Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

By Ryan Boysen

Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

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Plaintiffs Bar Says $243M Tesla Verdict Doesn't Hurt Innovation

By Mike Curley

An association of plaintiffs attorneys is urging the Eleventh Circuit to reject Tesla Inc.'s appeal of a $243 million verdict against it in a fatal crash suit, saying products liability law and punitive damages don't hinder or put a "tax" on innovation, but rather encourage it by creating an incentive to create better, safer products.

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Bid For Conn. High Court Help Turned Down By PFAS Judge

By Jonathan Capriel

A Connecticut federal judge has, for now, declined a request seeking to ask the state's high court to determine whether state law allows for a medical monitoring remedy for firefighters who suffered forever-chemicals exposure from their protective gear that was manufactured with chemicals provided by 3M, DuPont and others.

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Analysis

5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

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Walmart Pays $16M To End Expired Formula Sales Claims

By Gina Kim

Walmart has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve claims that it sold expired infant formula and over-the-counter drug products to consumers after their expiration dates, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.

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RICO Suit Claims CH Robinson, TQL Are Using Illegal Carriers

By Linda Chiem

Family-owned trucking companies have accused two of North America's largest freight brokers, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. and Total Quality Logistics LLC, of steering long-haul shipments to illegal "fly-by-night" or "chameleon" carriers, muscling out legitimate trucking firms, according to a suit filed in Texas federal court.

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TikTok Loses Bid To Trim Kids' Data Privacy Suit In Calif.

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge on Thursday refused TikTok's bid to trim claims from a proposed class action alleging that the platform exploits the private information of users under 13, saying at a hearing that the question of whether previous TikTok settlements bar the plaintiffs' claims should be saved for later.

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SC Judge Wants Clarity On Opioid 'Bodily Injury' Coverage

By Danielle Ferguson

A South Carolina federal judge said Thursday she is likely to ask the state supreme court to weigh in on whether certain language in a pharmaceutical company's insurance policies applies only to identified individuals in underlying opioid epidemic-related lawsuits.

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GM Accused Of Defective Oil Cooling System In Trucks

By Susan Smiley

Certain models of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles have a defective oil cooling system that can cause complete engine failure, a group of truck owners alleged Thursday in a proposed class action claiming General Motors knew about the problem, never issued a recall and refused to honor warranties when engines failed.

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Court Urged To Trim TM Claim From Fake Google Charger Suit

By Elliot Weld

An accessories company has asked for dismissal of part of a suit brought by Google accusing it of trademark infringement by selling counterfeit charging devices with an imitation of Google's logo, arguing that the registrations don't cover the types of cables at issue.

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FTC Eyes Tech Cos.' Profits In Fight Against Online Scam Ads

By Sarah Jarvis

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it wants input on whether it should update rules for preventing impersonation scams online, homing in on ad optimization tools that have helped scammers net billions from consumers while allowing tech companies to "internalize the revenue but externalize the risk."

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Pipeline Groups Say Enbridge Ruling Weakens Tribal Deals

By Corey Rothauser

Two oil and gas industry groups have urged the Seventh Circuit to reconsider part of its ruling that Enbridge Energy is trespassing on Wisconsin tribal lands, arguing that the decision could make long-term pipeline agreements with tribes less reliable.

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Expedia Hit With Smoke Detector Suit Over Deadly VRBO Fire

By Rachel Riley

A Massachusetts family has accused Expedia of negligently listing VRBO vacation rental properties without smoke detectors after an apartment they booked in the Dominican Republic caught fire, leading to the deaths of four family members, according to a Washington state court lawsuit.

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4 Tips On Expert Gatekeeping From J&J Talc Deal

Johnson & Johnson's successful campaign to exclude plaintiff-side oncologist testimony about whether its talcum powder caused ovarian cancer, which prompted the recent resolution of 70,000 claims, offers lessons on how product liability defendants can reshape risk calculation by rigorously applying expert admissibility rules, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

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What Greek Tragedy Teaches About Mediating AI Disputes

While ancient Greek writers could not have anticipated modern arbitration, their tragic plays illustrate new and familiar questions for mediators dealing with artificial intelligence disputes, including the functional differences between adjudication and resolution, says Giuseppe De Palo at JAMS.

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Series

Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

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Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

By Lauren Berg

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

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PACER Experiences Outages Of Some Court Dockets

By Matt Perez

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, experienced technical errors on Wednesday and Thursday preventing some users from accessing certain court dockets.

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New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

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Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

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Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

By Phillip Bantz

An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

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Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

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Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

By Courtney Bublé

Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

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Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

By Ryan Boysen

A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

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