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Product Liability
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July 03, 2024
FCC Relying On Iffy Broadband Marketing Data, Co-Ops Say
Rural broadband providers are telling the Federal Communications Commission that more changes are needed for the agency's national broadband maps to accurately determine where federal funding would have the biggest impact in building out network infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas.
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July 03, 2024
After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.
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July 02, 2024
4th Circ. Nixes Black Lung Benefits For American Energy Miner
The Fourth Circuit on Monday upended an award of black lung benefits to the widow of a miner who worked for American Energy LLC, saying it was the widow's responsibility to prove that coal dust exposure, more than smoking, is what caused his respiratory disease.
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July 02, 2024
NCDOT, Motorist On Hook For $38M In Crosswalk Crash Case
A North Carolina state court jury has awarded $38 million to a motorist who suffered paralysis after she was hit by a car, in a suit accusing the North Carolina Department of Transportation of causing the collision by improperly designing a crosswalk.
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July 02, 2024
6th Circ. Takes Up Fuel Pump Appeal GM Pledged To Drop
The Sixth Circuit has agreed to hear General Motors' bid to undo certification of seven state classes of drivers who say GM sold diesel-powered trucks with faulty fuel pumps, although the automaker recently agreed to a $50 million settlement that includes a promise to abandon the appeal.
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July 02, 2024
Kipling Apparel Can't Nix 'Phantom' Discount Suit
A California federal judge on Monday refused to toss a proposed class action alleging that bag maker Kipling Apparel Corp. used "phantom" discounts to make outlet store customers believe they were getting price cuts, but she said the plaintiff had failed to show that damages would be insufficient compensation.
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July 02, 2024
Northrop Must Face 3K Homeowner Class Over Contamination
A California federal judge Monday granted class certification to 3,200 homeowners who sued Northrop Grumman over the release of cancer-causing chemicals from a nearby circuit board manufacturing site they alleged reached their homes, finding the location and extent of the contamination in the area are subject to common proof.
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July 02, 2024
Judge Says Feds Exceeded Question Limit In Pollution Suit
A Michigan federal judge has denied the federal government's bid to force a coke oven battery company to respond to questions about business decisions and parent company involvement, holding that it has exceeded an agreed-upon limit of so-called interrogatories in its Clean Air Act case.
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July 02, 2024
McKinsey Wants To Arbitrate Ex-Partner's Defamation Suit
McKinsey & Co. has urged a New York state judge to send to arbitration or dismiss a former partner's defamation lawsuit alleging the consulting giant tried to make him a scapegoat for purported evidence destruction amid a U.S. Department of Justice probe into McKinsey's work with opioid makers.
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July 02, 2024
Enbridge, Tribes Spar Over Payout In Pipeline Trespass Row
Enbridge Energy told the Seventh Circuit a recent ruling that resulted in a tribe receiving a nearly $400 million payout for trespassing does not apply to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe's current trespass challenge, arguing the district court recognized that this case presents a different set of facts.
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July 02, 2024
Beasley Allen Slams J&J's DQ Bid 'Check-Up' In Talc Tort
The Beasley Allen Law Firm and Johnson & Johnson continue to spar over the firm and attorney Andy Birchfield's role in long-running federal and state mass torts over talcum powder injuries, with the firm calling out J&J on Tuesday for "prodding" the New Jersey courts to boot the lawyers from the litigation.
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July 02, 2024
Grocer Wants Its Workers Out Of Peanut Allergy Death Suit
Grocery chain Stew Leonard's told a Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday that there is "not a potentially plausible claim" against the eight of its individual employees named in a lawsuit brought by the family of a consumer who died after eating a cookie she bought that had not been labeled as containing peanuts.
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July 02, 2024
Flint Needs State Help After Years Of Pipe Delays, Judge Says
A Michigan federal judge said the city of Flint's repeated failures to replace lead water service lines for residents shows it doesn't have the "wherewithal" or funds to finish the project and granted yet another extension to complete the work with offered help from the state of Michigan.
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July 02, 2024
Thomas Warns Of 'Danger In Delay' In Snapchat Abuse Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to review whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes platforms from lawsuits based on their own misconduct, rejecting a petition from a man who alleges that his high school teacher used Snapchat to send him sexually explicit material when he was 15.
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July 02, 2024
Supreme Court Won't Hear Ill. Gun Ban Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a Seventh Circuit decision upholding laws by the state of Illinois and a Chicago suburb banning the sale of assault weapons.
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July 02, 2024
Justices Order Post-Rahimi Review For Felon Gun Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered lower courts to review a series of cases that challenged as unconstitutional federal gun restrictions, including those for felons and drug users, in light of its ruling this term that allowed bans for domestic abusers.
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July 02, 2024
High Court Agrees To Review FDA's Flavored E-Cig Denial
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's petition to review a Fifth Circuit decision overturning its denial of a flavored e-cigarette marketing application.
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July 01, 2024
Gluten Abounds In Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Bagels, Suit Says
Trader Joe's has been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court claiming its "Gluten Free Almost Everything Bagels" actually contain high levels of gluten that exceed the legal limits for the claim.
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July 01, 2024
Gas Co. Not Covered For Pollution MDL, NY Court Rules
A petroleum company is not owed coverage for an underlying multidistrict litigation over remediation for groundwater contamination that the suit alleges was caused by a gasoline additive, a New York state appeals court said, holding that pollution exclusions in multiple of its policies applied to the contamination.
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July 01, 2024
July 4 Parade Shooting Survivors In Ill. Sue Smith & Wesson
The families of victims of the 2022 July Fourth parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, are suing Smith & Wesson and firearm retailers in state court, alleging they deliberately marketed the M&P-15, an AR-15-style rifle, to appeal to people like the shooter.
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July 01, 2024
Carvana Seeks Toss Of Chancery Suit Alleging Faulty Sales
An attorney for online used-car sales giant Carvana Inc. on Monday urged Delaware's chancellor to toss or stay what he described as a derivative damages case "repackaged" from past or pending federal securities actions that "have not fared well."
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July 01, 2024
EPA To Clean Up Middle Of Gowanus Canal Superfund Site
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed Monday it has initiated cleanup work on the middle portion of the Gowanus Canal Superfund site in Brooklyn, New York, while the agency works to complete dredging and capping activities in the upper portion later this month.
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July 01, 2024
NJ Judge Tosses J&J Unit's Libel Claim Over Talc Study
A New Jersey federal judge has tossed a bankrupt Johnson & Johnson unit's libel suit over a scientific article linking talcum powder to mesothelioma, ruling the challenged statements in the article are scientific conclusions protected by the First Amendment.
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July 01, 2024
Bard, Hernia Mesh Claimants Can't Hide Injury MDL Deal Info
An Ohio federal judge denied a joint bid to seal a forthcoming settlement motion by C.R. Bard Inc. and hundreds of claimants who sued Bard and a subsidiary over their hernia mesh implants Monday, saying the parties had not given a compelling reason their deal should be secret.
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July 01, 2024
Talc Victims Can't Block J&J From Filing For Ch. 11 Outside NJ
A New Jersey federal judge has denied a bid for a restraining order from a group of patients suing Johnson & Johnson over claims they were injured by its talc products, saying their concern that the company would try to file for bankruptcy outside the Garden State is based on speculation and not ripe for litigation.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Proposed Rule Could Impair MDL Flexibility, Harm Plaintiffs
While proposed Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1 is intended to enhance the management of multidistrict litigation proceedings, its one-size-fits-all requirements could stifle the flexibility that judges need to address the varying circumstances of MDLs effectively, and jeopardize plaintiffs' ability to pursue justice, say Christopher Seeger and Jennifer Scullion at Seeger Weiss.
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Opinion
Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals
The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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Opinion
3rd-Party Financiers Have Power To Drive Mass Tort Cases
The abnormal recovery premium presented by modern mass tort cases coupled with their deemphasized role for attorneys creates an opportunity for third-party financiers to both create and control these cases, says Samir Parikh at Lewis & Clark Law School.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Gilead Ruling Signals That Innovating Can Lead To Liability
A California appeals court's ruling last month in Gilead Life Sciences v. Superior Court of San Francisco that a drug manufacturer can be held liable for delaying the introduction of an improved version of its medication raises concerns about the chilling effects that expansive product liability claims may have on innovation, says Gary Myers at the University of Missouri School of Law.
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Understanding And Working With The Millennials On Your Jury
Every trial attorney will be facing a greater proportion of millennials on their jury, as they now comprise the largest generation in the U.S., and winning them over requires an understanding of their views on politics, corporations and damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Highlights 'Two-Step' Challenges In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Bestwall’s Chapter 11 case, and the decision's interpretation of Fourth Circuit law, suggests that, compared to other circuits, it may be more difficult to dismiss so-called Texas Two-Step bankruptcy cases within the Fourth Circuit, say Brittany Falabella and Kollin Bender at Hirschler Fleischer.
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Legal Issues Loom For Driverless Trucking
Companies' recent experiments with driverless trucking technology herald a transformation of the logistics sector — but stakeholders must reckon with increasing regulatory scrutiny, emerging liability issues, and concerns around ethical guidelines, insurance and standardization, say Zal Phiroz at Pier Consulting Group and Nicolas Bezada at Unishippers.
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Del. Ruling Adds Momentum For Caremark Plaintiffs
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent opinion in Lebanon County Employees' Retirement Fund v. Collis could be viewed as expanding plaintiffs' ability to viably plead a Caremark claim against directors, so Delaware companies should be on heightened alert and focus on creating a record of board oversight, say attorneys at V&E.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.