Product Liability

  • June 13, 2025

    Social Media Addiction MDL Judge Picks Bellwether Trial Pool

    A California federal judge on Friday narrowed the pool of cases set for the first bellwether trials in sprawling multidistrict litigation by school districts and personal injury plaintiffs over claims social media is addictive, choosing six bellwether school districts in Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, South Carolina and Arizona.

  • June 13, 2025

    Wash. Judge Tosses IUD Suit Against Bayer For Good

    Bayer has beat a negligence lawsuit filed by a woman who claims its Mirena IUD perforated her uterus and migrated after the patient failed to oppose the company's motion to dismiss, a Washington federal judge ruled.

  • June 13, 2025

    10th Circ. Affirms Expert DQ In Sig Sauer Gun Discharge Suit

    Gunmaker Sig Sauer Inc. scored a win at the Tenth Circuit on Friday with the panel disqualifying two experts who were ready to testify that its P320 pistol was defectively designed, giving the company an appeals court ruling to lean on as it continues to fend off a rash of suits claiming the gun fires unintentionally.

  • June 13, 2025

    GM Can't Arbitrate Driver's Transmission Defect Suit

    General Motors can't rely on an arbitration clause contained in a purchase agreement between a plaintiff customer and a dealership to arbitrate his claims alleging GM made cars with a defective transmission, after a Michigan federal judge ruled Friday the clause doesn't cover GM, which wasn't a party to the contract. 

  • June 13, 2025

    Shein Faces Arbitration Push Over Paid Influencer Claims

    The Singapore-based owner of fast-fashion retailer Shein has told an Illinois federal judge that a proposed class of consumers must arbitrate their claims accusing the global e-commerce platform of trying to hide that it paid social media influencers to promote its products.

  • June 13, 2025

    DC Circ. Urged To Reject Approval For Braille-Free Drug Label

    Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. is urging the D.C. Circuit to reverse a lower court decision upholding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a generic sleep-disorder drug without Braille labeling, a move the company argues jeopardizes patient safety.

  • June 13, 2025

    Trump's Firing Of CPSC Commissioners Ruled Illegal

    A Maryland judge ruled Friday that the removal of three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioners by President Donald Trump was unlawful, finding a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protected a Federal Trade Commission member from removal applies to the members of the CPSC. 

  • June 13, 2025

    Chervon, Lowe's Say Recall Blocks Explosive Battery Suit

    Chervon North America Inc. and Lowe's Home Centers LLC urged an Illinois federal court Friday to throw out a proposed class action alleging they made and sold lithium-ion batteries that were prone to overheating and combusting, saying a December recall already provided all the relief the plaintiffs could receive.

  • June 13, 2025

    Hemp Vape Maker Wants Out Of Buyer's Delta-9 THC Suit

    The maker of hemp-based electronic cigarettes under the Cake brand is asking a California federal judge to throw out a buyer's claim that the products illegally exceed federal thresholds for delta-9 THC content, saying his vague complaint doesn't meet pleading standards.

  • June 12, 2025

    Air India Crash — Boeing 787 Dreamliner: What Do We Know?

    The Boeing Co. is bracing for renewed scrutiny after Thursday's deadly crash of an Air India flight with 242 people onboard as another line of its jets — this time, its 787-8 Dreamliner — is involved in an overseas aviation disaster just as the company was eyeing a fresh chapter following its 737 Max crisis.

  • June 12, 2025

    'I Want Names': YouTube Attys' MDL Redactions Face Scrutiny

    A California federal magistrate judge ordered YouTube on Thursday to provide him with unredacted versions of documents it produced in sprawling multidistrict litigation over claims social media is addictive, and demanded that YouTube identify counsel who made its relevance-redaction determinations, saying. "I want names and I want teams."

  • June 12, 2025

    Roundup Plaintiffs' Rip Of Expert Was Off Base, Jury Hears

    A Missouri jury weighing a Roundup cancer case heard expert testimony Thursday that plaintiffs offered a "remarkable mischaracterization" of a defense expert witness on cancer causation when they said in openings that he was "discredited."

  • June 12, 2025

    Volkswagen Beats SUV Owner's Out-Of-Warranty Defect Suit

    An Alabama federal judge on Wednesday tossed a Volkswagen owner's putative class action accusing the automaker of refusing to cover her allegedly defective SUV under warranty, saying the driver sought repairs outside of warranty limits and failed to show that the vehicle was so unsafe that it was defective.

  • June 12, 2025

    Holmes Seeks 2 Year Cut, Commits To Criminal Justice Work

    Elizabeth Holmes has asked a California federal judge to knock two years off her 11-year prison sentence, arguing she's eligible for the adjustment under sentencing guidelines and has spent her time behind bars tutoring and advocating for her fellow prisoners.

  • June 12, 2025

    Ohio Law Bars Cities' Negligence Claims Against Hyundai, Kia

    A California federal court sided with Hyundai and Kia by finding that an Ohio products liability law bars negligence claims from five Ohio cities in sprawling multidistrict litigation alleging the automakers knowingly sold vehicles with design flaws that resulted in a car theft crime spree.

  • June 12, 2025

    Insurer Says Hair Relaxer Maker Not Covered In Cancer Suits

    An insurer told a Georgia federal court that it had no duty to defend a hair relaxer and beauty products manufacturer in underlying litigation filed by people who alleged that chemicals in hair relaxer products the company produced caused them to develop cancer and suffer bodily injuries.

  • June 12, 2025

    GlaxoSmithKline Settles Conn. Generic Zantac Suits

    GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday agreed to settle two Connecticut lawsuits, one by seven plaintiffs and the other by 11, that claimed generic forms of the brand name heartburn and acid reflux drug Zantac degraded into a substance that caused cancer.

  • June 12, 2025

    3rd Circ. Will Reconsider Shipbuilder's Ch. 11 Reopening Bid

    The Third Circuit said Thursday that it will reconsider whether to reopen Congoleum Corp.'s 2003 Chapter 11 bankruptcy so the bankruptcy court, not a district court, can say whether Congoleum affiliate Bath Iron Works should share liability for cleaning up a polluted New Jersey river.

  • June 12, 2025

    Hemp Retailer Sues DC, Feds Over District's Cannabis Policy

    A Washington, D.C., hemp retailer has filed a pair of complementary lawsuits challenging the tangled enforcement and regulatory policies that govern cannabis and hemp in the nation's capital.

  • June 12, 2025

    8th Circ. Stubs Out Challenge To FDA Menthol Vape Denial

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday threw out a challenge from SWT Global Supply Inc. to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denial of its application to market menthol-flavored e-cigarettes, saying the agency didn't arbitrarily or capriciously find that the company's sales plan failed to meet its standards for promoting public health.

  • June 12, 2025

    Fla. Court Nixes Roundup Cancer Suit's Punitive Damages Bid

    A Florida state appeals court has refused to let a plaintiff pursue punitive damages against Monsanto Co. in his suit alleging that glyphosate in the company's Roundup weedkiller caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, finding he didn't present sufficient evidence to support the damages.

  • June 12, 2025

    Approach The Bench: Judge Proctor On Civility, Civil Rules

    R. David Proctor, chief judge of the Northern District of Alabama, is a leader within the federal judiciary. He's both assigned and presided over multidistrict litigation. He may write a nationwide rule governing third-party litigation funding. And he's gained internet fame for ordering two attorneys to eat lunch together.

  • June 11, 2025

    9th Circ. Doubts Kleenex Ad Fight Belongs In District Court

    Two judges on a Ninth Circuit panel doubted Wednesday that they have jurisdictional authority to revive a putative class action alleging Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s Kleenex Wet Wipes Germ Removal products mislead consumers about its ability to kill germs, saying repeatedly that the consumers' complaint has not met their burden to establish jurisdiction.

  • June 11, 2025

    Acura Drivers' Attys Get $8.5M In Bluetooth Device Settlement

    A California federal judge has granted final approval to a deal between a class of Acura drivers and American Honda Motor Co., settling claims over alleged defects in vehicles' Bluetooth hands-free systems and awarding class counsel $8.56 million in attorney fees — an amount reduced from the attorneys' original $10.9 million request.

  • June 11, 2025

    Senate Panel Vets Trump FAA Pick's Aviation Safety Priorities

    President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration pledged Wednesday to prioritize air traffic control upgrades, bolster staffing and reinvigorate safety programs, but deflected Democrats' repeated demands that he promise to preserve a 1,500-hour pilot training rule.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less

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    Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.

  • 8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions

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    Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.

  • What Cos. Can Learn from Water Microplastics Class Actions

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    Class actions against companies whose bottled spring water allegedly contains microplastics, challenging claims such as "natural" and "100% spring water," seem to be drying up — but these cases serve as a good reminder to other businesses to review regulatory standards, and carefully vet plaintiff allegations at the outset, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • Navigating Decentralized Clinical Trials With FDA's Guidance

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized guidance on conducting decentralized clinical trials, while not legally binding, can serve as a road map for sponsors, investigators and others to ensure trial integrity and participant safety, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

  • 4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial

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    In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule

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    Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.

  • Key Plaintiff Litigation Strategies For Silicosis Lawsuits

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    A California stone worker's recent $52 million jury award highlights the growing silicosis crisis among employees in the stone fabrication industry — and points to the importance of a strategic approach to litigating silicosis cases against employers and manufacturers, says David Matthews at Matthews & Associates.

  • The AI Consumer Class Action Threat Is Not A Hallucination

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    As regulators scrutinize whether businesses can deliver on claims about their artificial intelligence products and services, the industry faces a wave of consumer fraud class actions — but AI companies can protect themselves by prioritizing fundamental best practices that are often overlooked, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at the Torrenzano Group.

  • Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys

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    Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • In Terror Case, DC Circ. Must Weigh Justices' Twitter Ruling

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    When the D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in AstraZeneca UK v. Atchley, how the court interprets the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Twitter v. Taamneh will have a significant impact on future claims brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, say attorneys at Lewis Baach.

  • Series

    Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.

  • EPA's New Lead Pipe Rule Leaves Key Questions Unanswered

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released update to its Lead and Copper Rule is a major step forward in the elimination of lead from drinking water systems, but it lacks meaningful guidance on alternative materials, jurisdictional concerns, cost allocation and other topics, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • So You Want To Move Your Law Practice To Canada, Eh?

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    Google searches for how to move to Canada have surged in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, and if you’re an attorney considering a move to the Great White North, you’ll need to understand how the practice of law differs across the border, says David Postel at Henein Hutchison.

  • Trump Rollback Of Biden Enviro Policies: What To Expect

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    Donald Trump's upcoming second presidential term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy — and while the Biden administration is racing to secure its legacy, the incoming Trump administration is making plans to dramatically roll back most, if not all, of Biden's environmental initiatives, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Legislation Most Likely To Pass In Lame Duck Session

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    As Congress begins its five-week post-election lame duck session, attorneys at Greenberg Traurig break down the legislative priorities and which proposals can be expected to pass.

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