In the first three months of 2026, executive orders and other regulatory actions by the Trump administration have taken on products with "Made in America" labeling, called for the increased manufacture of the herbicide ingredient glyphosate, and addressed what e-cigarette flavors could receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval, among others.
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Product Liability
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Roundup

Product Liability Q1 Regulatory Roundup

By Emily Field

In the first three months of 2026, executive orders and other regulatory actions by the Trump administration have taken on products with "Made in America" labeling, called for the increased manufacture of the herbicide ingredient glyphosate, and addressed what e-cigarette flavors could receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval, among others.

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Kimberly-Clark Slips Conn. Town's 'Speculative' PFAS Claims

By Brian Steele

A proposed class action claiming Kimberly-Clark Corp. polluted a Connecticut town's water and soil with toxic "forever chemicals" failed to allege plausible facts tying the contamination or any injuries to the paper goods maker, relying instead on assumptions and guesswork, a federal judge has ruled in dismissing the case.

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Judge Denies Arbitration Bid In Land Rover Brake Defect Case

By Jonathan Capriel

Jaguar Land Rover cannot, for now, push out of court a proposed class action over claims Range Rover brakes have a defect that causes premature wear, a New Jersey federal judge has ruled, possibly giving some credence to the drivers' claims that the arbitration clause was "buried" within the 525-page vehicle handbook.

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GE Fails To Nix Suit Over Stove Fire From Alleged Defect

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania federal judge has rejected GE Appliances' request to toss most of a suit alleging that one of its stove ranges was defectively designed and led to a fire when it was accidentally turned on, finding that a jury could reasonably agree with the plaintiff's experts' assessment of events.

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ASBESTOS

BNSF Says 9th Circ. Opinion Nixes Montana Asbestos Case

By Mike Curley

BNSF Railway Co. asked a Montana federal court Monday to throw out a lawsuit alleging it let dust from asbestos-containing vermiculite accumulate at its rail yard in Libby, Montana, arguing that a recent Ninth Circuit case showed the claims are preempted by federal law and blocked by the common carrier exception.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Bai Beverage Maker Quenches False Ad Suit Over Sweetener

By Gina Kim

Bai Brands permanently defeated a putative class action alleging it deceived consumers into thinking its beverages contained "no artificial sweeteners" despite being sweetened with erythritol, after a New York federal judge found no evidence of how reasonable consumers would define "artificial." 

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CONSUMER GOODS

Penn National Needn't Cover $2.2M Lead-Paint Tort Judgment

By Gianna Ferrarin

Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. has no obligation to cover a $2.2 million judgment won by a man alleging he was exposed to lead-based paint at a Baltimore property where he resided when he was a child, a Maryland federal judge has ruled.

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Brief

Kratom Addictiveness 9th Circ. Appeal Dropped

By Emily Field

A group of consumers told the Ninth Circuit on Friday that they were dropping the appeal of a dismissal of their suit over kratom products that they said were as addictive as opioids.

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Stumptown Coffee Packaging Blamed For Flight Attendant's Burns

By Ben Adlin

Stumptown Coffee Corp.'s failure to address a critical flaw in its product packaging for commercial flights caused an "explosion" of scalding hot coffee on an Alaska Airlines plane that left a pregnant flight attendant with permanent scars on her chest, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Seattle federal court.

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5th Circ. Seems Open To Reviving Eyemart Class Action

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel seemed open to reviving a class action accusing glasses retailer Eyemart Express LLC of selling sensitive personal health information to social media giant Meta, asking Monday why dismissal was appropriate given the complexity of the case.

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ENERGY

Nearby Polluters Must Face Gowanus Canal Cleanup Suit

By Gautama Mehta

A New York federal judge on Sunday declined to dismiss a lawsuit brought by National Grid seeking to force 40 other parties accused of polluting Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal to pay their share of the Superfund cleanup costs.

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Judge Tosses ESA Challenge Against Nevada Lithium Mine

By Crystal Owens

A Nevada federal judge says the federal government didn't violate the Endangered Species Act in approving a more than 7,100-acre lithium mining project that conservation groups argue will drive a rare wildflower into extinction, finding the decision was not arbitrary or capricious under recent Supreme Court precedent.

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HOSPITALITY

Expedia Looks To Escape Suit Over Carbon Monoxide Deaths

By Y. Peter Kang

Expedia has sought to escape a suit over the carbon monoxide poisoning deaths of three young women at a Belize resort allegedly due to a poorly installed water heater, telling a Massachusetts federal court it had no duty to warn customers about potential dangers at the hotels listed on its website.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

How Cos. Can Prepare For California's Textile Recovery Act

Staged implementation of California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act, establishing the state's first extended producer responsibility program for apparel and textile articles, has begun — and companies that review their data readiness, contracts and exposure risks now will be best prepared when the act comes into full effect, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

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Opinion

AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Pillsbury Asks To Toss Suit Over Nonclient Data Breach

By Matt Perez

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP sought dismissal of a consolidated data breach action in New York federal court Friday due to the plaintiffs' alleged lack of relationship with the firm and inability to identify any cognizable damages.

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Burford Considers Arbitration After 2nd Circ. Tosses $16B Win

By Nadia Dreid

Burford Capital Ltd. says it is contemplating taking its $16 billion fight with Argentina into international arbitration after the Second Circuit wiped out a judgment the litigation funding firm had won against the nation in New York federal court, sending its stock prices tumbling.

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'Is It Kafka?' Judge Presses Pentagon On Press Restrictions

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge requested additional briefing Monday from the Trump administration before deciding whether to toss the U.S. Department of Defense's revised rules restricting journalists' access to the Pentagon but said some new allegations from reporters read like the revisions came from a Franz Kafka novel.

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Ex-Laffey Bucci Atty Accused Of Stealing Over $1.3M

By James Boyle

Laffey Bucci D'Andrea Reich & Ryan has accused a former name partner in a Pennsylvania state court suit of misdirecting more than $1.3 million in referral and case fees through a secret agreement with another firm and misusing the plaintiffs firm's resources for personal expenses, including an affair with a client.

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Analysis

Exchanges Are First Line In CFTC Prediction Market Policing

By Aislinn Keely

As the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission insists it will be the primary cop for the growing expanse of prediction markets, experts said the agency is signaling that its first line of defense will be the internal enforcement programs of registrants like Kalshi.

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FCA Qui Tams Are Unconstitutional, Eli Lilly Tells Justices

By Mark Payne

The False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions are unconstitutional, drugmaker Eli Lilly has told the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to overturn a Seventh Circuit decision upholding a $183 million trial win for a whistleblower who claimed the drug company hid how much it charged for Medicaid-covered drugs. 

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Justices Wary Of 'Odd' Arbitration Jurisdiction Theory

By Caroline Simson

A lawyer urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find that federal courts that have sent a dispute to arbitration do not automatically have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate a subsequent award faced heavy skepticism Monday from the justices, who called his argument during oral arguments "odd" and "peculiar."

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured disputes involving globally recognized companies, high-dollar contract fights, revived claims from the state's high court and the resolution of a closely watched de-SPAC case.

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Blumenthal Questions SEC Over Crypto Cases, Ryan Exit

By Katryna Perera

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is demanding answers from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins about the sudden resignation of the regulator's enforcement director and whether her departure was related to cryptocurrency cases, including one touching on the Trump family's ventures.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

ArentFox Schiff

Baker Botts

Banville Law

Bursor & Fisher

Carella Byrne

Choate Law Firm LLC

Clement & Murphy

Covington & Burling

FBT Gibbons

Fitzgerald Monroe

Foster Yarborough

Gibson Dunn

Gordon Rees

Haynes Boone

Husch Blackwell

Jenner & Block

Kennyhertz Perry

Kirkland & Ellis

Laffey Bucci

Lamb McErlane

Levi & Korsinsky

Lynch Carpenter

Marshall Dennehey

Milberg PLLC

Morgan Lewis

Muggeo & Associates

Nelson Mullins

Nossaman LLP

Offit Kurman

Pessin Katz

Pillsbury Winthrop

Polsinelli PC

Saltz Mongeluzzi

Shook Hardy

Silver Golub

Venable LLP

White & Case

Wiggin & Dana

Womble Bond

Yost Legal Group

de Luca Levine

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3M Co.

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

Association of Corporate Counsel

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

BNSF Railway Co.

Bayer AG

Burford Capital LLC

CME Group Inc.

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Consolidated Edison Inc.

Del Taco Inc.

Eli Lilly & Co.

Executive Health Resources Inc.

Expedia Group Inc.

Intel Corp.

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Jack In The Box Inc.

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.

Johnson & Johnson

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

LinkedIn Corp.

Monsanto Co.

National Grid PLC

Paramount Global

Phillips 66

Skydance Media LLC

Starbucks Corp.

Supervalu Inc.

Tesla Inc.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The District of Columbia Bar

The Kraft Heinz Co.

The New York Times Co.

Twitter Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Verizon Communications Inc.

YPF SA

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Land Management

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Maritime Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Fish and Wildlife Service

Food and Drug Administration

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

U.S. Army

U.S. Coast Guard

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

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

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

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. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Montana

United States District Court for the District of Nevada