Minnesota Jury Awards $10.2M In Talc Mesothelioma Trial

By Emily Field

A Minnesota state jury has delivered a $10.2 million verdict to a married couple in their suit against Vi-Jon LLC and the makers of other talc products like Johnson & Johnson and Gold Bond in which they alleged the 45-year-old husband's mesothelioma was caused by exposure to body powder products.

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Eli Lilly Loses Bid To Limit Ex-FDA Chief's Take In GLP-1 MDL

By George Woolston

A Pennsylvania federal judge said Eli Lilly & Co. and plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation accusing it of downplaying side effects of weight loss drugs were talking past each other in a dispute over expert testimony, denying Eli Lilly's bid to limit the opinions of the plaintiffs' expert to those disclosed in his report.

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Plaintiffs Not To Blame For Monsanto Pesticide Suit Delay

By Jonathan Capriel

Three women whose mother died from breast cancer have persuaded a California appeals court to reinstate their wrongful death lawsuit against pesticide maker Monsanto, ruling that the trial judge abused his discretion by dismissing the case when the company suffered no prejudice from the delay in prosecution.

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7th Circ. Weighs If Abbott Warning Would Change NEC Care

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit judge on Wednesday pushed counsel for a mother asking to revive her lawsuit claiming Abbott Laboratories' infant formula caused her premature daughter to develop a fatal gut disease to address whether the mother had a burden to identify a more adequate warning that would have prompted her baby's treating physicians to act differently.

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Social Media Not Proven To Harm Mental Health, Judge Told

By Cara Salvatore

A statistics expert for Meta sought Wednesday to undermine the claim that social media has driven a rise in mental health conditions among teens, saying the New Mexico attorney general's key witness on the topic didn't consider alternative factors like widening access to mental health care.

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Prof. Hired By J&J In 1970s Found Asbestos In Talc, Jury Told

By Craig Clough

A former Johnson & Johnson toxicologist could not find evidence his employer turned over a report to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that "unmistakably" found asbestos in the company's talc, according to a video deposition shown Wednesday to a California jury considering bellwether claims over three women's deadly ovarian cancer.

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Uber Signals Appeal Of NC Bellwether Loss In Assault MDL

By Hayley Fowler

Uber will appeal the verdict in a second bellwether case in which a jury found one of its drivers committed a battery against a North Carolina woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her during a trip in 2019, court records show.

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Roblox, Microsoft, Epic Win Arbitration Bid In Addiction Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday sent to arbitration a suit accusing Roblox Corp., Epic Games Inc. and Microsoft Corp. of causing a minor's video game addiction, saying the claims fall within broad arbitration provisions in the companies' user agreements.

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States, DC Urge 10th Circ. To OK Colo. Social Media Law

By Mike Curley

A group of 43 states and the District of Columbia are asking the Tenth Circuit to reverse a trial court order blocking enforcement of a new Colorado law requiring warning labels for social media used by minors, saying that even under strict scrutiny, the law is justified to protect minors' mental health.

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FTC Urged To Probe Roblox Over Child Safety Claims

By Jonathan Capriel

Two advocacy groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the online gaming platform Roblox, claiming its design features, virtual currency system and chat functions have harmed millions of children through grooming, abuse, unexpected charges totaling thousands of dollars and exposure to sexual references and racial slurs, an announcement Wednesday said.

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Target Says Tuna Label Suit Rests On Generalized Grievances

By Gina Kim

Target urged a California federal judge to nix a proposed class action alleging its Good & Gather tuna products are deceptively labeled as "sustainably caught," arguing Tuesday the plaintiff takes issue with the global commercial tuna fishing industry, which "may reflect some bad actors, but none by Target's suppliers."

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Baby Food Brands Accused Of Toxic Levels Of Heavy Metals

By Kelcey Caulder

Walmart, Gerber Products Co. and several other companies were hit with a suit in federal court claiming that they knowingly manufacture and sell baby foods containing dangerous levels of toxic metals.

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Kia Can't Escape Pa. Oil Ring Defect Suit

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday rejected Kia America Inc.'s bid to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that it sold Soul and Seltos vehicles with a defect in their engines' piston oil rings.

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Calif. Panel Says Uber Not Liable For College Student's Death

By Gina Kim

A California appeals court declined to reinstate a mother's lawsuit blaming Uber for her daughter's death after she was hit by cars on a freeway that was miles away from where she was dropped off by an Uber driver, ruling Wednesday those intervening events are too attenuated to find the company liable.

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GM, Drivers Spar Over AC Defect Class Certification

By Melanie Dorsey

Automaker General Motors Co. and drivers seeking class certification over alleged air conditioning problems were sharply questioned by a Michigan federal judge Wednesday who pressed both sides on whether the claims can truly generate "common answers" across proposed statewide classes covering thousands of truck and SUV owners. 

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Baltimore Bridge Wreck Civil Trial Will Stay The Course

By Linda Chiem

A Maryland federal judge on Wednesday refused an eleventh-hour request from the Dali cargo ship's owner and manager to delay a trial that's starting in less than two weeks to determine the scope of liability and damages over Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster, according to an attorney for certain claimants.

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Tracking Tech Suit Is A Risk Management Reminder For Cos.

The Fifth Circuit recently heard oral argument in Rand v. Eyemart Express — an appeal that could reshape the legal landscape for businesses that deploy tracking tech on their websites — underscoring the importance of proactive risk management for companies across multiple industries, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

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Paul Hastings Adds Litigator Who Co-Led Paul Weiss Group

By Andrea Keckley

Paul Hastings LLP announced on Thursday that it has hired a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP practice co-leader with a long history of public sector work.

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Feds Want Funding Details To Fight Academic Group's Fee Bid

By Julie Manganis

The U.S. Department of Energy asked a Massachusetts federal judge to let it look at the finances of an academic organization that successfully challenged a cap on indirect research costs, questioning the source of funding for legal fees in that case and three others.

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Haynes Boone Brings On Dentons Corporate Atty In Houston

By Lynn LaRowe

Haynes Boone has bolstered its corporate bench in Houston with a former Dentons lawyer who brings particular experience advising clients with complex domestic and cross-border transactions.

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Bush-Appointed Missouri Judge To Take Senior Status

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays of the Western District of Missouri will take semi-retired status in May 2027, according to an update from the federal judiciary on Thursday.

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Acting NJ DEP Commissioner Pledges Streamlined Agency

By George Woolston

Acting New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ed Potosnak told state lawmakers on Thursday that if he is confirmed, the agency will continue to become more streamlined and accessible.

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Skadden Adds Ex-National Futures Association GC In Chicago

By Christine DeRosa

The former general counsel for the National Futures Association has jumped to private practice at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in Chicago.

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Barnes & Thornburg Adds Boston Litigator From Nutter

By Jack Rodgers

Barnes & Thornburg LLP has hired a longtime Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP partner in Boston who will focus on commercial litigation and product liability matters for healthcare, medical devices and manufacturing clients, the firm announced Thursday.

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Justices Urged To Uphold Ethics Ruling On Ga. Candidates

By Emily Johnson

Georgia's judicial ethics watchdog urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to uphold an Eleventh Circuit ruling that allowed it to publicize accusations that a pair of unsuccessful Georgia Supreme Court candidates violated electoral rules.

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Immigration Judges' 'Anxiety' Dialed Up Amid Mass Exodus

By Emma Cueto

Current and former immigration judges spoke on a web panel Thursday about threats to the independence of immigration judges and the strains on the immigration system, such as a massive backlog of cases at a time when many judges have been pushed out or fired.

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Retired Mass. High Court Justice Barbara Lenk Dies

By Julie Manganis

Justice Barbara A. Lenk, a First Amendment lawyer who became the first openly gay member of Massachusetts' highest court, and who unexpectedly found herself serving as interim chief justice just as she was prepared to retire, died Tuesday at 75, state court officials announced.

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Analysis

BigLaw Deals Scandal Puts Boston Back On White Collar Map

By Chris Villani

A sweeping insider trading case involving information stolen from BigLaw firms shows a return to bread-and-butter white collar enforcement for Boston federal prosecutors and provides a morale lift in an office that has seen shifting priorities and staff turnover since the signature "Varsity Blues" takedown in 2019, veteran prosecutors told Law360.

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