Product Liability

  • May 27, 2025

    Unilever Buyers Clash Over Service Awards In $3.6M Deal

    Class representatives in a suit alleging Unilever United States Inc. of selling dry shampoo with elevated levels of benzene are pushing back against an objection by other plaintiffs over service awards, saying the other plaintiffs didn't do anything to materially advance the litigation and thus are not entitled to the awards.

  • May 27, 2025

    Latest Junior Hockey Players' Abuse Suit Against NHL Tossed

    An antitrust class action by two junior league hockey players, accusing the National Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League of collusion and abusive treatment during their development, was dismissed by a Washington state federal court, the second venue in which their suit was thrown out.

  • May 27, 2025

    LA County, Pasadena Shirking Eaton Fire Inspections, Suits Say

    Two groups of California renters took to state court to sue Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena for failing to properly inspect their homes after the Eaton Fire and for not making property owners decontaminate them.

  • May 27, 2025

    Ghee Butter Buyer Denied Class Cert. In 'Good Fat' Label Suit

    A California federal judge has denied a bid for class certification in a suit alleging the sellers of ghee, a clarified butter, falsely claimed that it contained "good fat," saying the lead plaintiff failed to show that anyone besides her was misled by the labeling.

  • May 27, 2025

    High Court Won't Hear Apache's Bid To Undo Mining Decision

    The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a challenge by an Apache nonprofit that seeks to undo the federal government's transfer of nearly 2,500 acres of land to an Arizona copper mining company, a decision that could ultimately decide the fate of a centuries-old Indigenous worship site.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • May 23, 2025

    Sonos Pushed New App Despite Knowing Problems, Suit Says

    Sonos device owners from several states have lodged a putative class action against the audio system company, telling a California federal court that Sonos forced an app redesign on owners that caused connectivity problems and removed features users had relied on.

  • May 23, 2025

    Group Asks 5th Circ. To Clarify Freight Broker Negligence

    Truck safety advocates asked the Fifth Circuit on Friday to preserve state-law personal-injury claims against freight brokers, weighing in on a dispute that alleges Penske Logistics LLC is liable for negligently hiring an unsafe motor carrier that caused a fatal 2018 accident in Texas.

  • May 23, 2025

    DOJ, Boeing Reach Deal To Drop 737 Max Criminal Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that it won't criminally prosecute Boeing over the deadly 737 Max crashes after reaching a deal that saves the American aerospace giant from being branded a corporate felon in exchange for approximately $1.1 billion in fines, penalties and victims compensation.

  • May 23, 2025

    Amazon.com Sued Over Toxic Metals Found In Rice Products

    Consumers hit Amazon.com with a proposed class action in Washington federal court Friday, seeking to hold the retail giant liable for selling rice products that allegedly contain "alarmingly high" levels of toxic heavy metals.

  • May 23, 2025

    SoCal Edison To Pay $82.5M Over 2020 Bobcat Fire Costs

    Southern California Edison agreed Friday to pay $82.5 million to the federal government to resolve a lawsuit that seeks to recoup costs incurred by the U.S. Forest Service as a result of the devastating 2020 Bobcat Fire, which burned over 100,000 acres, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ex-McKinsey Exec Sentenced For Obstructing Purdue Probe

    A Virginia federal judge has sentenced a disbarred attorney and former McKinsey & Co. partner to six months in prison for obstructing an investigation into the consulting giant's work with opioid manufacturer Purdue, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ex-MLB Player Sues Reds After Ballpark Injury Ended Career

    A former Major League Baseball infielder who suffered a career-ending knee injury when he ran into an obscured piece of field equipment during a game is suing the Cincinnati Reds in Ohio state court for negligence, calling the team and its stadium grounds crew "reckless.''

  • May 23, 2025

    Pest Co. Seeks To Stamp Out Workers' Tobacco Fee Case

    Global pest control company Rentokil urged a Pennsylvania federal court to toss a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully charged tobacco users more for health benefits without providing a reasonable way to avoid the fee, arguing it's not the company's fault the workers refused to quit the habit.

  • May 23, 2025

    Class Of Health Plans Certified In Avandia Marketing MDL

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has certified a class of health plans in multidistrict litigation over GlaxoSmithKline's alleged deceptive marketing of the drug Avandia in which the plans claim they wouldn't have paid higher premiums for the drug if they'd known about its potential cardiovascular risks.

  • May 23, 2025

    La. Sued For Blocking Community Air Monitoring Sensors

    Louisiana is hindering its citizens' ability to monitor air pollution in their communities by threatening to dish out "crippling" fines to those who share data collected from certain affordable sensors, according to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups accusing the state of violating the First and 14th amendments.

  • May 22, 2025

    Hawaii Shop Alleges CBD Wares Were Actually THC

    A CBD retailer sued a supplier in Hawaii federal court Tuesday for allegedly selling it goods that were represented as CBD products when they actually had an unlawful amount THC in them, which caused some of the products to be seized by law enforcement and one of its customers to fall seriously ill.

  • May 22, 2025

    Microsoft Says It Helped Disrupt Popular Malware Lumma

    Microsoft said Wednesday that it recently filed suit against Lumma Stealer as part of its work with Europol's European Cybercrime Centre to disrupt the popular and pervasive info-stealing malware that steals passwords, credit card and bank account information and cryptocurrency wallets.

  • May 22, 2025

    What's Next As DOJ Mulls Dropping Boeing Criminal Case

    Boeing might be on the verge of closing a chapter in its 737 Max legal saga as the U.S. Department of Justice contemplates dropping its criminal conspiracy case against the company in what experts described as an unprecedented move just a year after Boeing was preparing to be branded a corporate felon.

  • May 22, 2025

    Calif. Docs Bring FDA Stem Cell Regulation Fight To Top Court

    Two California clinics that provide stem cell treatments are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit panel's finding that their treatments are "drugs" subject to Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulations.

  • May 22, 2025

    Ill. Justices Say Wholesalers Had Notice In Cilantro Dispute

    A cilantro distributor should be able to pursue contribution claims against two wholesalers that allegedly sold tainted cilantro responsible for an E. coli outbreak, as the wholesalers' participation in litigation over the product gave them actual notice of the issues, the Illinois Supreme Court determined on Thursday.

  • May 22, 2025

    Conn. AG Targets 'Bootleg' Weight Loss Drug Sellers

    Connecticut has launched a consumer protection lawsuit in state court against a Florida-based company and its owner, accusing them of peddling untested and unsafe, research-level, "bootleg" GLP-1 weight loss drugs to customers.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ore. Fire Verdict Brings PacifiCorp Damages To $385M

    An Oregon jury held Wednesday that PacifiCorp must pay roughly $50 million to 10 victims of the state's 2020 Labor Day wildfires, bringing the total damages verdicts in the class action against the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility to $385 million as more bellwether trials are expected to play out throughout 2025.

  • May 21, 2025

    Google, Character.AI Can't Escape Suit Over Teen's Suicide

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday greenlit the bulk of claims in a suit accusing Character.AI and Google of causing a 14-year-old's suicide after he became addicted to an artificial intelligence chatbot, saying the AI app can be considered a product for the purposes of a product liability claim.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Warns Attys Using AI To 'Advocate — Not Hallucinate'

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sanctioned two attorneys in a shipping contract dispute for filing a brief that included a nonexistent case citation added by artificial intelligence, warning lawyers that they must "carefully evaluate, elucidate and advocate — not hallucinate" in their legal briefs.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • Identifying Deepfakes During Evidence Collection, Discovery

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Attorneys must familiarize themselves with the tools used to create and detect deepfakes — media manipulated by artificial intelligence to convincingly mimic real people and events — as well as best practices for keeping this fabricated evidence out of court, says Bijan Ghom at Saxton & Stump.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

    Author Photo

    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • 2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

    Author Photo

    In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

    Author Photo

    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • Opinion

    1 Year After Rule 702 Changes, Courts Have Made Progress

    Author Photo

    In the year since amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence went into effect, many federal judges have applied the new expert witness standard correctly, excluding unreliable testimony from their courts — but now state courts need to update their own rules accordingly, says Lee Mickus at Evans Fears.

  • Unwrapping Retailer AI Risks Amid Holiday Shopping Season

    Author Photo

    While generative artificial intelligence tools can catalyze game-changing results for retailers looking to stay ahead of the competition during the holiday season, and year-round, it can also bring certain legal risks, including product liability concerns, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • An Underutilized Tool To Dismiss Meritless Claims In Texas

    Author Photo

    In Texas, special appearances provide a useful but often overlooked tool for out-of-state defendants to escape meritless claims early in litigation, thus limiting discovery and creating a pathway for immediate appellate review, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

    Author Photo

    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

    Author Photo

    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of Eye Contact At Trial

    Author Photo

    As a growing body of research confirms that eye contact facilitates communication and influences others, attorneys should follow a few pointers to maximize the power of eye contact during voir dire, witness preparation, direct examination and cross-examination, says trial consultant Noelle Nelson.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Cos. Must Brace For New PFAS Regulations And Litigation

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed adding over 100 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to the Toxic Release Inventory — and with increasing scrutiny of PFAS from the states and the plaintiffs bar as well, companies should take steps to reduce risks in this area, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

    Author Photo

    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Product Liability archive.