J&J Fails To Undo $65.5M Verdict In Minn. Talc Cancer Case

By Emily Field

A Minnesota state judge on Monday upheld a $65.5 million verdict awarded to a mother of three children who had claimed that Johnson & Johnson's talc products exposed her to asbestos and contributed to her cancer, saying that the jury's decision was supported by the evidence at trial.

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J&J Talc Trial In LA Ends With Deadlocked Jury

By Craig Clough

A mistrial was declared Monday by a Los Angeles state judge in a two-month trial over allegations Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused a woman's deadly mesothelioma after the jury deadlocked during deliberations, according to counsel for the plaintiff.

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Pfizer Agrees To Deal To End Depo-Provera MDL

By Carolina Bolado

The plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation accusing Pfizer of failing to warn consumers of a link between brain tumors and the hormonal contraceptive Depo-Provera have reached an agreement with the pharmaceutical giant, according to an order filed Monday.

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Sanofi Sued Over Qunol CoQ10 'Superior Absorption' Claims

By Gina Kim

Sanofi-Aventis US deceives customers into believing its Qunol liquid CoQ10 supplements have "superior absorption" advantages compared to regular CoQ10 products despite scientific testing that shows otherwise and prior legal action that barred it from making similar efficacy claims, alleges a proposed class action filed Monday in New Jersey federal court.

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3 Groups Of Vape Users Sue Juul Over Addiction

By Mike Curley

Three groups of vape users are suing Juul Labs Inc. in Delaware Superior Court, each alleging that the company has been acting like tobacco companies of old, misleading the public about the dangers of vaping while reaping profits and addicting people from their childhoods onward.

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WestRock Must Face Class Claims Over Wash. Paper Mill Odor

By Ben Adlin

A group of Washington and Oregon residents can proceed with a proposed class action accusing paper mill operator WestRock Longview LLC of negligently releasing noxious gases that sickened neighbors and hurt property values, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday.

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9th Circ. Rejects FCA Bid To Pause Headrest Class Trial

By Joyce Hanson

The Ninth Circuit has rejected outright Fiat Chrysler's bid to pause class action proceedings over supposedly defective Jeep and Dodge headrests during the automaker's preparation of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court as it pushes for arbitration in the case.

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GM Says Cadillac EV Owners' Design Defect Suit Falls Flat

By Susan Smiley

General Motors has asked a Washington federal judge to toss a proposed class action accusing the automaker of false advertising and concealing design defects in its Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle, saying the complaint fails to make any specific claims or show how the plaintiffs were harmed by the alleged electrical malfunctions.

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Montanans Say Data Center Electricity Rates Need Their Input

By Elaine Briseño

Environmental advocacy groups seek to intervene in NorthWestern Energy's application to establish new rates for future data centers, telling the Montana Public Service Commission that their input is needed to protect residential customers from unpredictably higher costs.

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Orange County Residents Sue GKN Over Toxic Emergency

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of Orange County residents is suing GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc. in California state court, alleging GKN's negligence led to the overheating and near-explosion of a 34,000 gallon tank of methyl methacrylate in May.

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Texas Appeals Court Reverses $73M Train Accident Judgment

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appeals court Tuesday reversed a $73 million judgment and ordered a new trial for a woman who sued Union Pacific Railroad Co. after a train hit her as she slept on the tracks, saying the trial court applied the wrong negligence standard.

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Judge Won't Nix Minor's Guardian In Ethiopia Crash Suit

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge won't remove a court-appointed independent guardian for the minor child of a victim of the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, saying the litigation behavior of the child's grandparents in opposing the appointment has only reinforced the need for one.

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7th Circ. Scraps American Airlines Toxic Uniforms Suit

By Linda Chiem

The Seventh Circuit said Tuesday that American Airlines employees suing over allegedly toxic uniforms didn't have sufficient expert evidence suggesting the uniforms triggered their allergic reactions and other health symptoms, rejecting their bid to invoke the legal doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to infer a defect or negligence.

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5th Circ. Revives Plane Crash Suit Under Texas Tolling Law

By Y. Peter Kang

The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday revived a suit alleging that a pilot's severe crash injuries were caused by several companies' defective parachute and safety systems, saying the Texas Savings Statute does indeed apply to the pilot's third lawsuit related to the crash.

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Brief

Feds Dropped From Foreign Drivers' Fla. License Ban Suit

By Britain Eakin

Nineteen foreign drivers challenging a Florida agency's decision to stop issuing commercial driver's licenses to some noncitizens have dropped the federal government from their suit after the U.S. Department of Transportation argued that the case belongs in a federal appeals court.

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Va. Budget Deal Sets 2027 Launch For Retail Cannabis

By Sam Reisman

Virginia's governor and lawmakers on Tuesday announced an agreement to tax and regulate the sale of adult-use cannabis with sales beginning in July 2027.

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Chevron's Climate Suit Comparison Meets Skeptical Judge

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge pushed back Tuesday after Chevron and other oil giants urged dismissal of a family's lawsuit over a 2021 heatwave death, saying this case differs from a host of failed climate torts because it focuses on a single fatality from a "very specific weather event."

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Aviation Watch: Product Safety Lessons From The UPS Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board's recent hearing concerning the crash of a UPS jet late last year highlighted the importance of maintaining records documenting analysis of design defects, adequately warning users of defects and related safety issues, and requiring use of improved designs, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

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The Paradoxical Duty To Adopt AI When You Can't Bill For It

Both billing for hours saved using artificial intelligence and preserving billable time by not adopting AI may violate rules of professional conduct, but until bar associations' ethics rules catch up to this emerging economic dilemma, firms must decide how to adjust fee structures themselves, says Ines Lassalle at Peyrot & Associates.

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K&L Gates Adds Ex-DOJ Atty, WH Cyber Director Office's GC

By Jack Rodgers

The former acting general counsel for the White House's Office of the National Cyber Director, who most recently worked as U.S. digital currency counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, has joined K&L Gates LLP as a partner.

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Trump Halts Clayton Director Hearing Over Blue-Slip Dispute

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump directed Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, not to appear for his confirmation hearing Wednesday on his nomination to be director of national intelligence, in part over a blue-slip issue.

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Full Fed. Circ. To Hear Immigration Judges' Firing Challenge

By Ganesh Setty

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday agreed to conduct en banc review over the firing of two immigration judges, after the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled that they constituted inferior officers who are subject to at-will removal by the president.

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Winston Taylor Fills Leadership Roles In DC, Miami, Europe

By Madison Arnold

Winston Taylor announced Wednesday that it made senior appointments across four major commercial centers around the globe.

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No Discipline For DOJ Atty's 'Lapse Of Judgment' In ICE Case

By Emily Sawicki

A Rhode Island federal prosecutor who knowingly withheld information about a detainee's criminal history at the behest of immigration enforcement, leading to an "unfounded attack" against a federal judge by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the detainee's release, violated his duty of candor but will not face discipline, the district's chief judge determined.

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Colo. Firm Accused Of Keeping Atty's Wages, Commissions

By Rachel Konieczny

A Denver employment law firm has not paid a former lawyer with the firm all wages and commissions she is owed, the attorney alleged in Colorado state court.

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