Tort Report: Nuked 'Nuclear Verdict' Stays, Texas Justices Say

By Y. Peter Kang

The fate of a "nuclear verdict" that was used to jump-start tort reform campaigns across the country and a settlement of a suit over a Kiss guitar technician's death lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kentucky AG Enters Roblox Fray, Says App Attracts Predators

By Emily Field

The Kentucky attorney general has filed his own suit against Roblox, joining other plaintiffs alleging that the popular gaming platform fails to safeguard against adult sexual predators seeking to target and exploit minors despite assurances to parents that its platform is safe for their children.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mich. Justices Mull Tort Damages Bar For Nonresident Drivers

By Carolyn Muyskens

Members of Michigan's Supreme Court on Thursday expressed reservations about an intermediate appellate court's decision that nonresidents who fail to carry Michigan insurance for a vehicle they regularly drive in the state can recover tort damages after a car accident.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alex Jones Wants Justices To Pause $1.4B Sandy Hook Award

By Hailey Konnath

Infowars host Alex Jones has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay enforcement of a Connecticut court judgment awarding more than $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, arguing that he has faith in the high court overturning the judgment against him.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BNSF Must Face Trial Over Mont. Woman's Death On Tracks

By Y. Peter Kang

A Montana federal judge on Thursday refused to toss a suit accusing BNSF of causing the death of a woman hit by a train while walking her dog, saying it should be up to a jury to decide if the railroad failed to provide adequate signage in the area.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Probe Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' Over Traffic Violations

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. auto safety regulator is investigating Tesla's advanced driver-assistance system known as Full Self-Driving after reports of accidents involving vehicles operating with FSD that have run red lights or crossed into opposing lanes of traffic.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

San Antonio Abandons Out-Of-State Abortion Travel Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

The city of San Antonio on Thursday conceded defeat in its request for court approval to go forward with a program that included funding for out-of-state travel for abortions, handing a victory to the state's attorney general.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Changes Stance On Appeals Of Anti-SLAPP Denials

By Hailey Konnath

The full Ninth Circuit on Thursday held that denials of California anti-SLAPP motions can no longer be appealed in the midst of litigation, diverging from 22-year-old circuit precedent and finding that such orders aren't immediately appealable because they don't resolve issues "completely separate from the merits."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

McKesson Aims To Escape Dealer Claims In Overdose Death

By Chart Riggall

Pharmaceutical distributor McKesson urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Thursday to throw out a suit trying to hold the company liable for a man's prescription opioid overdose death, arguing that allowing it to go forward would wrongly expand the scope of liability under a statute designed to punish illegal drug dealers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Panel Considers Reviving Suit Over Fatal Work Fall

By Kelcey Caulder

The family of a man who fell to his death at SK Battery America Inc.'s lithium-ion battery production plant in Commerce, Georgia, on Thursday urged the state's intermediate appellate court to revive the case, arguing a trial court wrongly granted summary judgment to SK and its contractors.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Va. Panel Nixes $2.5M Med Mal Verdict Over Jury Instruction

By Mike Curley

A Virginia state appeals court has overturned a $2.5 million verdict awarded to a woman who sued an anesthesiologist because he did not provide anesthesia before her cesarean section, finding that the jury should have been given an instruction on superseding cause.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Patient Asks 4th Circ. To Revive Faulty Ethicon Stapler Suit

By Mike Curley

A surgery patient is asking the Fourth Circuit to reinstate his suit against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Endo-Surgery LLC over faulty staples used in his procedure, saying the district court was wrong to deny his request to extend an expert deadline after he finally narrowed down the type of stapler used.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tire-Maker Takes 13 Revived Asbestos Suits To NC High Court

By Hayley Fowler

Continental Tire is asking North Carolina's top court to review whether more than a dozen workers' compensation cases linked to alleged asbestos exposure at one of its factories should carry on, saying the claimants cannot skirt the results of a bellwether trial.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Ohio Judge OKs Trimmed Norfolk Southern Derailment Suit

By Isaac Monterose

An Ohio federal judge approved on Thursday a joint dismissal motion filed by two kennel owners and Norfolk Southern that will permanently toss the kennel owners' property claims from their derailment suit against the railroad company.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Insurer Pushes For Default Win In Trench Injury Coverage Suit

By Hope Patti

An insurer is seeking a default win in its dispute over coverage for a man's trench injury lawsuit, telling an Illinois federal court Thursday that the man has failed to appear or respond to the coverage action.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Weinstein Says Jurors Traded Threats, Tainting Verdict

By Cara Salvatore

Harvey Weinstein's legal team said his June sexual assault convictions were tainted by juror misconduct, including physical threats and an unfounded bribery claim, arguing in a motion for a new trial that a judge refused to properly investigate.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Megan Thee Stallion Wins Sanctions Over Deleted Messages

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida magistrate judge Thursday sanctioned online personality Milagro "Mobz World" Cooper for deleting thousands of text messages and WhatsApp data after being told to preserve evidence in rapper Megan Thee Stallion's defamation and cyberstalking suit against her.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UMG Beats Drake's 'Not Like Us' Diss Track Defamation Suit

By Lauren Berg

A New York federal judge Thursday tossed Drake's defamation suit against Universal Music Group over the hip-hop artist's rival Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," saying the diss track's lyrics accusing Drake of being a "certified pedophile" are opinion and trash talk, not factual statements that are actionable.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

What 2 Recent Rulings Mean For Trafficking Liability Coverage

Two recent federal district court decisions add to a growing number of courts concluding that Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act claims may trigger coverage under commercial general liability policies, rejecting insurer arguments regarding public policy and exclusion defenses, says Joe Cole at Shumaker.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sullivan & Cromwell Impersonators Hit With NY Fraud Claims

By Emily Sawicki

New York Attorney General Letitia James is attempting to take down a slew of businesses whose names are variants of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, accusing them of attempting a scheme to fraudulently redirect checks meant for the global corporate law firm.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

False-Statement Case Puts Comey In Rare Company

By Phillip Bantz

Former FBI director James Comey is the latest addition to the relatively short list of government officials who have been criminally charged over the past several decades with making false statements to Congress.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY Atty General Indicted Following Pressure From Trump

By Lauren Berg

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in Virginia federal court Thursday on charges related to mortgage fraud, three weeks after President Donald Trump wrote a social media post encouraging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action because James and two other political opponents were "guilty as hell."

Indictment attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Jenn Mascott Of WH Counsel's Office Confirmed To 3rd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-47 on Thursday to confirm Jenn Mascott, currently serving in the White House Counsel's Office, to the Delaware seat on the Third Circuit.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7th Circ. Nominee Taibleson Advances To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced on party lines the nomination of Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin, to serve on the Seventh Circuit, as well as four district judicial nominees and five U.S. attorney nominees.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Baldoni Atty Faces LA Malpractice Suit Over Client 'Betrayal'

By Emily Sawicki

Entertainment attorney Bryan Freedman has been accused in Los Angeles County Superior Court of turning his back on a former client, allegedly convincing him to sign an unfavorable settlement on trademark claims against "It Ends With Us" star Justin Baldoni, only to later begin representing the actor and director.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Supreme Court Justice Martin Jenkins To Retire

By James Mills

California Supreme Court Justice Martin J. Jenkins, the first openly gay man and the third African American man to sit on the bench, will retire at the end of October, the court announced Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »