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Product Liability
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May 08, 2024
Kimberly-Clark Blasts 'Illogical' Connecticut PFAS Claims
Kimberly-Clark Corp. is urging a federal judge to toss a proposed class action brought by three Connecticut residents who argued that the company contaminated private property near its New Milford manufacturing plant with toxic "forever chemicals," calling the allegations "illogical," speculative and incomplete.
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May 08, 2024
Mercedes-Benz Hit With Wheel Defect Suit In Ga.
Mercedes-Benz has been slapped with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court by a sedan owner alleging that a wheel configuration defect in certain sedan models can lead to sudden tire blowouts and cracked rims.
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May 08, 2024
NC Court Clerks, Administrators Escape Digital Courts Suit
Plaintiffs in a proposed class action have voluntarily dropped North Carolina court administrators and clerks from a lawsuit alleging that flaws in the state's electronic court filing system led to unlawful arrests and longer jail stays.
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May 07, 2024
DOJ's 'Dr. Doom' Sees AI's Crime-Fighting Abilities, And Risks
The U.S. Department of Justice is using artificial intelligence to bolster its investigations, including into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference at which she dove into the beneficial uses of AI alongside its threats to security and democracy.
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May 07, 2024
AIG Insurers Near Deal With Foam Co. Over MDL Coverage
Firefighting foam company Tyco Fire Products LP and a group of AIG insurers have reached a tentative settlement that would resolve a dispute over coverage of multidistrict litigation involving Tyco over so-called forever chemicals, according to a notice filed Tuesday in South Carolina federal court.
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May 07, 2024
Target Sued Over Citric Acid In Good & Gather Pasta Sauce
Target has been hit with a putative class action in California federal court by a shopper who alleges the retail giant falsely touts that its line of Good & Gather pasta sauces contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives despite containing citric acid.
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May 07, 2024
NY Officials Tout Crackdown On Illicit Cannabis Market
New York state cannabis regulators on Tuesday touted new legislative changes empowering them to more swiftly crack down on unregulated marijuana sales, the same day that New York City officials announced a program to step up enforcement against unlicensed retailers.
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May 07, 2024
Boeing Can't Widen Ethiopian Airlines Test Case Pool
An Illinois federal judge chose six cases Tuesday for a November trial over the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash and gave Boeing the power to decide the order in which they'll face a jury, finding a middle road between sides sparring over how to select the bellwether cases.
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May 07, 2024
Contract's 1-Year Limit Doesn't Block NC Mold Claims
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a couple's suit against a contractor they say failed to remediate water and mold damage in their house, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the contract's one-year limitation on claims applied to the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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May 07, 2024
Policy Dispute Should Be Heard In Wash., Colo. Judge Says
A Colorado federal court has tossed an insurer's suit seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe $4 million in coverage to a climbing equipment manufacturer and its primary insurer, finding that a related case in Washington state court provides a better opportunity to resolve the parties' dispute.
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May 07, 2024
Fla. Schools And Hospitals Fight To Save Opioid Claims
Five public hospital districts and two school districts told a Florida appeals court Tuesday that their claims for damages from the opioid crisis should not be eclipsed by the attorney general's settlements with opioid makers and distributors, arguing that she did not have the authority to bring claims on their behalf.
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May 07, 2024
Panera To Nix 'Charged' Drink At Center Of Death Suits
Panera Bread Co. will soon no longer serve its "Charged Lemonade," the caffeinated drink at the center of two lawsuits that claim the restaurant chain is liable for the wrongful death of two patrons.
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May 07, 2024
NJ Law Firm Scores Exit In Benicar MDL Fees Suit
A New Jersey federal judge on Tuesday granted Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys a quick win in a proposed class action claiming they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, ruling the suit alleges identical claims to another suit that has been dismissed.
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May 07, 2024
Attys Denied $10M Fees As Family Dollar Deal Is Approved
A Tennessee federal judge has given final approval to a settlement to end consumer claims stemming from a rodent infestation at a Family Dollar Stores Inc. warehouse, but denied a bid by class counsel for $10 million in fees.
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May 07, 2024
Birth Control Cos. Can't Dodge Conn. Injury Suit, Court Told
An Illinois woman who sued after her Filshie Clip birth control device migrated inside of her and "wreaked havoc on her body" has urged a state court not to let the manufacturers of the device and the seller's parent companies dodge her claims.
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May 06, 2024
FAA Says It's Looking Into Boeing 787 Dreamliner Inspections
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it's looking into whether Boeing completed required inspections of its 787 Dreamliner planes and potentially falsified aircraft records.
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May 06, 2024
Sikorsky's Forum Stance In Crash Suit Loses Teeth, Court Told
A member of the Canadian Armed Forces has decided not to pursue "bystander claims" against Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Lockheed Martin entities over a fatal helicopter crash off the coast of Greece, plaintiffs told a Pennsylvania federal court, noting that the development should pare down a forum dispute plaguing the matter.
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May 06, 2024
Coinbase Operates As Unregistered Broker, Investors Say
Coinbase and its CEO have been hit with a proposed class action in California federal court alleging the crypto exchange "has been a part of a shadowy crypto ecosystem operating just outside of the law since formed over 10 years ago."
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May 06, 2024
Honda Owners Near Cert. In Crash Avoidance Defect Suit
An attorney for Honda urged a California federal judge Monday to reconsider his tentative opinion that would largely grant a class certification motion from some Honda owners who allege their automobiles came with defective collision avoidance systems, saying the owners can't prove their car's problems share the same defect.
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May 06, 2024
Monsanto Says Ruling Undoes $438M School PCB Loss
Monsanto said Friday that a $438 million judgment in a polychlorinated biphenyls poisoning case at a Washington school should be thrown out, citing a recent state appellate court ruling undoing a $185 million jury verdict in a similar case involving chemical-caused illnesses at the same school campus.
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May 06, 2024
Ex-JetBlue Attendant Can't Have Neurological Exam Recorded
A New York federal judge said Monday that a former flight attendant for JetBlue Airways Corp. who said she suffered brain injuries from being exposed to toxic fumes can't have a neurological examination recorded, saying she hadn't established special conditions that would warrant it.
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May 06, 2024
New EPA Policy Could Increase Criminal Enforcement
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out a new policy intended to foster communication and coordination between its civil and criminal enforcement offices, a move experts say could result in an increase in criminal investigations and cases.
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May 06, 2024
NOLA Can't Arbitrate $51M Airport Defect Row With Insurers
A Louisiana federal judge granted a group of insurers a preliminary injunction Monday, relieving them from forced arbitration in a dispute over alleged design defects at a new $1 billion terminal of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
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May 06, 2024
GM Tells Mich. Justices Not To Heap On More Auto Regulation
General Motors urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject a call to expand the reach of a state consumer protection law to the automotive industry and others, saying federal and state oversight already protects car buyers.
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May 06, 2024
Warranty Claims Trimmed From Bone Graft Tuberculosis Suit
A North Carolina federal judge has thrown out breach of warranty claims against three companies in a suit alleging their bone repair product gave a woman tuberculosis, saying it's subject to a state law blocking warranty liability for services involving human tissue.
Expert Analysis
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Opinion
Food Safety Bill Needed To Protect Kids From Heavy Metals
The recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that hundreds of children may have been exposed to unsafe lead levels in applesauce highlights the continuing failure by Congress to pass legislation that would require baby food manufacturers to ensure safer levels of heavy metals in their products, says Vineet Dubey at Custodio & Dubey.
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Opinion
3rd-Party Financiers Have Power To Drive Mass Tort Cases
The abnormal recovery premium presented by modern mass tort cases coupled with their deemphasized role for attorneys creates an opportunity for third-party financiers to both create and control these cases, says Samir Parikh at Lewis & Clark Law School.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Managing Competing Priorities In Witness Preparation
There’s often a divide between what attorneys and witnesses want out of the deposition process, but litigation teams can use several strategies to resolve this tension and help witnesses be more comfortable with the difficult conditions of testifying, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Opinion
Gilead Ruling Signals That Innovating Can Lead To Liability
A California appeals court's ruling last month in Gilead Life Sciences v. Superior Court of San Francisco that a drug manufacturer can be held liable for delaying the introduction of an improved version of its medication raises concerns about the chilling effects that expansive product liability claims may have on innovation, says Gary Myers at the University of Missouri School of Law.
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Understanding And Working With The Millennials On Your Jury
Every trial attorney will be facing a greater proportion of millennials on their jury, as they now comprise the largest generation in the U.S., and winning them over requires an understanding of their views on politics, corporations and damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Highlights 'Two-Step' Challenges In 4th Circ.
A North Carolina bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Bestwall’s Chapter 11 case, and the decision's interpretation of Fourth Circuit law, suggests that, compared to other circuits, it may be more difficult to dismiss so-called Texas Two-Step bankruptcy cases within the Fourth Circuit, say Brittany Falabella and Kollin Bender at Hirschler Fleischer.
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Legal Issues Loom For Driverless Trucking
Companies' recent experiments with driverless trucking technology herald a transformation of the logistics sector — but stakeholders must reckon with increasing regulatory scrutiny, emerging liability issues, and concerns around ethical guidelines, insurance and standardization, say Zal Phiroz at Pier Consulting Group and Nicolas Bezada at Unishippers.
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Del. Ruling Adds Momentum For Caremark Plaintiffs
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent opinion in Lebanon County Employees' Retirement Fund v. Collis could be viewed as expanding plaintiffs' ability to viably plead a Caremark claim against directors, so Delaware companies should be on heightened alert and focus on creating a record of board oversight, say attorneys at V&E.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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Best Practices For Untangling Mass Tort Claimants' Liens
Recent litigation over faulty earplugs produced by 3M is just one example of a mass tort where settlement payouts to claimants will likely be complicated by the number of liens and lienholders involved — but claimants' attorneys can speed up the lien resolution process by keeping a few key strategies in mind, says Mark Eveland at Verus.