Product Liability

  • December 10, 2024

    Ohio Justices Reject Opioid Nuisance Claims In $650M Appeal

    The majority of the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the state's product liability law doesn't allow for public nuisance claims to be brought over the opioid crisis, in a challenge to a $650 million verdict won by two counties.

  • December 09, 2024

    Calif. Floats Requiring Social Media Warning Labels

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday introduced a bill that would require a "black box warning" to be displayed on social media platforms to remind users of the risks of prolonged social media use, citing research linking children's and teens' use to health harms like depression.

  • December 09, 2024

    Boeing Supplier Wins Bid To Block Texas Biz Records Inquiry

     A Texas federal judge on Monday adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation granting Spirit AeroSystems Inc.'s bid to permanently enjoin a Texas statute requiring businesses to immediately comply with the state's demand to examine business records.

  • December 09, 2024

    Apple Faces Another Suit Over Child Porn Detection Failures

    Apple has been hit with another proposed class action by child abuse victims in California federal court alleging that the tech giant misled users about its efforts to combat the dissemination of child pornography and defectively designed its products, thereby allowing explicit imagery to run rampant on its iCloud and Apple devices.

  • December 09, 2024

    Mass. Jury Returns $10.6M Verdict In Big Tobacco Case

    A Massachusetts jury has hit tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds with a $10.6 million verdict after finding it was liable for causing the fatal lung cancer of a woman, who started smoking as a child, by misrepresenting the dangers of cigarettes.

  • December 09, 2024

    What's Next After Boeing 737 Max Deal Snags On DEI Clause

    A Texas federal judge's recent rejection of Boeing's plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice underscores the increasing vulnerability of corporate and government diversity, equity and inclusion policies, experts say, spelling fresh complications for the embattled American aerospace titan and the legal saga over its 737 Max jets.

  • December 09, 2024

    Xcel Can't Hide Evidence In Marshall Fire Suit, Attys Say

    Attorneys representing more than 4,000 individuals suing Xcel Energy over a 2021 Colorado wildfire demand the utility release thousands of documents regarding the location of a power line that allegedly caused an ignition, claiming the information is being improperly withheld despite how critical it is to the case.

  • December 09, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Bans On Two Carcinogenic Chemicals

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a pair of final rules on Monday banning all uses of trichloroethylene and all consumer uses of perchloroethylene, which are cancer-causing chemical solvents used in brake cleaner and adhesive products.

  • December 09, 2024

    Prevagen Maker Ordered To Cease Memory Claims

    A New York federal judge on Friday upheld an injunction blocking Quincy Bioscience Holding Co. Inc. nationally from making claims that its supplement Prevagen can treat memory problems.

  • December 09, 2024

    Ohio Justices Won't Revise 'Boneless' Wings Ruling

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday declined to reconsider its decision backing the dismissal of a suit from a man injured when he ingested a bone in a "boneless" chicken wing, though two justices sharply criticized the decision as politically motivated and a dark harbinger for Ohioans.

  • December 06, 2024

    Judge Denies Publix Bid To Appeal Opioid Coverage Ruling

    A Florida federal judge on Friday rejected Publix's request for a judgment that would have allowed it to immediately appeal a decision that said seven of its insurance policies didn't provide coverage for opioid lawsuits the grocery chain is facing.

  • December 06, 2024

    Boeing Shareholder Attys Intervene In Parallel Chancery Suit

    Attorneys for two Boeing Co. stockholders pursuing derivative claims in Virginia federal court secured approval on Friday to intervene in a later filed case in Delaware's Court of Chancery, citing concerns that a "dilatory" approach by the Delaware camp could jeopardize both suits.

  • December 06, 2024

    J&J Seeks New Talc Trial As Developer Seeks $30M More

    As Johnson & Johnson seeks to toss the underlying verdict, a real estate developer and cancer patient who was awarded $15 million in compensation from a talc trial jury has asked a Connecticut state judge to award another $30 million to punish the company for allegedly putting "profits over people."

  • December 06, 2024

    AngioDynamics Port Defect Caused Infection, Ga. Man Says

    A medical device manufacturer and one of its subsidiaries have been sued in Georgia federal court over allegations that their implantable port for delivering medications directly into patients' bloodstreams has a defect that can lead to increased risk of infection and sepsis.

  • December 06, 2024

    Evenflo Nears Settlement In Booster Seat MDL

    Baby product maker Evenflo said Friday that it has reached an agreement in principle to settle multidistrict litigation alleging it made deceptive statements about the safety of its Big Kid booster seats.

  • December 06, 2024

    Philips Medical Monitoring Deal, $4.8M Fees Get Final OK

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday gave the final OK on a $25 million settlement in medical monitoring claims in multidistrict litigation stemming from a recall of ventilator machines by Koninklijke Philips NV and American subsidiaries.

  • December 06, 2024

    Cancer Claimant Amici Slam Bestwall's Two-Step Ch. 11

    Georgia-Pacific unit Bestwall's bid to handle asbestos liability using a controversial "Texas Two-Step" Chapter 11 case is "grotesquely inequitable" and "plainly at odds" with the tenets of bankruptcy, a group of injury claimants in separate insolvency proceedings said in a brief urging the Fourth Circuit to toss the case.

  • December 06, 2024

    Fla. Jury Awards $310M To Family Of Teen Killed On Park Ride

    A Florida state court jury awarded $310 million to the parents of a teenager who died riding on the Orlando Freefall attraction at ICON Park two years ago after ruling against the ride's manufacturer, according to counsel representing the family.

  • December 05, 2024

    Dunkin' Fruit-Named Drinks Have No Fruit, False Ad Suit Says

    Dunkin' falsely markets its "Refresher" line of caffeinated beverages with names of specific fruits despite not containing any of the fruits, cheating consumers out of the "premium" fruit ingredients and their health benefits, alleges a new proposed false advertising class action filed Wednesday in New York federal court.

  • December 05, 2024

    Frontier Pays $3.5M To End Calif. AG's Illegal Dumping Probe

    The California subsidiary of telecom company Frontier Communications will pay $3.5 million to end an investigation into the improper disposal of batteries, aerosol cans and other hazardous waste at warehouses and field service facilities dating back to 2008, the Golden State's attorney general announced Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    Abbott Accused Of 'Last-Ditch Effort' To Halt Formula Suit

    Investors accusing Abbott Laboratories leaders of concealing known safety issues related to recalled infant formula urged an Illinois federal judge to reject the company's bid to stay the case because it belatedly formed a special litigation committee to investigate the allegations two years into the litigation.

  • December 05, 2024

    Tesla Can't 'Pretend' Dismissal Was Stay Order, 9th Circ. Says

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday doubted Tesla's arguments that a California federal court had jurisdictional authority to enforce its arbitration win against an ex-Tesla engineer's defamation claims, with one judge noting that Tesla asked to dismiss the engineer's case and it can't now "pretend" the dismissal was a stay order.

  • December 05, 2024

    FDA Warns 115 Retailers Over Unauthorized E-Cigarettes

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to 115 retailers across the country for selling unauthorized e-cigarettes that appeal to youths, the agency said Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    Feds Invest $849M For Water Infrastructure Improvements

    An $849 million investment from the Biden administration will support 77 water infrastructure development projects throughout the country's western states and tribal communities that are located along major river basins in an effort to restore canal capacity, sustain treatment, replace aging hydropower production equipment and provide maintenance to older project buildings.

Expert Analysis

  • How 3rd Circ. Raised Bar For Constitutional Case Injunctions

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    The Third Circuit's decision in Delaware State Sportsmen's Association v. Delaware Department of Safety & Homeland Security, rejecting the relaxed preliminary injunction standards many courts have used when plaintiffs allege constitutional harms, could portend a shift in such cases in at least four ways, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Weight-Loss Drugs May Spur Next Major Mass Tort

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    With lawsuits concerning Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs potentially becoming the next major mass tort in the U.S., companies should consider key defense strategies ranging from alternate dispute resolution to enhanced drug safety, say Dino Haloulos and Jarif Khan at Foley & Mansfield.

  • What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs

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    As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

  • Del. 3M Ruling Risks Upending Corporate Insurance Programs

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    A Delaware court's findings last week in the 3M earplug insurance litigation that a parent company's defense fee payments don't count toward a subsidiary's self-insured retention and that an insurer's duty to pay defense costs doesn't attach to multidistrict litigation merit closer scrutiny in light of the modern corporate form and the fundamental objectives of MDLs, say Julie Hammerman and Gary Thompson at Thompson HD.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Rare MDL Moments

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    Following a recent trend of rare moments in baseball, there are a few rarities this year in multidistrict litigation panel practice, including an unusually high rate of petition grants, and, in one session, a two-week delay from hearing session day to the first decision, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • FDA's Multifaceted Role On Display In MDMA Therapy Scrutiny

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    Ongoing deliberations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder serves as a window into the intricate balance of scientific innovation and patient safety oversight, and offers crucial insights into regulatory nuances, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Kevin Lanzo at Pharmaka Clinical Consulting.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Nat'l Security Considerations For Telecom Products Counsel

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    An increase in federal national security measures in the telecommunications space, particularly from the Federal Communications Commission, means that products counsel need to broaden their considerations as they advise on new products and services, says Laura Stefani at Venable.

  • How Cos. Should Handle Research Org.'s Carcinogen Evals

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    In light of the International Agency of Research for Cancer's list of substances slated for review over the next five years, manufacturers of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer products should monitor for potentially unbalanced determinations, which could stimulate litigation regarding potential exposure from products, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Boeing Plea Deal Is A Mixed Bag, Providing Lessons For Cos.

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    The plea deal for conspiracy to defraud regulators that Boeing has tentatively agreed to will, on the one hand, probably help the company avoid further reputational damage, but also demonstrates to companies that deferred prosecution agreements have real teeth, and that noncompliance with DPA terms can be costly, says Edmund Vickers at Red Lion Chambers.

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