An Oregon jury on Tuesday ordered utility PacifiCorp to pay $63 million in noneconomic damages to 10 people who fled from a group of 2020 wildfires, after hearing in closing arguments that some plaintiffs "didn't know they were going to make it out."
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

PacifiCorp Owes $63M In Latest Wildfire Trial

By Cara Salvatore

An Oregon jury on Tuesday ordered utility PacifiCorp to pay $63 million in noneconomic damages to 10 people who fled from a group of 2020 wildfires, after hearing in closing arguments that some plaintiffs "didn't know they were going to make it out."

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Alleged Uber Assault 'Catalyst' For PTSD Symptoms, Jury Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

A psychologist who treated a woman claiming she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver told a San Francisco jury Tuesday in a bellwether trial that the alleged 2016 event was the "catalyst" for the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms the then-college student subsequently displayed.

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Google And AI Co. Sued Over Teen Death, Sexual Content

By Zach Dupont

A chatbot maker with ties to Google was hit with three lawsuits in federal court Monday, two in Colorado and one in New York, by the families of minors who blame the companies for their children's suicide, suicide attempt and exposure to sexually explicit material.

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EPA Sued For Dropping Slaughterhouse Water Pollution Regs

By Gina Kim

Several organizations have filed a petition with the Ninth Circuit contesting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to renege on a Biden-era proposal that would've levied stricter rules of how much meat and poultry slaughtering, processing, and rendering facilities could discharge pollutants into nearby waterways.

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Roundup User Fights Uphill To Revive Cancer Suit At 9th Circ.

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit judge expressed doubts Tuesday that a lower court erred in tossing a personal-injury plaintiff's claims that Monsanto's Roundup likely caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma, saying during a hearing the trial judge had a "great deal of discretion" to decide whether a general-causation expert's opinion was based on "junk science."

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

TikTok Accused Of Withholding Docs On Anorexic Influencer

By Emily Field

Personal injury plaintiffs have told a California magistrate judge presiding over discovery in multidistrict litigation that TikTok is refusing to hand over more information about the app's relationship with Eugenia Cooney, a TikTok influencer with anorexia and 2.8 million followers, according to a document unsealed on Monday.

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Okla. Tribe Sues Social Platforms Over Youth Mental Health

By Emily Field

The Chickasaw Nation on Monday became the latest Native American tribe to lodge claims against social media giants in California federal court, alleging that the platforms harm their youth who are already at risk of mental health problems and suicidal ideation.

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CONSUMER GOODS

Mother Claims Aquaphor Healing Ointment Contains Allergen

By Mike Curley

A California mother of two is suing Beiersdorf Inc. in federal court, alleging that its infant and children's healing ointments contain a common allergen despite being marketed as hypoallergenic.

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AUTOMOTIVE

6th Circ. Backs Liability Theory In Kia, Hyundai Car Theft Suits

By Hailey Konnath

A split Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday held that a lower court erred in rejecting that Kia and Hyundai could be liable for victims' injuries from crashes involving vehicles stolen amid a TikTok-inspired wave of thefts, finding "theft-related accidents" could be considered "hazards that make a car's design defective.

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ENVIRONMENTAL

US Asks Court To Sink Vermont Climate Superfund Law

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Trump administration, Republican-led states and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute on Monday asked a Vermont federal court to kill the state's climate Superfund law.

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Judge Seeks Ga. Justices' Input On Bio-Lab Chemical Fire Suit

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge asked the state's Supreme Court for guidance on whether metro Atlanta residents can force a chemical plant to cover medical monitoring in the aftermath of a 2024 fire, writing that there's "considerable uncertainty" around whether such a remedy is permitted by Peach State law.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Reports Of Chemical Safety Board's Demise Are Premature

Despite the Trump administration's proposal to close down the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, companies should note that the agency recently enforced its accidental release reporting rule for the first time, is conducting ongoing investigations and expects more funding from Congress, say attorneys at Conn Maciel.

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Rebutting Price Impact In Securities Class Actions

Defendants litigating securities cases historically faced long odds in defeating class certification, but that paradigm has recently begun to shift, with recent cases ushering in a more searching analysis of price impact and changing the evidence courts can consider at the class certification stage, say attorneys at Katten.

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7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

By Gina Kim

Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

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Feds Want 3 Years For Girardi Son-In-Law's Chicago Contempt

By Lauraann Wood

Tom Girardi's son-in-law should receive a three-year prison sentence for his admitted role in helping the once-celebrated plaintiffs' lawyer steal millions from Lion Air crash victims, federal prosecutors in Chicago argued Wednesday.

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7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

By Courtney Bublé

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

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House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

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Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

By Courtney Bublé

More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

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Del. Judge's US Atty Application Plan Draws Blanche's Ire

By Lauren Berg

Delaware's chief district judge, a Trump appointee, is seeking applications for the state's U.S. attorney position to prepare for an upcoming vacancy in the interim position, a move that drew the ire of Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday.

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Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

By Adrian Cruz

A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

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Criminal Restitution Fails Defendants, Victims, Report Says

By Brandon Lowrey

Federal criminal restitution often fails to benefit victims of crime and throws defendants into a "Sisyphean struggle" with debt, with $100 billion in outstanding restitution deemed uncollectable, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

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Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Consumer Law Group

Bondurant Mixson

Bowman & Brooke

Caplan Cobb

Cheronis & Parente

CohenMalad

Conn Maciel

Consumer Law Group LLC

Cooper & Kirk

Covington & Burling

Crosner Legal

Davidoff Hutcher

DiCello Levitt

Edelson PC

Fields Han

Gibbs Mura

Girardi & Keese

Gravel & Shea

Hueston Hennigan

Katten Muchin

Keller Rohrback

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Law Office of Craig Leydecker

Lehotsky Keller

Levin Sedran

Levin Simes

Lewis Rice

Lieff Cabraser

McKool Smith

Milberg Coleman

Miner Barnhill

Morgan & Morgan

Nachawati Law

Nachawati Law Group

O'Melveny & Myers

Orlando Firm PC

Robins Kaplan

Saul Ewing

Social Media Victims Law Center

Stewart Miller Simmons

Stranch Jennings

Taylor & Ring

Troutman

Weitz & Luxenberg

WilmerHale

diGenova & Toensing

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Family Association

American Petroleum Institute Inc.

Animal Legal Defense Fund

Apple Inc.

Beiersdorf AG

BioLab Inc.

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Common Sense Media Inc.

ConocoPhillips Co.

Earthjustice

Environmental Integrity Project

Families Against Mandatory Minimums

Georgia State University

Google LLC

Halliburton Co.

Hyundai Motor Co.

Johnson & Johnson

Kia Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Monsanto Co.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

OpenAI OpCo LLC

PG&E Corp.

PacifiCorp

Rocket Cos.

San Diego County Employees Retirement Association

The District of Columbia Bar

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Twitter Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Uber Technologies Inc.

United States Steel Corp.

Vivendi SA

Walmart Inc.

YouTube Inc.

Zillow Group Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arkansas Teacher Retirement System

Chickasaw Nation

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Election Commission

Georgia Supreme Court

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

New York Supreme Court, New York County

Office of the Vermont Attorney General

Ohio Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Vermont

White Mountain Apache Tribe