Human Reproduction Proves Talc Can Reach Ovaries, Jury Told

By Craig Clough

A medical oncologist on Thursday told a Los Angeles bellwether jury considering claims that Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused three women's deadly ovarian cancer that the female reproductive system is an "open" system where talc can migrate to the ovaries, and that "we wouldn't exist" if that was not the case.

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Water Utilities Urge DC Circ. To Toss EPA PFAS Regs Suit

By Mike Curley

A trade association for local public clean water utilities is urging the D.C. Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a suit from a group of farmers alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn't adequately regulated so-called forever chemicals, saying the plaintiffs' suit risks interfering with their ability to do their jobs.

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Albertsons Not Covered In Opioid Litigation, Del. Judge Says

By Hope Patti

Albertsons isn't entitled to defense or indemnity for more than 100 suits accusing the pharmacy and grocery chain of fueling the opioid epidemic, a Delaware state court ruled, tracking the state high court's rulings in nearly identical disputes involving Rite Aid and CVS.

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Meta Starts NM Defense As Midtrial Win Bid Fails

By Cara Salvatore

A judge denied Meta a midtrial win Thursday morning over harm to underage social media users, prompting the social media giant to call an executive to begin building a defense case that platform changes requested by New Mexico's attorney general are unnecessary or even counterproductive.

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Algorithms In Senate Spotlight After Social Media Suit Losses

By Emily Field

Lawyers and parents on Wednesday urged lawmakers to strengthen protections for children online, focusing on the addictiveness of social media algorithms after two recent trial losses for Big Tech.

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Analysis

Freight Brokers Brace For New Risks After High Court Ruling

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday shattered what freight brokers believed was an ironclad shield against state-based negligence and injury claims over catastrophic accidents, as the trucking industry's middlemen face heightened legal exposure and question what reasonable care means in selecting motor carriers for a transport, experts say.

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Justices Say Freight Brokers Can Face Negligence Suits

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that freight brokers might also be liable under state law for selecting unsafe motor carriers that then get into highway crashes that kill or injure people, offering long-sought clarity on liability standards in a commercial trucking industry unnerved by supersized verdicts against carriers and drivers.

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Ga. Panel Quiet On Fate Of $20M Bard Cancer Verdict

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia appellate panel gave few indications Thursday of whether it would order a new trial in a former C.R. Bard worker's lawsuit alleging that exposure to ethylene oxide caused his cancer, weighing whether a mistrial on punitive damages necessitates scrapping a $20 million compensatory damages verdict.

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NJ Doctor Prescribed Medical Marijuana To Kids, AG Says

By Jonathan Capriel

A New Jersey doctor had his medical license temporarily suspended by a state board, which found there is good reason to believe he is "a grave danger" to his patients after prosecutors accused him of repeatedly prescribing marijuana to adults and children without complying with state law.

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Smucker's Misleads About Splenda In Fudge, Consumer Says

By Mike Curley

A New York man sued The J.M. Smucker Co. in federal court on Thursday, alleging it misleads consumers by claiming its fudge topping is sweetened with Splenda, when in reality its primary sweeteners are less-healthy sugar alcohols and sugar substitutes.

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Volkswagen Hit With Class Claims Over EV Battery Fire Risk

By Carla Baranauckas

Volkswagen has been hit with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging that tens of thousands of its ID.4 electric vehicles contain defective high-voltage batteries that can spontaneously catch fire because of misaligned electrodes.

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Honda Buyers Say 440K Odysseys Have Faulty Side Airbags

By Gina Kim

Honda hid safety defects for years in its 2018-2022 Odyssey minivans where side airbag systems would suddenly deploy when traveling on flat roads, slowing down to a stop or going over a speed bump, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

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Calif. Cannabis Distributor Gets $1.35M In Delivery Row

By Jonathan Capriel

Cannabis company Magnolia Extracts LLC must pay a distributor $1.35 million for delivered products, a California state court judge has ruled, saying the retailer waived any opportunity to claim the products were defective after accepting the shipment and then reselling it.

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High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit, Oil Cos. Say

By Ganesh Setty

Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing local communities to pursue state law tort claims for climate change damages, arguing their claims are "avowedly interstate and international in scope."

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EPA Listing Signals New Scrutiny Of Drugs In Drinking Water

The recent publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest draft drinking water contaminant list highlights pharmaceuticals as a category of concern, marking the start of a process that could shape future research priorities, monitoring requirements, and federal and state actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Series

Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

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Analysis

Insider Trading Case Shows BigLaw Associate Vetting Gaps

By Chris Villani

A BigLaw attorney who was able to move through three major firms while allegedly orchestrating a massive insider trading scheme may have been aided by relatively loose hiring practices for associates that firms may consider strengthening moving forward, recruiting experts told Law360.

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DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

By Jared Foretek

A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

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Trump's 8th Circ. Pick Clears Senate Panel Vote

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented the president in the cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, advanced to the full Senate on Thursday.

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Thomas Urges Defense Of Constitution At Judicial Conference

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged attendees at the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference on Thursday to "stand up" for the U.S. Constitution and to see the positives in the country, despite its flaws, on its 250th birthday.

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Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

By Emily Lever

A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

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NYC Bar Endorses Random Audits For Law Firm Accounts

By Emily Sawicki

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Discipline Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a statewide bill to institute a random audit program for law firm financial accounts.

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Ogletree Fights Atty's Discovery Bid For DQ Push In Bias Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

A Georgia federal court should deny a bid for discovery aimed at disqualifying Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC from defending a security company against discrimination claims because the request stems from the plaintiff's lawyer's "personal grievances," the company said Thursday.

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Lover's Ex-Wife Fights Sinema's Request For Therapy Notes

By Abigail Harrison

A bid by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to unearth notes and communications from a therapist working with her lover's ex-wife should be summarily denied, as the ex-wife, Heather Ammel, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that the request is a clear overreach.

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8th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Horse Breeder's Malpractice Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Eighth Circuit said a federal judge was right to dismiss a malpractice suit a Minnesota horse breeder brought against Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and one of its former attorneys for mishandling malpractice cases against three other firms.

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