Product Liability

  • March 19, 2026

    Target Hit With False Ad Suit Over 'Sustainably Caught' Tuna

    Target's representations that its Good & Gather tuna products are "sustainably caught" are nothing but empty promises, as its suppliers use dangerous fishing practices that harm the marine ecosystem and kill endangered sea turtles, whales and dolphins, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday in California federal court.

  • March 19, 2026

    Tesla Says Drunk Driving, Not Autopilot, Caused Fatal Crash

    Tesla Inc. is asking a Colorado federal court to throw out a suit alleging that a defect in its driver assistance technology led to a fatal car crash, saying the evidence now shows that the so-called autopilot features were not on, while the driver was well beyond the legal alcohol limit.

  • March 19, 2026

    Kia Defeats 11-Year Suit Over Alleged Sunroof Shatter Defect

    An Ohio federal judge has thrown out for good a driver's suit alleging the panoramic sunroof on his 2012 Kia was defective and shattered for no reason on the highway, saying he failed to present any evidence of a defect, or how the supposed defect caused the sunroof to shatter.

  • March 18, 2026

    Key Details As 3rd Circ. Ponders FCA's Fate, $1.6B J&J Fine

    Third Circuit judges Wednesday explored divergent views of the False Claims Act's constitutionality and a record fraud verdict against Johnson & Johnson, expressing little eagerness to gut the FCA's whistleblower mechanism, and voicing uncertainty about evidence and jury instructions underpinning the drug promotion punishment.

  • March 18, 2026

    Zuckerberg, Snap CEO Likely Must Testify In School MDL Trial

    A California federal judge indicated Wednesday that Meta and Snap's CEOs will likely need to testify in an upcoming school district bellwether trial in the social media addiction multidistrict litigation, and declined Meta's bid to block arbitration demands, saying, "Meta's got plenty of money, go file a motion with the arbitration panel."

  • March 18, 2026

    Kenyan Firm's Boeing Crash Fee Dispute Largely Proceeds

    An Illinois law firm couldn't escape claims that it owes a Kenyan law firm upward of $1.5 million as part of a fee-sharing agreement stemming from a settlement with Boeing over the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash, with an Illinois federal judge refusing to call the oral agreement unenforceable.

  • March 18, 2026

    Pa. Utility Regulator Seeks $2.6M Fine Over Fatal Explosion

    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission wants the gas company whose pipe leak allegedly caused the fatal 2023 explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, to pay a $2.6 million civil fine, blaming the blast on the company's poor planning, inaccurate maps and failure to heed warnings that the plastic on its gas lines could degrade and fracture.

  • March 18, 2026

    5th Circ. Upholds Gun Charge, Approves Plate Reader Use

    A wanted man who was charged with illegal possession of a machine gun after Mississippi police tracked his vehicle with the help of a license plate reader cannot argue that locating him using the technology violated his privacy, a panel of the Fifth Circuit has ruled, denying his constitutional challenge.

  • March 18, 2026

    Abbott Investors Ink $40M Deal Over Infant Formula Crisis

    Shareholders who brought a derivative suit over Abbott Laboratories' management of the 2022 infant formula crisis asked an Illinois judge on Tuesday to approve a settlement that includes $40 million in investments in food safety and corporate reforms, and $15.85 million in attorney fees.

  • March 18, 2026

    Mazda Sued Over Alleged Defects In Brake, Lane-Keep System

    Mazda Motor Corp. has been hit with a potential class action in Virginia federal court alleging it failed to disclose and remedy braking and lane-keep assist defects in some of its CX-90 crossover SUVs that are prone to excessive deterioration, distracting braking sounds and unsafe steering behavior.

  • March 18, 2026

    DLA Piper Lands Shook Hardy Products Liability Pro In Miami

    A longtime Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP trial lawyer specializing in high-stakes product liability and complex litigation has joined DLA Piper in Miami, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • March 18, 2026

    Axion Cleared Of False Advertising Before Agilent Patent Trial

    Ahead of a patent infringement trial set to begin next week, a Delaware federal judge has addressed false advertising claims against biotechnology firm Axion and ruled there was no genuine dispute that a set of Axion advertisements deceived customers.

  • March 18, 2026

    FDA Can't 'Refuse To File' Tobacco Applications, Suit Says

    The maker and a seller of Zone nicotine pouches are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Texas federal court, alleging the agency stalled and eventually refused to file their marketing application, despite federal law requiring the FDA to either approve or deny such applications.

  • March 17, 2026

    Instagram Layers Backups To Catch Bad Content, Jury Told

    Instagram's algorithm data head told a New Mexico jury Tuesday that Meta layers processes to ward against harmful content, so if a violating post is missed and starts going viral, it can be caught by a backstop.

  • March 17, 2026

    Pot Co. Escapes Potency Suit, Judge Warns Plaintiff Firm

    MariMed and other cannabis companies beat claims they intentionally mislabeled their products to sidestep Illinois THC potency limits, with a federal judge highlighting the string of consumer-led suit losses and warning counsel to "heed the strong and universal concerns about the plausibility of their legal theories."

  • March 17, 2026

    Trump's Pipeline Order Stokes Turf War Over Energy Permits

    The Trump administration is taking executive power into uncharted territory by asserting it can override state law to restart a California oil pipeline, but such an expansion of presidential authority over energy infrastructure may invite skepticism from courts.

  • March 17, 2026

    Ga. Panel Nixes $8.5M Verdict Over Fault To Nonparty

    A Georgia appeals court has vacated an $8.5 million personal injury verdict awarded to a woman who fell while leaving her condo, saying the trial court wrongly allowed the jury to apportion fault to a nonparty that one of the defendants was vicariously liable for.

  • March 17, 2026

    Consumers Say Water Heater Valves Leak, Damage Homes

    Water heater manufacturer A.O. Smith Corp. on Monday was hit with a proposed class action in Wisconsin federal court alleging that its home water heaters have defective plastic valves that can suddenly leak and flood basements, ruin floors, and cause expensive repairs.

  • March 17, 2026

    Michigan Targets AI Chatbots In Child Safety Bills

    Michigan lawmakers are considering a package of child safety bills that would impose new regulations on social media and artificial intelligence companies, including a prohibition on certain features in "companion chatbots" for minors.

  • March 17, 2026

    Texas Man Asks Justices To Undo Samsung Battery Suit Win

    A man who claims a Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. battery exploded in his pocket is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revive his case, arguing the Fifth Circuit wrongly applied an exception that allows companies to evade jurisdiction in states where they do business by claiming they marketed the products to manufacturers, not consumers.

  • March 17, 2026

    NJ Restaurant Beats Customer's Suit Over E. Coli Poisoning

    A New Jersey appellate panel on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a suit over severe injuries suffered by a restaurant customer after eating an E. coli-contaminated salad, rejecting his attempt to categorize the case as a breach-of-contract claim.

  • March 17, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Idaho Doc Must Face Wash. Fatal Overdose Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel has reversed the dismissal of a suit alleging an Idaho-based doctor overprescribed drugs to a Washington woman, leading to her death, finding that the doctor and her clinic had enough contacts with Washington for a federal district court in that state to have jurisdiction.

  • March 17, 2026

    2nd Circ. Kills Contempt Order In Starbucks False Ad Suit

    A New York federal judge overstepped in holding an attorney in contempt for filing what the lower court deemed a "meritless" false advertising lawsuit over the amount of potassium in a Starbucks coffee flavor, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

  • March 17, 2026

    Apple Can't Shake Most PFAS Claims In Smartwatch Suit

    A California federal judge won't let Apple Inc. escape a proposed class action alleging that the wristbands of its Apple Watch products contain dangerous forever chemicals, saying the complaint is sufficient to allege that the company knew of the risks but didn't warn consumers.

  • March 16, 2026

    Boeing Investors Secure Class Cert. In 737 Max Fraud Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday granted class certification to investors who allege Boeing harmed them by misrepresenting the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, finding that the investors established a common method for measuring damages that could apply class-wide.

Expert Analysis

  • Compliance Tips Amid Rising FTC Scrutiny Of Minors' Privacy

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission has recently rolled out multiple enforcement actions related to children's privacy, highlighting a renewed focus on federal regulation of minors' personal information and the evolving challenges of establishing effective, privacy-protective age assurance solutions, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

  • Insights From Recent Cases On Navigating Snap Removal

    Author Photo

    Snap removal, which allows defendants to transfer state court cases to federal court before a forum defendant is properly joined and served, is viewed differently across federal circuits — but keys to making it work can be drawn from recent decisions critiquing the practice, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Opinion

    It's Time For The Judiciary To Fix Its Cybersecurity Problem

    Author Photo

    After recent reports that hackers have once again infiltrated federal courts’ electronic case management systems, the judiciary should strengthen its cybersecurity practices in line with executive branch standards, outlining clear roles and responsibilities for execution, says Ilona Cohen at HackerOne.

  • Tips For Cos. Crafting Enforceable Online Arbitration Clauses

    Author Photo

    Recent rulings from the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California indicate that courts are carefully examining the enforceability of online arbitration clauses, so businesses should review the design of their websites and consider specific language next to the "purchase" button, say attorneys at DTO Law.

  • Identifying The Sources And Impacts Of Juror Contamination

    Author Photo

    Jury contamination can be pervasive, so it is important that trial teams be able to spot its sources and take specific mitigation steps, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • Why This Popular Class Cert. Approach Doesn't Measure Up

    Author Photo

    In recent class certification decisions, plaintiffs experts have used the in-sample prediction approach to show that challenged conduct harmed all, or almost all, proposed class members — but this approach is unreliable because it fails two fundamental tests of reliable econometric methods, say consultants at Cornerstone Research.

  • Key Lessons From Youths' Suit Against Trump Energy Orders

    Author Photo

    A Montana federal court's recent decision in Lighthiser v. Trump, dismissing a challenge by a group of young plaintiffs to President Donald Trump's executive orders promoting fossil fuels, indicates that future climate litigants must anchor their suits in discrete, final agency actions and statutory text, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Writing Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Writing my debut novel taught me to appreciate the value of critique and to never give up, no matter how long or tedious the journey, providing me with valuable skills that I now emphasize in my practice, says Daniel Buzzetta at BakerHostetler.

  • SDNY OpenAI Order Clarifies Preservation Standards For AI

    Author Photo

    The Southern District of New York’s recent order in the OpenAI copyright infringement litigation, denying discovery of The New York Times' artificial intelligence technology use, clarifies that traditional preservation benchmarks apply to AI content, relieving organizations from using a “keep everything” approach, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • What 9th Circ.'s Rosenwald Ruling Means For Class Actions

    Author Photo

    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Rosenwald v. Kimberly-Clark has important implications around the Class Action Fairness Act and traditional diversity jurisdiction — both for plaintiff-side and defense-side class action litigators — and deepens the circuit split concerning the use of judicial notice to establish diversity, says Grace Schmidt at DTO Law.

  • What EPA's Continued Defense Of PFAS Rule Means For Cos.

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent decision to continue defending a Biden-era rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as Superfund hazards may provide the EPA with significant authority over national PFAS cleanup policy — and spur further litigation by both government and private parties, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • In NY, Long COVID (Tolling) Still Applies

    Author Photo

    A series of pandemic-era executive orders in New York tolling state statutes of limitations for 228 days mean that many causes of action that appear time-barred on their face may continue to apply, including in federal practice, for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.

  • Opinion

    High Court, Not A Single Justice, Should Decide On Recusal

    Author Photo

    As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to decline, the court should adopt a collegial framework in which all justices decide questions of recusal together — a reform that respects both judicial independence and due process for litigants, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • Series

    Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Client Service

    Author Photo

    Law school teaches you how to interpret the law, but it doesn't teach you some of the key ways to keeping clients satisfied, lessons that I've learned in the most unexpected of places: a book on how to be a butler, says Gregory Ramos at Armstrong Teasdale.

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.