Toxicologist Denies J&J Wanted To 'Control' Talc Study

By Craig Clough

A former Johnson & Johnson toxicologist denied the company controlled a 1970s study of talc miners by insisting "you do not control" people like the professor behind the study, in a video deposition shown Tuesday to a California jury considering bellwether claims the company's talc products caused deadly ovarian cancer in three women.

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Momcozy Hit With Class Action Over Defective Bottle Sterilizer

By Emily Field

Two mothers have hit baby product company Root Technology Ltd. with a proposed class action in New York federal court alleging that the Momcozy brand countertop washer for bottles is defective since the necessary high sterilization temperatures cause plastic parts to break off, creating a choking hazard for infants.

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4th Circ. Revives Freight Broker Suit After High Court Ruling

By Linda Chiem

The Fourth Circuit on Monday revived a South Carolina widow's lawsuit alleging that freight broker Echo Global Logistics negligently selected the trucking company involved in the 2022 accident that killed her husband, days after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling established that freight brokers can face state-based tort claims.

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Judge Lets Cop Press Sig Sauer Gun Defect Claims

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge on Tuesday kept intact a Houston police officer's suit alleging his SIG Sauer pistol fired a bullet into his leg while holstered, denying the gunmaker's bid to strike or dismiss certain parts of the suit.

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TikTok Says 'Market Exploitation' Doesn't Give NC Jurisdiction

By Mike Curley

TikTok is pushing the North Carolina Supreme Court to throw out claims by the state's attorney general alleging it deceptively marketed its platform as safe for minors, saying the "market exploitation" theory would in effect allow any business that operates on the internet to be hauled into any state court.

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Monsanto To Pay Mich., RI Up To $302M Over PCB Pollution

By Jonathan Capriel

Monsanto has reached multimillion-dollar deals with Michigan and Rhode Island to end claims that the company contaminated waterways and natural resources with polychlorinated biphenyls, agreeing to pay the states as much as $240 million and $62 million, respectively, with most of that money contingent on how the company recovers from separate lawsuits.

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Split 8th Circ. Revives Challenge To NHTSA Brake Light View

By Jonathan Capriel

A split Eighth Circuit panel revived a lawsuit Monday by two Arkansas-based distributors of pulsing brake lights, ruling the companies can challenge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's letters declaring the products illegal and laying out plans to "threaten" customers with fines.

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Feds Seek To Drop Emissions Case For 2 Ex-Fiat Managers

By Gina Kim

Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss a superseding indictment charging former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles managers with deceiving regulators about the emissions controls and fuel efficiency for more than 100,000 cars sold in the U.S., according to a brief filed Tuesday in Michigan federal court.

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GM Can't Take Arbitration 'Exit Ramp' In Faulty Brakes Suit

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania federal judge won't let GM escape a proposed class action accusing the automaker of knowingly selling vehicles with defective brakes, finding the plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged their defect claims and cannot be pulled into arbitration.

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Audi Sued By Drivers Over Alleged Water Pump Defect

By Gina Kim

Audi drivers hit the automotive giant with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court Tuesday over what they describe as a defectively designed water pump in some vehicles that causes coolant loss and possible engine failure, which the company refuses to cover repairs by denying warranty coverage. 

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Intel Says Texas Law Doesn't Support Russian Missile Claims

By Spencer Brewer

Intel and other semiconductor manufacturers asked a Texas federal judge to throw out claims that they negligently sold products the Russian government used to build missiles that killed Ukrainian civilians, saying Tuesday that the civilians' claims have no basis in Texas law.

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Spencer Fane Adds GrayRobinson Atty To Food & Bev Team

By Jack Rodgers

A former in-house attorney, who worked for Lyft and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, has left her most recent role as a GrayRobinson PC attorney to join Spencer Fane LLP's newly launched food and beverage group.

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What New PFAS Rule Means For Tracking And Disclosure

In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's publication of its rule adding PFHxS-Na to the Toxics Release Inventory, companies should identify this substance in their facilities and supply chains, and prepare for disclosures to both regulators and the public, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

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AI Agents Will Test The Bounds Of Expert Witness Rules

Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence does not address whether a testifying expert must be human, but as the rule’s amended admissibility framework intersects with the accelerating capabilities of agentic AI, courts may be forced to confront whether AI-generated expertise fits within existing evidentiary doctrine, says Steven Cordero at Akerman.

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Becoming The Biz-Savvy GC That Portfolio Companies Need

Candidates for general counsel roles at private equity-backed portfolio companies should prioritize proving their sector-specific experience, commercial judgment and ease with uncertainty — and attorneys hoping to be candidates in five to 10 years should start working on those skills now, says Dimitri Mastrocola at Major Lindsey.

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OpenAI Says ChatGPT Misuse Is Users' Responsibility

By Emily Sawicki

OpenAI has asked a federal judge in Chicago to end an insurance company's suit alleging it practices law without a license, arguing the complaint should be directed toward individuals who misuse the company's ChatGPT bot to file faulty motions, and not the generative AI platform itself.

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2 Fla. County Courts Requiring AI Disclosure In Court Filings

By Sarah Martinson

Two Florida circuit courts in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are requiring attorneys and self-represented litigants to disclose when they use generative text tools to prepare their court filings and to certify they checked the generated content for accuracy.

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2nd Circ. Pick Questioned At Hearing On Role As Trump Lawyer

By Courtney Bublé

Matthew Schwartz, a nominee for the Second Circuit, was questioned by Democratic senators Wednesday about whether his current job as the president's personal attorney while his nomination process is underway poses a conflict of interest.

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Atty Withdrawals Not Limited To Fee Conflicts, ABA Says

By Emily Sawicki

Lawyers whose clients fail to hold up their end of valid engagement agreements are clear to cease their representation, so long as certain criteria are met, according to the American Bar Association's ethics committee's latest guidance, published Wednesday.

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Comey Wants Arraignment Pushed For Dismissal Bid

By Phillip Bantz

Former FBI Director James Comey asked a North Carolina federal court Wednesday to postpone his arraignment on charges alleging he threatened President Donald Trump, telling a judge that he is preparing to seek to have the case thrown out on constitutional grounds.

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Mich. Supreme Court Mulls Remote Court Access Rules

By Susan Smiley

The Michigan Supreme Court held administrative hearings on Wednesday concerning several proposed amendments to Michigan court rules, including adding more specific guidelines for remote hearings, making language services free for civil cases, and allowing law students and recent law graduates to appear on behalf of indigent people in all Michigan courts.

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Hagens Berman Says Apple Smear Job Can't Stop Withdrawal

By Bonnie Eslinger

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP urged a California federal judge to allow one of its named plaintiffs to withdraw from an Apple iCloud antitrust case, saying Apple Inc.'s filed opposition is rife with "misdirection and ad hominin" attacks and not about the merits of the dispute but "smearing opposing counsel."

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