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Product Liability
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May 01, 2024
Senate Dems Reintroduce Bill To Tax And Regulate Cannabis
Senate Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced a cannabis legalization bill that would remove the drug entirely from the ambit of the Controlled Substances Act and impose a tax-and-regulate scheme akin to what is currently in place for alcohol and tobacco.
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May 01, 2024
Ex-Cybersecurity Firm CEO Settles SEC Fraud Claims
A former executive for a cybersecurity firm has agreed to settle regulators' allegations that he lied to investors about the firm's success in selling a new product and that he fabricated aspects of his background and experience, according to filings in Texas federal court.
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May 01, 2024
Mitsubishi's Trial Loss Over Defective Seat Belt Upped To $1B
A Philadelphia judge has bumped up a $980 million verdict for a Mitsubishi driver left paralyzed following a rollover crash, which was blamed on a defective seat belt, to over $1 billion on Monday, after granting the driver's motion to tack on an additional $33 million in delay damages.
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May 01, 2024
Carnival Fails To Ditch 'Far From Perfect' Hot-Soup Suit
Carnival Cruise Lines can't escape a lawsuit seeking to hold it liable for second- and third-degree burns that a passenger suffered when hot soup spilled on her legs, a Florida federal judge has ruled, saying the complaint — "while not perfect" — gets the job done and can survive at this stage of litigation.
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May 01, 2024
Activision, Microsoft Accused Of Addicting Georgia Gamer, 16
The mother of a Georgia teen has accused major gaming companies, including Activision Blizzard Inc. and Microsoft Corp., of deliberately engineering addictive experiences intended to get users to play longer and spend more on in-game purchases.
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May 01, 2024
Microsoft Details How It Addresses AI Risks In New Report
Microsoft Corp., the leading investor in ChatGPT creator OpenAI, detailed Wednesday in its first-ever artificial intelligence transparency report how the tech giant is working to keep its ballooning stable of AI tools from causing harm in the U.S. and abroad.
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May 01, 2024
Tribe Fires Back At Feds' Brief In Enbridge Pipeline Row
The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians has called on the Seventh Circuit to reject in part the federal government's position in an appeal over the future of Enbridge Energy's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline.
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May 01, 2024
Textron Aviation Must Face Questions In Conn. Death Suits
A Connecticut state court judge says a Kansas-based aircraft manufacturer must answer a series of questions about its connections to the Constitution State after being sued over a 2021 plane crash, disagreeing with most of Textron Aviation Inc.'s personal jurisdiction arguments that it need not face additional interrogatories.
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May 01, 2024
Attys Say $5M Fee In Acella Settlement A Modest Proposal
Plaintiffs' attorneys who recently reached a $46.5 million class action settlement with Acella Pharmaceuticals LLC over faulty thyroid medication asked a Georgia federal judge Tuesday to sign off on their $5 million cut of the deal as a "presumptively reasonable" proposal.
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May 01, 2024
Vape Wholesaler Can't Escape Suit Over Exploding Battery
A Washington federal judge has refused to let e-cigarette wholesaler Vapor Beast LLC out of a suit by a man alleging he was injured by an exploding lithium-ion battery, saying there isn't enough evidence for the court to determine whether his claims were filed on time.
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May 01, 2024
J&J Proposes $6.5B Deal To End Ovarian Cancer Claims
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday it is proposing a prepackaged reorganization plan for its talc unit that will pay out $6.5 billion to resolve claims that its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer, if a supermajority of claimants agree to the plan.
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April 30, 2024
Chiquita Capitalized On Colombian War, Victims' Families Say
Attorneys representing the families of 10 men killed during Colombia's civil war told a Florida federal jury Tuesday that the Chiquita banana company is liable for their deaths, saying it knowingly funded a right-wing narcoterrorist group that committed atrocities against its workers as the fruit corporation expanded its business.
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April 30, 2024
'Hatchet-Wielding' Killer Can't Join Netflix Suit, Judge Rules
Convicted killer "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" can't get in on a defamation suit involving a Netflix documentary about the murderer's life, a Texas federal judge ruled Monday, saying that his claims don't have a sufficient basis to warrant intervention in the lawsuit.
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April 30, 2024
Drug Company Can't Escape Texas Counties' Opioid MDL
A Texas appeals court on Tuesday declined to cut loose a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical manufacturer from Texas multidistrict litigation over opioid addiction in the state, finding that the counties of Dallas and Bexar have demonstrated that it's made deliberate moves toward the Texas market.
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April 30, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Kavanaugh Classmate Takes On HuffPost
The Third Circuit's May lineup will find the court weighing HuffPost's battle with an allegedly libeled former classmate of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and claims by consumers alleging they bought defective Bayer antifungal medicine.
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April 30, 2024
Dust Spray Maker Hit With $7.75M Verdict Over Fatal DUI
The maker of aerosol dust remover has been ordered by a Minnesota federal jury to pay $7.75 million to the husband of a woman who was killed in a car accident by a truck driver who huffed the spray before getting behind the wheel.
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April 30, 2024
Judge Tosses LTL's Suit Over Article Linking Talc To Cancer
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday tossed a suit from the bankrupt talc unit of Johnson & Johnson accusing three doctors of damaging its business through a medical journal article it claimed was backed by "junk science," ruling that the doctors having served as expert witnesses in the Garden State is not enough to show that the court has jurisdiction over its claims.
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April 30, 2024
Pa. Schools Say Railcar Cos. Must Face Derailment Claims
Pennsylvania school districts have told a federal judge that railcar companies cannot evade allegations they negligently shipped toxic chemicals in retrofitted tank cars during last year's Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, saying the environmental and health harms in their communities can be tied to the companies' conduct.
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April 30, 2024
Camp Lejeune Litigants Balk At Bellwether Pick Process
The leadership group for former residents of Camp Lejeune who claim that contaminated drinking water caused their diseases has told the North Carolina federal court overseeing their case that it's too soon to limit trials to just plaintiffs who allege only one disease.
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April 30, 2024
EPA Chief Faces House Appropriators Hostile To Agency Regs
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke grilled U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at a congressional budget hearing Tuesday, telling him a new coal-fired power plant emissions rule threatens to increase ratepayer costs.
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April 30, 2024
8th Circ. Orders BASF Damages Trial In Herbicide Row
An Eighth Circuit panel on Tuesday once again directed a Missouri federal court to hold a trial to assess punitive damages for BASF Corp. in litigation alleging the sale of herbicide-resistant seeds led to the destruction of a farm's peach trees when herbicide drifted from neighboring farms.
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April 30, 2024
Feds Endorse Easing Marijuana Status In Big Policy Shift
Federal drug enforcers will recommend loosening restrictions on cannabis for the first time since the drug was made federally illegal decades ago, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
EPA Finalizes Methylene Chloride Ban
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday finalized a rule banning all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses of methylene chloride, a chemical regulators say can increase cancer risks and cause reproductive damage with repeat exposure.
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April 29, 2024
House Passes Bill To Curb Online Child Exploitation
The House by voice vote passed a bipartisan bill on Monday night aimed at better curbing online child sexual exploitation by improving the nation's centralized reporting system, which now goes to the president's desk.
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April 29, 2024
Pharma Co. Hit With Investor Suit Over Liver Drug Trials
Biopharmaceutical company Akero Therapeutics and three of its executives were hit with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging they made misleading statements about the patient population in a clinical trial for its liver disease treatment.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Why Justices Should Protect Public From Bump Stocks
In Garland v. Cargill, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to restore the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' rule banning bump stocks — thus preserving Congress' original intent to protect the American people from particularly dangerous firearms, says Douglas Letter at Brady United Against Gun Violence.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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Time To Step Up PFAS Due Diligence In Cross-Border M&A
Regulations in the U.S. and EU governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will likely evolve to become global standards out of necessity and scale, so PFAS due diligence — particularly for buyers, sellers, and lenders and investors involved in multijurisdictional mergers and acquisitions — will be essential in 2024, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Landmark Product Safety Prosecution May Signal Sea Change
U.S. v. Chu, a novel prosecution and guilty verdict of corporate executives for failing to report product defects under a consumer safety law, will certainly not be the last case of its kind, and companies will need to prepare for the government’s increasingly aggressive enforcement approach, say attorneys at Cooley.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement
Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.
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What One Litigator Learned Serving On A Jury
Kilpatrick attorney April Isaacson shares insights for trial lawyers from her recent experience serving on a jury for the first time, including lessons about the impact of frequent sidebars, considerations for using demonstratives, the importance of clear jury instructions, and the unconscious habits that can drive jurors mad.
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Evaluating Retroactivity Of Mich. Drugmaker Immunity Repeal
In assessing whether a new Michigan law lifting drugmakers' blanket immunity from product liability suits will apply retroactively, there are four key factors that Michigan courts will likely consider, say Sherry Knutson and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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Environmental Justice: A 2023 Recap And 2024 Forecast
A 2023 executive order directing each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission, as well as the many lawsuits and enforcement actions last year, demonstrates that EJ will increasingly surface in all areas of law and regulation, from technically challenging to seemingly ordinary permitting and construction matters, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like
As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News
Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
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How 2023 Shaped Drug And Medical Device Legal Trends
2023 brought a number of positive developments for the life sciences industry, including great trial and multidistrict litigation outcomes, but also some heavy-handed regulations and other concerning developments that lay the groundwork for significant litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.