A Cook County jury on Thursday awarded a total of $53 million in damages to four mothers claiming Abbott Laboratories' preterm baby formula contributed to their babies' development of a serious and often fatal gut condition, in the first of such claims to go to trial in Illinois.
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TOP NEWS

Abbott Hit With $53M Verdict Over Baby Formula Harms

By Celeste Bott

A Cook County jury on Thursday awarded a total of $53 million in damages to four mothers claiming Abbott Laboratories' preterm baby formula contributed to their babies' development of a serious and often fatal gut condition, in the first of such claims to go to trial in Illinois.

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McKinsey Settles Liability For $125M In Purdue Ch. 11

By Emily Lever

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has agreed to pay $125 million to former client Purdue Pharma LP to settle potential claims related to its work advising Purdue on the sale and marketing of opioids, tying up another loose end in the nearly seven-year-old Chapter 11 case.

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Merck Beats 295 Zostavax Suits Over Missed Deadlines

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge has tossed 295 cases against Merck & Co. Inc. in the multidistrict litigation alleging its Zostavax shingles vaccine caused the disease, with the court reasoning that the plaintiffs' inactivity doomed the cases.

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Judge Says Poultry Enviro Deals In 20-Year Suits Fall Short

By Elaine Briseño

An Oklahoma federal judge has rejected a bid by the state and several poultry companies to enter consent decrees in their two-decade-old dispute, finding the agreements did not go far enough to address pollution of the Illinois River Watershed.

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W.Va. Town Says Waste Co. Leaked PFAS Into Water Supply

By Mike Curley

The city of Weirton, West Virginia, and its water utility are suing Arcwood Environmental affiliates in Ohio federal court, saying Arcwood has been incinerating waste containing forever chemicals, which have made their way into the city's water supply via the Ohio River.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Walmart Sued Over 'Plant-Based' Milk With Additives

By Corey Rothauser

Walmart misrepresents its Bettergoods line of almond, oat and soy milks as "Plant-Based," even though the labeling shows inorganic and synthetic ingredients such as vitamin A palmitate, which "naturally occurs in liver, fish and dairy products ... not plants," a class action by consumers says.

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DRUGS & DEVICES

Clinic Charged Patients For Faulty Mammograms, Suit Claims

By Jonathan Capriel

A West Virginia clinic provided "worthless" mammograms to hundreds of patients for more than two years, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court which seeks refunds and other damages in excess of $5 million.

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CONSUMER GOODS

Chinese Vape-Maker Seeks Narrow Discovery In Battery Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

The Chinese manufacturer of Geekvape is asking to limit discovery in a lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for burns a man suffered when the battery for his vape exploded while in his pocket, arguing that what the plaintiff asked for was too broad.

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TOBACCO

Philip Morris, RJR Keep Win In Widower's Death Suit

By Mike Curley

A Massachusetts appeals panel Thursday refused to reinstate a suit from a widower against Philip Morris USA Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. over the death of his wife from COPD, saying he hadn't properly preserved his arguments for tolling the statute of limitations.

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Pest Co. Can't Eradicate Workers' Suit Over Tobacco Fees

By Patrick Hoff

Pest control company Rentokil can't escape a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully charged tobacco users more for health benefits without providing a reasonable way to avoid the fee, with a Pennsylvania federal judge rejecting the company's argument that decade-old regulations were invalid.

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AUTOMOTIVE

Drivers Say GM, Bosch Can't Ditch Chevy Cruze Fraud Claims

By Linda Chiem

Drivers told a Michigan federal judge that General Motors and Bosch cannot dodge the remaining fraud claims in long-running litigation alleging the companies deceptively marketed Chevrolet Cruze vehicles as clean vehicles when they were actually outfitted with emissions-cheating software.

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TECHNOLOGY

Trade Secrets Suit Is A 'Far-Flung Conspiracy,' Law Firm Says

By Adam Lidgett

A Georgia law firm wants a Nevada federal court to throw out a lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets from litigation lead generator Archetype Capital Partners, calling the whole case "a far-flung conspiracy."

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TRANSPORTATION

Rider Blasts Uber Bid To Admit Atty Ads In NC Bellwether Trial

By Hayley Fowler

Uber should not be allowed to introduce evidence that a rider in North Carolina saw attorney advertisements before she sued the ride-hailing giant claiming she was sexually harassed by her driver, the passenger said, arguing it has "no relevance to any issue" in her upcoming trial.

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CANNABIS

LA Cannabis Edibles Maker Settles Prop 65 Warning Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A Los Angeles cannabis-infused edibles producer has agreed to pay $70,000 to end a Proposition 65 lawsuit accusing the company of deliberately hiding the state-required warning with a peel-back product label, with most of the money going to the plaintiff's lawyer.

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ENERGY

Brief

Neb. Utility Allowed To Join Power Line Project Approval Fight

By Keith Goldberg

A Colorado federal judge has allowed Nebraska's largest electric utility to back the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in litigation seeking to undo the agency's fast-track approval of the utility's 226-mile high-voltage transmission project.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Weighing The Practical Implications Of SC Kids' Privacy Law

South Carolina's recently enacted Age-Appropriate Code Design Act includes a unique provision: a private right of action for certain violations, but its practical effect remains uncertain, as courts and litigants grapple with complex questions of standing, causation and the definition of actionable harm, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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Opinion

Time To Fix The Accountability Gap In Freight Logistics

In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport, the U.S. Supreme Court must resolve an urgent question: whether freight broker selection in trucking accidents is categorically protected — meaning unreasonable safety decisions are insulated from liability — or subject to accountability under traditional negligence principles, says Amanda Demanda at Amanda Demanda Injury Lawyers.

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Series

Alpine Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Skiing has shaped habits I rely on daily as an attorney — focus, resilience and the ability to remain steady when circumstances shift rapidly — and influences the way I approach legal strategy, client counseling and teamwork, says Isaku Begert at Marshall Gerstein.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The 2026 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

How is your work-life balance? Are you content with your compensation and opportunities for advancement at work? Take the 2026 Law360 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts.

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Lewis Brisbois Accused Of Ignoring Racism, Unethical Billing

By Aebra Coe

A former national billing director of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP filed a lawsuit in California state court this week accusing the firm of ignoring racist conduct and sexual harassment by partners, and alleging unethical billing practices and even embezzlement.

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Trump Picks Ohio Ex-Solicitor General For 6th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that he is tapping Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

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DOJ Calls Immigrant Legal Aid Wasteful In Budget Push

By Courtney Bublé

Tucked into the Trump administration's budget request for fiscal 2027, the U.S. Department of Justice is trying once again to take an ax to a program that provides legal assistance to noncitizens.

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Analysis

Calif. AI Guardrails Split From Feds, Other States May Follow

By Madeline Lyskawa

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent executive order directing state agencies to implement guardrails for contracting with artificial intelligence companies marks a rift with the Trump administration's deregulatory approach that could proliferate across other states.

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Fed. Circ. Chief Feels 'Bright-Line Rule Coming' For IP Marking

By Dani Kass

As a Federal Circuit panel reprimanded embattled attorney William Ramey on Thursday for the "disrespect" shown in his failed 3D glasses patent litigation against Volkswagen, the Federal Circuit's chief judge suggested precedent may be needed to define the role of marking in admissionless settlements.

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'Mark Of Autocracy': Court Says Pentagon Defied Press Order

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Defense has not complied with a court order barring the Pentagon from taking press passes away from journalists who report on matters not authorized by the government, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday, saying the department's revised rules "achieve that same unconstitutional result."

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MMA Law Accuses Lawyer, Insurance Co. Of RICO Scheme

By Emily Sawicki

Embattled Texas firm MMA Law has filed nearly a score of complaints amid an ongoing bankruptcy action, including accusing a Louisiana attorney, his wife and an insurer of working together to "target, dismantle and destroy" the firm in an effort to avoid sharing a cut of legal fees stemming from storm damage claims.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Albright Stoddard

Alexander Morrison & Fehr

Blank Rome

Carella Byrne

Chaffin Luhana LLP

Cleary Gottlieb

Conner & Winters

Davis Polk

Dykema

Eubanks & Associates

Fabian VanCott

Faegre Drinker

Finnegan

Fitzsimmons Law Firm

Gibson Dunn

Girard Sharp

Greenberg Traurig

Hagens Berman

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Hart

Holland & Knight

Hoosier Law Firm

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Keller Postman

Kirkland & Ellis

Law Group of Northwest Arkansas

Lewis Brisbois

Marshall Gerstein

McDaniel Acord

McDonald Carano

McGuireWoods

McNichol Byrne

Motley Rice

Napoli Shkolnik

O'Melveny & Myers

Olson Grimsley

Paynter Law Firm

Peiffer Wolf

Perkins Coie

Pillsbury Winthrop

Plevin & Gallucci

Powell & Majestro

Ramey LLP

Rhodes Hieronymus

Sbaiti & Company

Seeger Weiss

Seraph Legal

Seyfarth Shaw

Shook Hardy

Sidley Austin

Siri & Glimstad

Sommers Schwartz

Stinson LLP

The Monson Law Firm

Venable LLP

Walker and Patterson

Warner Norcross

Winston & Strawn

Womble Bond

Young Moore

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Abbott Laboratories

Altria Group Inc.

Amica Center for Immigrant Rights

Anthropic PBC

Arcwood Environmental

Bauer Inc.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc.

Cargill Inc.

Cobb-Vantress Inc.

Drummond

Elite

GlobalTranz Enterprises Inc.

Google LLC

LinkedIn Corp.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Merck & Co. Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Peterson Farms Inc.

Purdue Pharma LP

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Inc.

Simmons Foods Inc.

State Bar of Texas

Stop & Shop Supermarket Co.

The New York Times Co.

Tyson Foods Inc.

Uber Technologies Inc.

Vanilla

Volkswagen AG

Walmart Inc.

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Department of Technology

Cook County Circuit Court

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Fish and Wildlife Service

Food and Drug Administration

Louisiana Department of Insurance

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Nebraska Public Power District

Ohio Supreme Court

Rosebud Sioux Tribe

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

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

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

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

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Nevada

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma