NJ Court Greenlights Beasley Allen Attys In Talc Litigation

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state judge will allow two Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys to represent a California couple in their suit accusing Johnson & Johnson of selling carcinogenic talc-based baby powder and appear pro hac vice despite the company's vehement opposition.

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Atty Interaction Prompts Recusal In Google AI Suicide Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida federal judge and former Gunster shareholder has recused himself from a suit accusing Character.AI and Google of causing the suicide of a teen who was addicted to an artificial intelligence chatbot, after a Munger Tolles & Olson LLP attorney said he discussed the case with the then-attorney last year.

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Attys Face Sanctions For 'Sweeping' Copying Of Firm's Motion

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has ordered The Neil Jones Food Co.'s defense counsel to explain why she shouldn't sanction them for filing a dismissal motion that appears to plagiarize a losing motion filed by another firm in another case in the district, slamming the "sweeping copy and paste" conduct as "patently unacceptable."

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737 Max Families Push For Special Prosecutor In Boeing Case

By Linda Chiem

Families of victims of the 737 Max 8 crashes have asked a Texas federal judge to appoint a special prosecutor in Boeing's criminal conspiracy case, saying the U.S. Department of Justice's latest nonprosecution agreement with the American aerospace giant sets a dangerous precedent for corporate defendants to evade accountability.

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9th Circ. Says NY Claims Against Hyundai Raise 'Novel' Issue

By Bonnie Eslinger

A split panel of the Ninth Circuit Friday refused to toss negligence claims from cities in Ohio and Wisconsin in consolidated litigation alleging Hyundai and Kia, of which Hyundai is a major shareholder, sold vehicles with design flaws that enabled car thefts nationwide, but said negligence claims under New York law "raise a novel issue" of state law.

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2nd Purdue Plan Heading For Creditor Vote, Nov. Hearing

By Rick Archer

A New York bankruptcy judge Friday set OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's second try at a bankruptcy plan on course for a November confirmation hearing, clearing the plan disclosure statement to be sent out for a creditor vote.

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Analysis

Microplastics Focus May Force Change In Biz Practices

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it's considering research that could lead to microplastics regulation, and although policies may be years away, businesses are already facing pressure to change their practices from increasing state regulation and consumer litigation.

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DEA Judge Backs Federal Ban On 2 Research Chemicals

By Sam Reisman

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration judge determined Friday that two unrestricted psychoactive research chemicals belong in Schedule I, the most stringent tier of prohibited substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

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Justices Let E-Cig Retailers Join Challenge To FDA Prohibition

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday that e-cigarette retailers can challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of product marketing applications, finding manufacturers aren't the only entities that can be adversely affected by the agency's decisions.

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9th Circ. Finds Calif. One-Gun-A-Month Law Unconstitutional

By Mike Curley

The Ninth Circuit on Friday struck down California's so-called one-gun-a-month law, finding that it violates the Second Amendment by categorically preventing state residents from buying more than one firearm every 30 days.

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Sig Sauer Aims To Take Down Conn. Atty's Defamation Suit

By Mike Curley

Sig Sauer Inc. is asking a Connecticut federal judge to throw out an attorney's suit claiming it defamed him in a March press release as a "grifter" for his legal actions and litigation against the gunmaker.

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Nose Spray Co. Sues FTC Over Substantiation Requirement

By Mike Curley

Nasal spray maker Xlear Inc. is suing the Federal Trade Commission in Utah federal court, seeking a declaration that the agency is going beyond its statutory mandate by requiring scientific substantiation in marketing claims, even if the claims are not false and misleading.

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Justices Say Fuel Groups Can Fight Emissions Waiver

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said that fuel industry groups can challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that has allowed California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.

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Mich. Says Feds Can't Block AG's Climate Tort Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Trump administration's lawsuit to block Michigan from suing fossil fuel companies for climate harms is based on guesswork about a hypothetical lawsuit and should be dismissed, Michigan argued Friday.

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Boeing Nears Dismissal From Calif. Door Blowout Lawsuit

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge indicated Friday that he's leaning toward dismissing Boeing from a lawsuit over the midair blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024, saying Boeing's ties to California are not strong enough for his court to exercise jurisdiction.

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Textron Says NC Biz Certificate Doesn't Signal Jurisdiction

By Hayley Fowler

Textron Inc. has made a final plea for the North Carolina Court of Appeals to expel it from a products liability lawsuit stemming from a private plane crash, denouncing its opponent's claim that the conglomerate can be "hauled" into court in the Tar Heel State merely because it's registered to do business there.

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Texas High Court Finds Pilots Union's Can Sue Over 737 Max

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday put wind beneath the wings of a Southwest Airline Pilots Association's suit aiming to hold Boeing responsible for its members' economic losses after regulators grounded the 737 Max aircraft, finding the Railway Labor Act does not preempt the union's claims.

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Psychedelic Therapy Reform Gets Boost From Conservatives

By Sam Reisman

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry told attendees at a psychedelics conference this week that he was committed to loosening federal restrictions on a prohibited psychoactive substance that has shown promise in treating mental health conditions like opioid addiction.

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High Court Urged To Rein In FDA Oversight Of Stem Cells

By Gianna Ferrarin

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons asked the U.S. Supreme Court Friday to review a Ninth Circuit decision the organization argued would wrongly give the government control over a patient's own stem cells.

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NJ Court Upholds Some Claims In Athlete's Cannabis Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

New Jersey marijuana retailers can't shake a lawsuit by a champion collegiate athlete who claims their products caused him to develop cannabis-induced psychosis resulting in a suicide attempt, a state judge has ruled, saying the plaintiff's defective design and failure to warn claims are valid.

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CrowdStrike Escapes Flyers' IT Outage Class Action

By Craig Clough

A Texas federal judge dismissed a proposed class action Wednesday against cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Inc. from airline customers whose flights were delayed or canceled due to the catastrophic July 2024 global IT outage, finding the collection of state law claims are preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act.

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Series

Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.

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Perkins Coie Lays Off 5% Of Staff Amid Strategic Review

By Xiumei Dong

Perkins Coie LLP, which successfully fended off President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm, has reportedly laid off roughly 5% of its professional staff this month, and attributed the reductions to the firm's strategic realignments following a yearlong review of its business operations.

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Dems Demand Info On Emil Bove's Alleged Misconduct

By Courtney Bublé

Ahead of Emil Bove's hearing on Wednesday for his judicial nomination, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pressing for information on complaints alleging his misconduct while at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and Main Justice earlier this year.

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Litigation Funders Fight 'Kill Shot' In 'Big Beautiful Bill'

By Ryan Boysen

Litigation funders are in panic mode over a provision in the massive federal spending bill that would impose a 41% punitive tax on the $16 billion industry, with one executive calling it a "kill shot" and an academic warning it amounts to "unprecedented" weaponization of the U.S. tax code.

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Dems Laud Axing Of Budget Bill's Injunction Bond Provision

By Courtney Bublé

A provision meant to up the ante for plaintiffs filing lawsuits against the federal government by increasing the use of injunction bonds has been ruled ineligible for inclusion in the budget reconciliation package.

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Amazon Sanctioned For Hidden Discovery

By Bryan Koenig

A Washington federal judge sanctioned Amazon.com Monday by limiting its use of company documents produced during discovery while giving the Federal Trade Commission more time for discovery, siding with the FTC's allegations that the online retail giant improperly claimed privilege over tens of thousands of documents in the Prime "dark patterns" lawsuit.

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Justices Drop 'Third Country' Removal Due Process, For Now

By Katie Buehler

A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Trump administration can send noncitizens facing deportation to countries where they have no prior ties without providing due process protections, including written notice or a chance to raise concerns about their future safety.

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Justices To Review Liability For Forcing Prisoner's Haircut

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a former Louisiana prisoner's case for damages after guards forcibly shaved his head, removing the dreadlocks he maintained as part of his Rastafarian religion.

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