Product Liability

  • July 14, 2025

    Group Urges 11th Circ. To Ditch 'Radioactive' Mosaic Road

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should not have approved The Mosaic Co.'s request to use radioactive phosphogypsum in road construction at a Florida fertilizer facility, the Center for Biological Diversity told the Eleventh Circuit.

  • July 14, 2025

    Nipple Cover Co., Customer Agree To Drop False Ad Suit

    The woman behind a lawsuit accusing Cakes Body LLC of making reusable nipple covers that don't live up to their "grippy, not sticky" representations has quietly dropped her proposed class claims against the company in California federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    Exxon's Climate Change Skepticism Is Protected, Court Told

    Exxon Mobil Corp. was engaging in "core political speech" protected by the First Amendment when it made public statements that Connecticut's attorney general has alleged misled consumers about its business practices' contribution to climate change, the company told a state court Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Fans Settle With NFL's Commanders In Railing Collapse Suit

    NFL fans suing the Washington Commanders for negligence over injuries they sustained from a collapsing stadium rail have reached a settlement with the team following a Fourth Circuit ruling that could have landed the plaintiffs in arbitration.

  • July 14, 2025

    Victim's Family Says Tesla 'Set Stage' For Fatal Fla. Crash

    The family of a woman killed in a Florida Keys crash told jurors Monday that Tesla Inc. "set the stage" for a reckless driver to plow into the woman's vehicle by overhyping its autopilot software's capabilities despite knowing of vulnerabilities in the program.

  • July 14, 2025

    Law Student Burned At Mass. Frat Party Sues Everclear Maker

    A Boston University exchange student who suffered third degree burns after 190-proof Everclear was poured near open fire at a fraternity party that created an explosive fireball sued the product's manufacturer in Massachusetts federal court Sunday, arguing it dangerously markets the product for wide range of uses near flammable sources.

  • July 14, 2025

    Insurer Seeks $1M Coverage Cap Over 175 Silica Suits

    An insurer for a manufacturer of countertops told a New York federal court that only one primary environmental liability policy it issued applies to roughly 175 lawsuits seeking damages for exposure to silica, pointing to "deemer provisions" relating to coverage for "progressive or indivisible" bodily injury.

  • July 14, 2025

    Feds Argue Trump's Energy Orders Should Not Be Blocked

    The federal government is fighting an effort to block President Donald Trump's fossil fuel-boosting executive orders that was filed by youths alleging U.S. energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change.

  • July 14, 2025

    Amazon Aims To Flush 'Greenwashing' Toilet Paper Suit

    Amazon.com Inc. is asking a Washington federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging it "greenwashed" its toilet paper products by misleading consumers about the source of wood for the products, saying the plaintiffs can't read their subjective expectations into the labeling.

  • July 14, 2025

    Mazda Slams 'Frivolous' Filings In Tossed Oil Burning Suit

    Mazda Motor of America Inc. is threatening sanctions against the leader of a now-dismissed proposed class action alleging it sold vehicles with an oil burning defect, saying he is retreading since-debunked arguments and misstating facts in his bid to revive his case.

  • July 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Tosses Arbitration Denial In FCA Minivan Fire MDL

    A Michigan federal judge flubbed it when he denied Fiat Chrysler's bid to push into arbitration some of the plug-in hybrid minivan drivers who claim in multidistrict litigation that their vehicles could spontaneously explode, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying the judge tipped the scales against the automaker by raising arguments the drivers hadn't mentioned.

  • July 11, 2025

    5th Circ. Cites Expert Errors In Rejecting BP Spill Sinus Claims

    The Fifth Circuit has ended a cleanup worker's toxic tort lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. claiming he suffered sinus issues from cleaning up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, saying his experts' testimony, some of which was riddled with errors, was properly ejected by the trial court.

  • July 11, 2025

    Ethiopian Airlines Case Settles '2 Minutes' Before Last Hearing

    A Chicago damages trial set for a man who lost his immediate family in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash can be taken off the books because his case settled "literally two minutes" before his final pretrial hearing, attorneys told an Illinois federal judge Friday.

  • July 11, 2025

    Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

  • July 11, 2025

    Cannabis Industry Group Praises Hemp Ban In Spending Bill

    A cannabis industry trade group has applauded a U.S. Senate committee's adoption of language in a federal appropriations bill that would ban consumable hemp-derived products with THC, while hemp industry stakeholders are seeking to use a one-year delay to amend a policy they say would kill the market.

  • July 11, 2025

    3rd Circ. Revives Benicar MDL Fees Suit Against NJ Law Firm

    The Third Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action against Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys that claims they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, remanding the dispute for the district court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case.

  • July 11, 2025

    Tesla Faces Trial Over Fatal Autopilot Crash In Florida

    The first third-party wrongful death case involving Tesla's autopilot system is headed to trial Monday in Miami federal court, where jurors will determine whether the autopilot was at fault for the death of a pedestrian in a Florida Keys crash.

  • July 11, 2025

    Gun Group's NJ Nuisance Law Case Paused Amid State Action

    A New Jersey federal judge has put the National Shooting Sports Foundation's lawsuit against the Garden State on hold, finding that the group's challenges to a state law — holding gunmakers and sellers liable for crimes committed with their products — are also being raised by one of its members in a related state enforcement action.

  • July 11, 2025

    Mich. Gun Store Seeks Escape From School Shooting Suit

    A gun dealer has asked a Michigan state appellate court to dismiss a lawsuit over the sale of a gun used in a deadly school shooting, arguing it can't be held responsible for the buyer giving the gun to his son.

  • July 11, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs NY Liability Law Targeting Gunmakers

    The Second Circuit has upheld a New York public nuisance statute that opens up firearm manufacturers to civil lawsuits for acts of violence involving their guns.

  • July 11, 2025

    Stanley Mug Maker Seeks To Dodge Class Suit Over Lid Recall

    The Seattle-based company behind the popular Stanley-brand tumbler is urging a Washington federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from consumers who alleged the company's travel mug is defective, criticizing the plaintiffs' counsel for "sprinting to the courthouse" even though the manufacturer offered replacement lids during a voluntary recall.

  • July 11, 2025

    Dow, Others Can't Duck NY Water District's Contamination Suit

    Dow and two other companies must face a New York state water district's claims that they contaminated drinking water supply wells with a highly toxic chemical, a federal judge has said.

  • July 11, 2025

    Dem States Drop Bid To Block Machine Gun Trigger Returns

    Sixteen Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia told a Maryland federal judge Friday that they are dropping their motion to block the federal government from returning forced-reset triggers for guns to their owners, following declarations from the government and others that they would not distribute the products into states where possession is illegal.

  • July 11, 2025

    Transportation Policies To Watch In 2025: A Midyear Report

    Sweeping new tariffs, revised vehicle emission and fuel-economy standards, and aviation safety reforms are some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in the second half of 2025.

  • July 11, 2025

    7th Circ. Tosses Korean Samsung Arm From Vape Battery Suit

    The Seventh Circuit won't revive a minor's claims against South Korea-based Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. over his injuries from an exploding vape battery, saying there's too much of a "disconnect" between the company's marketing of batteries for use in battery packs and finished products and the sale of an individual battery like the one in this case.

Expert Analysis

  • Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors

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    As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

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    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • Trump, Tariffs And Tech: The Right To Repair In 2025

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    The "right-to-repair" movement has helped make it easier for independent repair shops and consumers to repair their devices and vehicles — but President-elect Donald Trump's complicated relationship with Big Tech, and his advocacy for increased tariffs, make the immediate future of the movement uncertain, say attorneys at Carter Ledyard.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Opinion

    Section 230 Debates Will Continue, With Or Without TikTok

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    Regardless of whether TikTok is forced to shut down in the U.S. in the coming weeks, legal disputes will continue over social media platforms' responsibility under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for harms allegedly caused by content shared on their apps, says Carla Varriale-Barker at Segal McCambridge.

  • When Judging Product Label Claims, Follow The Asterisk

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    A recurring question in false advertising class actions is whether misleading or ambiguous statements on a product's front label can be cured by information on the back label — but recent decisions from the Ninth Circuit suggest that a front-label asterisk can help alert consumers to seek further clarification, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Complying With Seasonal Product Labeling Requirements

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    Though the holiday season is in the rearview, many seasonal alcohol products remain in the market, and producers should ensure that their labels comply with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's additional requirements for such products, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules

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    Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • 5 Drug And Device Developments That Shaped 2024

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    The last year saw significant legal developments affecting drug and device manufacturers, with landmark decisions and regulatory changes that require vigilance and agility from the industry, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Opinion

    Aviation Watch: How Court Nixed Boeing Plea Deal Over DEI

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    A Texas federal court's rejection of the plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing over the 737 Max aircraft gratuitously injected the court's views on diversity, equity and inclusion into a case that shouldn't have been a criminal matter in the first place, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

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    General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Consultants Should Be Aware Of DOJ's Potential New Reach

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent first-of-its-kind settlement with McKinsey & Co. indicates not only the DOJ's more aggressive stance toward businesses' potential criminal wrongdoings, but also the benefits of self-disclosure and cooperation when wrongdoing becomes apparent, says Dom Caamano at Kibler Fowler.

  • Product Safety Issues In 2024 Highlight Need For Vigilance

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    A look at some of the medications and foods that led to significant class actions last year demonstrates the need for robust regulatory systems and proactive measures to protect consumers from defective and harmful products, says Jennifer Taylor at the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin.

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