Union customers can't bring an invasion of privacy class action over the credit union's use of artificial intelligence software to analyze and record customer calls, in part because its recording practices were appropriately disclosed, the nation's largest credit union has argued.
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August 12, 2024
Deadline Passes For Camp Lejeune Claims
The deadline for U.S. Marine Corps servicemembers and their families to file administrative claims with the federal government over illnesses contracted by contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune passed on Saturday, with more than 320,000 claims that have been filed with the U.S. Navy.
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August 12, 2024
The Biggest Telecom Developments Of 2024: Midyear Report
The first half of 2024 saw sweeping change in the telecom sphere as the Federal Communications Commission's Democratic majority pushed through controversial net neutrality rules and confronted challenges on artificial intelligence, national security and more, but also faces the prospect of new headwinds as the nation's top court pared back powers of federal agencies.
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August 12, 2024
Norfolk Southern Says Cuts To Investors' Suit Aren't Enough
Norfolk Southern Corp. told a New York federal court on Friday that a magistrate judge's recommendations to trim an investor proposed class action over losses stemming from the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment didn't go far enough, and urged the court to dismiss the entire complaint.
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August 12, 2024
Paragard IUD Makers Gearing Up For Defect Dismissal Bid
Teva Pharmaceuticals and The Cooper Cos. have five days to reach out to plaintiffs who may be included in a motion to dismiss the sprawling litigation over alleged defects in the Paragard IUD, a Georgia federal judge said Monday.
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August 12, 2024
Microplastics False Ad Complaint 'Doesn't Hold Water'
An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action alleging that BlueTriton Brands Inc. doesn't tell consumers that its Ice Mountain spring water contains microplastics, saying no reasonable consumer would believe "100% natural spring water" is a guarantee down to the molecular level.
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August 12, 2024
Rising Star: Barnes & Thornburg's Erin Pauley
Erin Pauley of Barnes & Thornburg LLP has represented clients such as pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and national food and drug retailers against personal injury and product liability cases throughout the country, earning her a spot among the product liability practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 12, 2024
Oil Cos. Get Go-Ahead On $3.5M La. Contamination Settlement
A Louisiana federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $3.5 million settlement to resolve residents' claims against Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. over alleged contamination from creosoting facilities, over the objection of co-defendants BNSF and International Paper.
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August 12, 2024
Big Tobacco To Pay $600M In 'Historic' Mass. Deal
Philip Morris Inc. and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. will pay nine-figure sums as part of a $600 million settlement between Massachusetts and major tobacco companies that resolves yearslong disputes about how much the cigarette makers owe, the state attorney general announced Monday.
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August 09, 2024
Camp Lejeune Plaintiffs Complain They Can't Get Gov't Docs
Veterans and family members who claim they were injured due to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune say the government has refused to hand over "troves of discoverable documents" and are urging a federal court to force the government to comply.
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August 09, 2024
Tesla Sued Over Gigafactory Worker's Electrocution Death
The widow of an electrician who was fatally electrocuted this month while working at Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, has filed a wrongful death suit in Texas state court, claiming the company negligently allowed a dangerous condition to exist at the automaker's global headquarters.
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August 09, 2024
FDA Rejects Latest Effort To Treat PTSD With MDMA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected a new drug application to treat post-traumatic stress disorder with the psychedelic drug MDMA, an entactogen also known as ecstasy or molly, the company that backed the effort announced Friday.
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August 09, 2024
Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines Families Float April Trial Lineup
Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash victims' families told an Illinois federal judge Friday that they're prepping the next six cases for an April trial, but disagreed over whether a Canadian resident who lost five family members in the crash should be slotted in for a standalone trial in March.
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August 09, 2024
Meta Urges Justices To Ax Investors' Risk Disclosure Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. filed its opening brief Friday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Ninth Circuit decision that kept alive a class action stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data abuse scandal, arguing that decision would create unnecessary disclosure obligations and encourage "fraud by hindsight" lawsuits.
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August 09, 2024
Retailer Can't Pass Buck To Pool Maker In Child Drowning Suit
A Missouri federal judge trimmed the bulk of a couple's claims against the retailer that sold the pool in which their two-year-old daughter drowned, but ruled that the retailer couldn't escape strict liability claims under the state's "innocent seller" statute.
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August 09, 2024
Full 2nd Circ. Axes Producer's Bid To Revive Blacklisting Suit
The Second Circuit won't take a second whack at its ruling that a stage workers union can't be held liable under antitrust laws for discouraging members from working with a Broadway producer following complaints about unpaid wages.
Expert Analysis
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Could 'General Average' Apply To The Key Bridge Crash?
While the owner and operator of the vessel that struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge have sought legal protection under the Limitation of Liability Act, they could choose to invoke the long-standing principle of general average, if supported by the facts of the crash and the terms of their contracts with cargo owners, says Julie Maurer at Husch Blackwell.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Breaking Down EPA's Rule On PFAS In Drinking Water
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first enforceable federal drinking water regulation for PFAS, which, along with reporting and compliance requirements for regulated entities, will have a number of indirect effects, including increased cleanup costs and the possible expansion of existing Superfund sites, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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'Beauty From Within' Trend Poses Regulatory Risks For Cos.
Companies capitalizing on the current trend in oral supplements touting cosmetic benefits must note that a product claim that would be acceptable for an externally applied cosmetic may draw much stronger scrutiny from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when applied to a supplement, say Natalie Rainer and Katherine Staba at K&L Gates.
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9th Circ. Arbitration Ruling Could Have Int'l Implications
In Patrick v. Running Warehouse, the Ninth Circuit's recent matter-of-fact invocation of an unusual California rule in a domestic arbitration context raises choice of law questions, and could make California law a strategic option for some international arbitration parties, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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Teach Your Party Representative The Art Of Nonverbal Cues
As illustrated by recent reports about President Donald Trump’s nonverbal communication in court, jurors notice what’s happening at counsel table, which may color their perceptions of the case as a whole, so trial attorneys should teach party representatives to self-monitor their nonverbal behaviors, says Clint Townson at Townson Consulting.
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Considering CGL Defense For Social Media Addiction Claims
A recent lawsuit filed in California state court against Meta seeks damages from technology companies for the costs of treating children allegedly suffering from social media addiction, but the prospects of defense coverage under commercial general liability insurance policies for a potential new wave of claims look promising, say Craig Hirsch and Tae Andrews at Pasich.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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Cos. Must Prepare For Calif. Legislation That Would Ban PFAS
Pending California legislation that would ban the sale or distribution of new products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances could affect thousands of businesses — and given the bill's expected passage, and its draconian enforcement regime, companies must act now to prepare for it, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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FDA Warning Letter Tightens Reins On 'Research Only' Labels
A recent warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Agena Bioscience alleged the company’s diagnostic devices were labeled for research use only, but improperly promoted for human clinical purposes, signifying a reinforcement — and a potential narrowing — of the agency's policy on products labeled “research only,” say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Assigning Liability In Key Bridge Collapse May Be Challenging
In the wake of a cargo ship's collision with Baltimore's Key Bridge last month, claimants may focus on the vessel's owners and the agencies responsible for the design and maintenance of the bridge — but allocating legal liability to either private or governmental entities may be difficult under applicable state and federal laws, says Clay Robbins at Wisner Baum.
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Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release
A Florida grand jury’s recent report on potential wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a reminder to attorneys to review the myriad legal mechanisms available to challenge the lawfulness of a grand jury report’s publication and expunge the names of their clients, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.