Bayer 'Natural' Vitamin Buyer Classes Affirmed By 9th Circ.

By Craig Clough

A split Ninth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a federal district court's certification of New York and California classes of consumers who bought Bayer Healthcare multivitamin gummies that were allegedly labeled falsely as "natural," finding the company "demands more" from the plaintiffs at this stage of the litigation than certification requires. 

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

Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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

Eli Lilly Case Over Weight Loss Drugs Kept Mostly Intact

By Adam Lidgett

A California federal court has refused to throw out a lawsuit from Eli Lilly against a telehealth company and related entities over the compounding of its popular weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, but agreed to trim a conspiracy claim from the case.

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

Jury Awards $18.4M For Jeep Rollaway Accident Amputation

By Mike Curley

A Minnesota state jury has awarded an $18.4 million verdict to a man who lost his left leg after his 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee backed over him, while declining to award punitive damages against FCA US LLC.

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

Alabama AG Secures $12.2M Roblox Kid Safety Deal

By Emily Field

The Alabama attorney general has announced a $12.2 million deal with popular gaming platform Roblox that would add age restrictions and more parental controls to protect children from online sexual predators.

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

Hagens Berman, Others Seek To Co-Lead PFAS Fire Gear Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and four other firms have urged a Montana federal judge to appoint them as co-lead class counsel in PFAS firefighter gear litigation by cities and municipalities against 3M, Dupont and others, arguing they were the first to file suit, which inspired multiple "copycat" actions.

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

Monsanto, Roundup Users Fight 'Attack' On $7.25B Deal

By Rae Ann Varona

Monsanto and a proposed class that entered into a $7.25B settlement resolving claims linking Roundup to non-Hodgkin lymphoma have urged a California federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation to reject two law firms' "baseless smear campaign" and "attack" on the pending deal, saying the deal falls outside the court's jurisdiction.

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

Justices Won't Move Mich. Pipeline Suit To Federal Court

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision that rebuffed Enbridge's efforts to transfer from state court to federal court a lawsuit from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel seeking to shut down a pipeline between the U.S. and Canada.

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

Chemical Co. Says It Had No Duty To Warn Prior To Suicides

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A chemical company has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to throw out a lawsuit alleging it is liable for the suicides of two people who used its high-purity sodium nitrite to end their lives, arguing it had no duty to protect its customers' health.

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

Poland Spring Drinkers Renew Class Cert. Bid In False-Ad Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

Purchasers of Poland Spring bottled water have again urged a Connecticut federal judge to certify proposed classes in their lawsuit that claims the former Nestle brand was actually bottling groundwater, setting a proposed class period end date after the judge initially denied their certification request for lacking a date.

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

Costco Says '100% Agave' Tequila Suit Belongs In Mexico

By Ben Adlin

Costco has urged a Washington federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the retailer of falsely labeling its Kirkland Signature tequila as made from pure agave, arguing that a U.S. court exercising jurisdiction over the case would interfere with Mexico's "exclusive sovereign authority to determine what is and is not 100% agave tequila."

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

Gore-Tex Maker Says 'Harmful' Chemicals Suit Can't Survive

By Bonnie Eslinger

W.L. Gore urged a Delaware federal judge Wednesday to toss a proposed class action claiming the company touts Gore-Tex as environmentally sound while hiding that "harmful" per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are used to make the fabric, saying the consumers "lack any basis" to claim their garments contain the chemicals.

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

Amazon Sold Camp Stove That Burst Into Flames, Buyer Says

By Ben Adlin

A camp stove touted by Amazon as a "#1 Best Seller" allegedly erupted into "uncontrollable flames" and then exploded, leaving a Washington woman with severe burns that required emergency hospitalization, surgery and months of missed work, according to her Washington state court lawsuit.

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

Kratom Interests Insist Utah Law Preempted

By Jonathan Capriel

The Global Kratom Coalition and a seller of dietary supplements are urging a federal court to block Utah's law reining in the psychoactive products derived from the kratom leaf, arguing it is preempted by federal food and drug laws.

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

Mass. Justices Reject Additional Rules For Punitive Damages

By Chris Villani

Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Philip Morris USA Inc. to impose rules aimed at curbing big-dollar punitive damages awards, declining to wipe out or further reduce a verdict against the tobacco company that was already slashed from $1 billion to $56 million.  

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

Hyundai, Kia Face Claims Over Defective Charging System

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group is facing a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging it sold defective charging units and benefited financially from covering up the problems.

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

Tesla Wants Out Of Investor Suit Over Its Self-Driving Goals

By Emilie Ruscoe

Automaker Tesla Inc. seeks to shed a proposed investor class action alleging the company overstated its success developing autonomous driving technology, arguing that it had already defeated "nearly identical allegations" in a California federal court and before the Ninth Circuit.

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

Apple Says Metal Watch Band Not Defective For Getting Hot

By Mike Curley

Apple Inc. is urging a Texas federal court to throw out a suit from a woman alleging she suffered worse burns when she was hit with boiling water because of the metal wristband on her Apple Watch, saying the fact that metal conducts heat is not a defect.

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

Family Files Negligence Suit Over NY Helicopter Crash

By Linda Chiem

The estates of the Barcelona family who died in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River last year have accused the New York tour charter company and its owner of negligently maintaining the helicopter, which broke apart midair, according to a new Manhattan state court complaint.

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

Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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

Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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

Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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

Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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

330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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

Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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