Abbott Deal Ends Appeal After $495M Baby Formula Trial Loss

By Bonnie Eslinger

Abbott Laboratories Inc. has struck a deal with a family that won a $495 million judgment against the U.S. pharmaceutical company in a bellwether trial over claims that its baby formula caused a premature baby to suffer a disabling condition, after a midlevel appellate court upheld the win, according to court filings.

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NM Judge Tosses Insurer's Asbestos Coverage Dispute

By Hope Patti

A New Mexico federal court tossed an insurer's lawsuit seeking to avoid coverage for personal injury suits alleging asbestos exposure at a health facility renovation project commissioned by the city of Albuquerque, saying the coverage questions would be best addressed by the state court presiding over the underlying actions.

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Zuckerberg Can't Be Trusted On Kids' Safety Online, Jury Told

By Dorothy Atkins

A Meta whistleblower testified Wednesday in a California federal jury trial over states' claims Meta hid social media's harms that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ignored calls for Meta to prioritize kids' safety while publicly touting Meta's safety practices, saying "I feel that you just cannot trust Mark Zuckerberg with kids."

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Social Media Use Has Addiction Hallmarks, Meta Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A psychologist told a Tennessee jury considering claims against Meta on Wednesday that it's well accepted in his field that social media use can cause behavior that looks like addiction, and social media is a challenging presence in the lives of 15% to 20% of his patients.

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Judge May Trim $88M Covidien Hernia Mesh Verdict

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge said Wednesday she is "likely" to reduce a jury's recent $88 million verdict in a bellwether hernia mesh lawsuit and encouraged lawyers for an Alabama couple and Covidien LP to consider a settlement.

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Trump Taps White House Aide Overton To Lead FDA

By Dan McKay

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the nomination of White House aide Heidi Overton, an abortion opponent who has urged states to roll back vaccine requirements, to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Davis Wright Vets Scolded: Don't Tell Foes 'How To Run Firm'

By Jeff Overley

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP veterans have failed to dodge six-figure sanctions in a prominent discovery donnybrook, and a California magistrate judge added invective to the financial injury, lambasting "troubling" omissions in case citations and heavy-handed "nitpicking" akin to commandeering an adversary's law firm.

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Fla. Judge Backs Sanctions Against Tesla In Fatal Crash Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge has backed penalties against Tesla Florida Inc. in a lawsuit brought by family members who allege the carmaker is responsible for a crash that claimed the life of their daughter, recommending an adverse jury instruction at trial and attorney fees for discovery violations.

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'Bob's Burgers' Actor Sues Lucid Over 'Lemon' SUV

By Julie Manganis

Comedian and "Bob's Burgers" star Eugene Mirman has sued California-based electric automaker Lucid in Massachusetts state court for leasing him a "lemon" last year.

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Albertsons Says Wash. Failed To Prove Opioid Claims At Trial

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons Cos. Inc. urged a Seattle judge on Tuesday to throw out Washington state's lawsuit accusing the chain and its subsidiary Safeway Inc. of fueling Washington's opioid crisis, arguing that the state failed to prove wrongdoing by the companies after nearly five weeks of an ongoing bench trial.

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PFAS Turnout Gear Buyer Lawsuits Get Consolidated In Minn.

By Aaron Keller

Minnesota will be home to firefighter turnout gear PFAS "forever chemical" federal lawsuits filed by municipal purchasers from 14 separate states, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has decided, consolidating current actions in Montana and California with lawsuits filed in the corporate home state of 3M Co.

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Franklin Sports Sued Over Badminton Death Of 6-Year-Old Girl

By Jonathan Capriel

Sporting goods manufacturer Franklin Sports Inc. faces a wrongful death lawsuit claiming one of its badminton rackets broke during normal play, which sent a metal stem into a 6-year-old girl's temple and caused her to die, according to a lawsuit filed by the child's father in Maine state court.

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5th Circ. Backs Delay Of FDA's 11-Warning Cigarette Rule

By Danielle Ferguson

The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the delay of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule requiring the addition of graphic warning labels to cigarette packages, saying tobacco companies that challenged the rule showed the agency likely overstepped its narrow authority to adjust existing warnings by creating two new ones.

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9th Circ. Asked To Revive YouTube 'Choking Challenge' Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

Parents of children harmed by online "choking challenge" videos have urged the Ninth Circuit to revive their suit against Google's YouTube and TikTok, arguing their claims are not barred by a federal law which grants immunity to third-party internet content providers.

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Zurich Says Exxon Ignored Bid For Cancer Suits Billing Info

By Carla Baranauckas

Zurich American Insurance Co. asked a New Jersey magistrate judge on Wednesday to order Exxon Mobil Corp. to turn over unredacted defense invoices, payment records and counsel evaluations in relation to benzene suits, arguing that the oil giant's redactions and refusals have stalled court‑ordered settlement discovery and could derail a scheduled settlement conference.

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Mich. Ruling Gives Consumer Protection Law Its Teeth Back

The Michigan Supreme Court's recent decision in Attorney General v. Eli Lilly, overruling key holdings in two earlier cases, means that Michigan businesses can no longer defeat allegations of deceptive conduct under the state's consumer protection law simply by pointing to any governmental regulation of the business, say attorneys at DiCello Levitt.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Seeks Release During Appeal

By Rachel Rippetoe

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein on Tuesday asked to be released from federal custody while he appeals his 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions and a six-year prison sentence, saying he is not a flight risk and it would be a "grave injustice" for him to begin a sentence he believes will eventually get axed.

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Atty, Son Charged In Probe Of Alleged Penn State Drug Ring

By Rose Krebs

An equity partner based in Meyer Darragh Buckler Bebenek & Eck PLLC's Pittsburgh office has been charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing an investigation in connection with an alleged cocaine ring at Penn State University that allegedly involved his son, according to news reports.

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Texas Judge Flags 'Alarming' Number Of Bogus Citations

By Emily Sawicki

A federal judge presiding over an Austin, Texas, immigration case is warning of possible future sanctions after an attorney included an "alarming" number of "hallucinated" case citations in support of a habeas corpus petition.  

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Jackson Walker Says US Trustee Can't Claw Back Legal Fees

By Clara Geoghegan

Jackson Walker said this week that the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog is beyond the bounds of its authority in a yearslong effort to force the firm to return millions of dollars in legal fees over an undisclosed relationship between a former partner and a Texas bankruptcy judge.

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Over 120 Ex-Judges Demand Probe Of DHS GC's 'Worst' Posts

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of nonprofits along with a bipartisan group of 128 former state and federal judges have asked the Florida Bar to investigate the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a recent series of social media posts attacking sitting judges.

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Polsinelli Can't Rep Doctor In 'Bad Faith' IP Suits, Cos. Say

By Lauren Berg

Two medical device companies suing Polsinelli PC and its longtime client, a patent-holding doctor, for allegedly pursuing "bad faith" infringement claims asked federal courts in Tennessee and Mississippi to disqualify the firm from defending the doctor in the lawsuits, citing their "diverging interests and liabilities."

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Ex-US Attys Protest Trump's Swift Firing Of Rogoff In Seattle

By Rachel Riley

Thirty former U.S. attorneys backed Roger Rogoff's bid for reinstatement as Seattle's top federal prosecutor after President Donald Trump fired him on the heels of his court-ordered appointment, arguing Tuesday that Trump is trying to "sidestep the Senate's advice-and-consent role and sideline the judiciary" by letting unappointed individuals play such roles.

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DOJ Urges Court Not To Dismiss Suit Against DC Bar

By Alison Knezevich

The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a federal judge not to toss its lawsuit against Washington, D.C., attorney disciplinary authorities, saying the court "needs to halt defendants' flagrantly unconstitutional overreach into the president's executive power."

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Firms Cut From $101M Anthropic Atty Fees Appeal To 9th Circ.

By Lauren Berg

Two law firms involved in securing artificial intelligence company Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement with a class of authors and publishers are appealing to the Ninth Circuit an order excluding them from attorney fees awarded to court-appointed class counsel.

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USPTO Says Patent Atty's Suit Shouldn't Stop Discipline Case

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has said an Ohio federal court shouldn't pause professional discipline proceedings against an attorney while he sues the agency, saying he's likely to fail with his suit challenging the fact that a judge from another agency is overseeing his discipline case.

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Sinema Says Brief Signal Chat Can't Anchor NC Affair Suit

By Hayley Fowler

A single exchange on the encrypted messaging app Signal became the focal point of former Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's testimony on Wednesday as she sought to convince a North Carolina federal judge that she cannot be hauled into court in the Tar Heel state over an affair — which she declined to characterize as a "passionate" romance — she had with her married security guard.

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