Product Liability

  • July 28, 2025

    Splenda-Maker Says Emails Show NC Scientist Ignored Data

    The makers of Splenda said new emails and documents unearthed in discovery for its defamation lawsuit against a scientist show that she ignored and manipulated experiment data to suggest that the artificial sweetener is dangerous for humans.

  • July 28, 2025

    Coca-Cola Looks To Drain '100% Natural Flavors' False Ad Suit

    Coca-Cola urged a California federal judge to drain a proposed class action alleging it deceptively labels its Sprite sodas as made with "100% natural flavors" despite containing citric acid, arguing Friday the plaintiff doesn't plausibly allege the citric acid is artificial, and that her claims are preempted by federal law.

  • July 28, 2025

    Widow Asks 4th Circ. To Revive Freight Broker Claim

    A woman whose husband was killed in a 2022 South Carolina trucking accident told the Fourth Circuit on Monday that freight brokers cannot evade state-based requirements to exercise reasonable care in selecting safe motor carriers to transport shipments.

  • July 28, 2025

    Electrolux Range's Defect Led To Fire, Insurer Tells Court

    Three Electrolux companies manufactured ranges with a foreseeable defect that allowed the products to unintentionally activate, a property insurer told a Connecticut federal court as it sought to recover the claim payout for a homeowner's kitchen fire.

  • July 28, 2025

    2nd Abbott Baby Formula Bellwether Falls Before Trial

    An Illinois federal judge handed Abbott Laboratories summary judgment on Monday in the second bellwether that had been set for trial in multidistrict litigation over allegations its cow's milk-based formula can cause severe gastrointestinal illness in premature babies, while saying she will leave the door open to revive and later try the case.

  • July 28, 2025

    Eli Lilly Alleges Pharmacy Sells Knockoff Weight-Loss Drugs

    Eli Lilly and Company is accusing a Houston pharmacy of selling knockoff versions of two of its Ozempic-like weight-loss drugs.

  • July 28, 2025

    Peloton Looks To Snuff Out Investors' Recall Suit Again

    Peloton hopes to extinguish a second attempt by investors at finding the company and its executives at fault for the way the company handled a recall of its defective bicycle seats, telling a New York federal judge Monday that the amended complaint does not cure deficiencies that led to the lawsuit's initial dismissal.

  • July 28, 2025

    Rising Star: Goldman Ismail's Allyson Miller Julien

    Allyson Miller Julien of Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP helped Merck win a major victory in multidistrict litigation over its Gardasil HPV vaccine, earning her a spot among the product liability law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 28, 2025

    J&J Loses Bid To Probe Beasley Allen Talc Litigation Funding

    A special master found Monday there is no reason to believe third-party funders are influencing Beasley Allen Law Firm's decisions in a massive talc litigation in New Jersey, defeating a subpoena from Johnson & Johnson digging into alleged third-party litigation funding.

  • July 28, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    A Delaware vice chancellor last week sent several coordinated derivative suits seeking millions of dollars in damages from AT&T to trial and also chose a boutique firm to lead a potential "blockbuster" suit challenging a take-private deal of a sports and entertainment group after "heated" attacks between competing counsel.

  • July 28, 2025

    Novo Nordisk Faces Possible Mass Tort Over Ozempic In NJ

    Over 20 plaintiffs who have sued Novo Nordisk in New Jersey state court alleging its popular weight loss drugs caused them to lose their vision have filed an application to designate their cases as multicounty litigation, according to a notice to the bar posted on Monday.

  • July 25, 2025

    Social Media Cos. Score Toss Of 2022 Mass Shooting Suit

    A divided New York state appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to hold Meta, Google and other social media companies liable for a fatal 2022 mass shooting that targeted Black people in Buffalo, New York, saying federal law shielded the companies from liability for the shooter's acts.

  • July 25, 2025

    ​In New Twist, W.Va. Judges Suddenly At Odds In Opioid Suits

    A new ruling in West Virginia opioid crisis litigation is revealing sharp divisions among the Mountain State's federal judges regarding a pivotal legal theory, potentially boosting a Fourth Circuit appeal by beleaguered municipalities aiming to erase a landmark win for drug distributors.

  • July 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives Kraft Heinz Suit Over Safety Complaints

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday overturned a win for Kraft Heinz Inc. in a suit by a former worker at a meatpacking plant who alleged that he'd been fired for reporting safety issues, saying the district court wrongly concluded that a separate disciplinary investigation was the sole reason he was terminated.

  • July 25, 2025

    Calif. Air Board Faces New Suit Over Carbon Fuel Standard

    Environmental and public interest groups hit the California Air Resources Board with another lawsuit in Golden State court Friday, alleging that the state's recent amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard will have the perverse effect of incentivizing large-scale factory farms, which pose significant environmental and public health risks.

  • July 25, 2025

    Drivers Ask 9th Circ. To Revive Fiat Chrysler Gear Shift Suit

    Chrysler drivers are asking the Ninth Circuit to revive their proposed class action alleging defective gear shifters in Fiat Chrysler vehicles, in a bid to overcome a California federal court's finding that the injury is hypothetical.

  • July 25, 2025

    Sports & Betting Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    Certain court cases have become staples on both the midyear and end-of-year must-watch lists in sports and betting at Law360. One that seemed best positioned to finally fall off the list, as it turns out, is far from over: the multibillion-dollar NCAA settlement regarding name, image and likeness payments and revenue sharing with hundreds of thousands of college athletes. A handful of other suits from past years will also continue to bear watching through the end of 2025.

  • July 25, 2025

    Helicopter Crash Suit Belongs In New Zealand, Calif. Court Says

    Survivors of a helicopter crash cannot sue the U.S.-based companies that manufactured the aircraft in Los Angeles County, a California appeals court said Thursday, affirming a trial court's finding that it makes more sense for New Zealand courts to handle the case because that's where the crash happened and where the passengers live.

  • July 25, 2025

    Feds Redirect First Phase Of Atomic Bomb Waste To Texas

    Radioactive waste from the development of the first atomic bomb will no longer be sent to a landfill in Wayne County, Michigan, after a group of nearby communities sued to block the landfill from accepting 6,000 cubic yards of the material. 

  • July 25, 2025

    Insurers Seek Quick Win Over Meta Social Media Suits

    Various Hartford and Chubb units told a Delaware state court they should have no duty to defend Meta Platforms Inc. in thousands of pending lawsuits accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to be addictive to adolescents, arguing there was no insurable "accident" that allegedly occurred.

  • July 25, 2025

    Fluoride Fans Tell 9th Circ. To Preserve Drinking Water Use

    A pro-fluoride group is supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fight to overturn a California federal judge's ruling that current limits on the chemical in drinking water aren't protective enough.

  • July 25, 2025

    Minnesota Regulators Sue Retailer Over Cannabinoid Wares

    Minnesota's cannabis regulator has brought a state court action seeking an order compelling a retailer to destroy hemp-derived cannabinoid products that are allegedly noncompliant under the state's laws.

  • July 25, 2025

    Tesla Expert Says Autopilot Was Overridden Before Fatal Crash

    An accident reconstruction expert told jurors in Florida federal court Friday that the driver of the Tesla that caused a fatal crash in the Florida Keys had overridden the autopilot and was in control of the vehicle for the 75 seconds before the crash.

  • July 25, 2025

    Feds End Probe Into Waymo Self-Driving Cars

    The U.S. auto safety regulator closed its preliminary investigation into reports of Waymo LLC's autonomous vehicles exhibiting "unexpected driving behaviors," saying Friday that it won't take any action after the company's recalls and software updates.

  • July 25, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Disturb Class Cert. In 'Oil-Free' J&J Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday backed class certification in a suit alleging Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. misled consumers by advertising its Neutrogena face washes are "oil-free," rejecting its argument that the class's expert's damage calculation was faulty and underdeveloped.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    IVF Suits Highlight Need For Better Legal Frameworks

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    The high number of in vitro fertilization embryo losses underscores the need for more cohesive legal and regulatory guidance related to human errors, property versus personhood, and liability, says Jeff Korek at Gersowitz Libo.

  • Royal Canin Ruling Won't Transform Removal Jurisdiction

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Royal Canin USA v. Wullschleger means that federal district courts must now remand whenever an amended complaint excises grounds for federal jurisdiction — but given existing litigation strategy and case law trends, this may ultimately preserve, rather than alter, the status quo, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits

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    In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Key Trends In PFAS Regulation And Litigation For 2025

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    The critical policy milestones for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances expected in 2025 will not only shape the trajectory of PFAS regulation, but also set key precedents for environmental accountability, potentially reshaping the corporate approach to these "forever chemicals" for decades to come, say attorneys at MG+M.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • Courts Must Stick To The Science On Digital Addiction Claims

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    A number of pending personal injury and product liability lawsuits allege that plaintiffs have developed behavioral addictions to the use of social media and video games — but this is not yet recognized by relevant authorities as an addiction, so courts must carefully scrutinize such claims, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

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    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • A Look At FDA's Plans To Establish New OTC Drug Category

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule, creating a new over-the-counter pathway for drugs when patients satisfy certain conditions, may be useful for off-patent drugs with established safety records, though switching to OTC comes with additional costs and considerations, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

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    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

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    All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • New York Climate Superfund Law May Face Preemption Fight

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    New York state's new climate superfund law highlights a growing trend of states supplementing their climate litigation efforts with legislative initiatives — but it will likely encounter the same federal preemption questions raised about state and local lawsuits seeking redress for climate harms, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation

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    State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

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    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

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