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A Washington state judge has denied Monsanto's bid to reduce the latest $100 million verdict in a chemical poisoning tort series that's yielded more than $1 billion in punitive damages, concluding that the agro-chemical giant hid the health dangers of PCBs for decades in pursuit of profit.
Law360
Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2025

TOP NEWS

Monsanto Won't Get Damages Offset In $100M PCB Tort Loss

By Rachel Riley

A Washington state judge has denied Monsanto's bid to reduce the latest $100 million verdict in a chemical poisoning tort series that's yielded more than $1 billion in punitive damages, concluding that the agro-chemical giant hid the health dangers of PCBs for decades in pursuit of profit.

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Panel Clears Hospital Of Contempt In 'Audit Trail' Dispute

By Y. Peter Kang

An Illinois appeals court on Thursday vacated a trial court's finding of contempt against a hospital in a suit over a newborn's injuries, saying there was insufficient evidence that a certain type of "audit trail" metadata existed in electronic health records.

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TikTok Can't Duck NY Suit Over Kids' Mental Health

By Jonathan Capriel

TikTok cannot escape claims brought by the state of New York accusing the social media platform of harming children's mental health, a state court ruled Thursday.

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Restaurant Liable After Fraudster Steals $475K Settlement

By Mike Curley

A California appeals court has found in a case of first impression that a restaurant is responsible for $475,000 in settlement funds that its attorneys sent to a fraudster impersonating the other party in a personal injury suit, saying it missed a number of red flags in the impostor's correspondence.

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Home Depot Must Face Trial In Trip-And-Fall Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday sent to trial a suit accusing Home Depot of causing a woman's trip-and-fall injuries in an outdoor garden center, saying it should be up to a jury to determine whether the fall was foreseeable by the company.

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Conn. Group Home To Mediate $13.4M Death Appeal

By Brian Steele

An assisted-living facility and the mother of a resident who died in its care will enter mediation in an effort to settle their ongoing legal dispute, which has already resulted in a $13.4 million jury verdict, according to a new filing in the Connecticut Appellate Court.

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LA Fitness Didn't Stop Patron From Molesting Minor, Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

LA Fitness has been hit with a $5 million lawsuit accusing it of failing to take action against a "violent and erratic" gym member who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl at one of the gym's locations in Miami-Dade County, Florida, two years ago.

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ENFORCEMENT

Ex-Atty's Death In Colo. Jail Sparks Suit Over Medical Neglect

By Craig Clough

The family of a disbarred attorney imprisoned for felony theft sued three members of the medical staff at the prison where he died, alleging in Colorado federal court Wednesday their neglect resulted in Steven Bachar dying from cardiac arrest after he asked for days for proper medical attention.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Ex-MLBer Sues TNT And Warner For 'Dirty Moneyball' Doc

By Craig Clough

Former Major League Baseball All-Star Yasiel Puig sued Turner Broadcasting, Warner Media and others for defamation in California state court Wednesday over his depiction in an episode of a documentary series stating he was awaiting trial on gambling charges, when the charges allege false statements and obstruction.

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TRANSPORTATION

DOJ Officially Files To Drop Boeing 737 Max Conspiracy Case

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday formally moved to drop its criminal conspiracy case against Boeing over the deadly 737 Max 8 crashes and asked a Texas federal judge to vacate the June 23 trial date, saying a $1.1 billion nonprosecution agreement is a meaningful resolution that holds the company accountable.

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Colo. Court Says No Immunity For Telecom From Injury Suit

By Thy Vo

Colorado appellate judges on Thursday ruled that a telecommunications provider lacked authority over a sidewalk where a cyclist was injured and can't be shielded from liability by a recreational use law, reversing a trial court decision in favor of the company.

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LITIGATION

Big Oil Caused Woman's Heat Wave Death, Novel Suit Says

By Hailey Konnath

The daughter of a Seattle woman who died during a 2021 heat wave filed a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit in Washington state court Thursday against oil and gas giants — including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell — alleging the companies knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

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Seton Hall Rebuts Claim Of Trying To 'Muzzle' Ex-President

By Adrian Cruz

Counsel for Seton Hall University told a New Jersey state court Thursday that contrary to the claims of former school President Joseph Nyre, it is not seeking to "muzzle" him regarding an investigation into whether the school's current president knew of sexual abuse allegations and didn't report them.

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Monsanto-Funded Researcher Influenced Panel, Jury Hears

By Cara Salvatore

A Missouri jury hearing the latest trial over cancer claims related to Monsanto's glyphosate pesticides heard Thursday that a Monsanto-funded researcher was able to change the course of a prestigious international panel weighing the chemical's carcinogenicity.

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INSURANCE

Insurer Wants Firm's $2.6M Malpractice Coverage Suit Tossed

By Chart Riggall

Berkshire unit National Liability & Fire Insurance Co. called on a Georgia federal judge this week to throw out a law firm's claims that it was hung out to dry by its insurers in a malpractice case, arguing the suit is an impermissible attempt to convert a contract dispute into a negligence claim.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

What Gene Findings Mean For Asbestos Mesothelioma Claims

Recent advances in genetic research have provided substantial evidence that significant numbers of malignant mesothelioma cases may be caused by inherited mutations rather than asbestos exposure — a finding that could fundamentally change how defendants approach personal injury litigation over mesothelioma, say David Schwartz at Lumanity and Kirk Hartley at LSP Group.

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Series

Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

3 Takeaways From The Judgments On Trump's Law Firm EOs

By Aebra Coe

Three federal judges have now weighed in on President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, with each ruling in favor of the firms and deeming the orders unconstitutional. Here are three takeaways from the combined 227 pages of those judges’ conclusions.

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DOJ Sidelines ABA From Vetting Trump's Judicial Picks

By Kevin Penton

The Justice Department plans to direct judicial nominees away from a long-standing vetting process by the American Bar Association, labeling it an "activist organization," according to a Thursday letter by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

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Harvard Taps Paul Weiss High Court Litigator For Board

By Hailey Konnath

Kannon Shanmugam, a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner and veteran U.S. Supreme Court litigator, has been selected to join the Harvard Corp. governing board, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Analysis

Tariff Rulings Undercut Trump's Trade Authority, Dealmaking

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. trading partners have inadvertently found new leverage in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration after federal courts found several of the president's duties were improperly imposed, raising larger questions about future tariff authorization in the midst of a global trade spat.

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Influencer Hits Akin With Malpractice Suit Over Boxing Deal

By Lynn LaRowe

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its Texas-based partners allegedly failed to understand California law in handling a financial dispute between a social media influencer and the company that hired him to participate in an amateur boxing competition, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in a Lone Star State federal court.

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For-Profit School Sued Over Thompson Coburn Leak Notices

By Emily Sawicki

A for-profit college operator is facing a proposed class action in Alabama federal court, alleging it failed to properly secure its data and notify students in a timely manner that its law firm, Thompson Coburn LLP, had been hit with a cyberattack causing a data breach of sensitive records.

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Fed. Circ. Revives Trump Tariffs As It Weighs Appeal

By Natalie Olivo

The Federal Circuit temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's global tariffs Thursday, a day after the U.S. Court of International Trade held that an emergency law did not give the president "unbounded authority" to impose the measures.

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Trump Pardons Twice-Convicted Former Conn. Governor

By Brian Steele

President Donald Trump has pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, a one-time chairman of the Republican Governors Association, who resigned from office in 2004 and served two stints in prison for corruption and lying to federal election officials.

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Investors Allege Manhattan Firm Aided $43M Ponzi Scheme

By Emma Cueto

A pair of investors filed suit against New York-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP and two of its former attorneys on Thursday, alleging that the midsize firm and the attorneys, who have since departed for Saul Ewing LLP, lied on behalf of a client who has since been charged with running a $43 million Ponzi scheme.

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Trump Names 4 Jurists, State AG Official For Fla. Judgeships

By Lynn LaRowe

President Donald Trump this week announced his nominations of four judges and a top official in the Florida Attorney General's Office to fill district judgeships in the Sunshine State's Middle and Southern Districts.

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Calif. Justices Propose Tweaking Rules For Bar Examiners

By Emily Sawicki

The California Supreme Court has proposed changes to the administration of the state's troubled bar exam, circulating a slate of amendments designed to clarify the role of the Committee of Bar Examiners, including spelling out its duty to review and approve all questions used in the exam.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Grant & Eisenhofer's Beth Graham

By Tracey Read

Elizabeth "Beth" Graham, a San Francisco-based principal at Grant & Eisenhofer PA and a member of its executive committee, played a key part in negotiating a $600 million settlement in April 2024 for plaintiffs in litigation arising from the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, earning her a spot among Law360's 2025 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Akin Gump

Arnold & Itkin

Barnes & Thornburg

Blank Rome

Bradley Arant

Bryan Cave

Burg Simpson

Burns Charest

Bush Ross

Cadwalader Wickersham

Chambers & Noronha

Clark Hill

Clifford Law Offices

Clyde & Co

Corr Cronin

Cowdery Murphy

David G. Hill & Associates

Denis & Rasi

Donohue Brown

Friedman Rubin

Galen & Davis

Gibson Dunn

Grant & Eisenhofer

Hall & Evans

Healy LLC

Henderson Franklin

Hodgson Russ

Holland & Knight

Holland Holland Edwards

Husch Blackwell

Jenner & Block

Johnson Vaughn & Heiskell

Kirkland & Ellis

Kline & Specter

Kopelowitz Ostrow

Kreindler & Kreindler

L'Abbate Balkan

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Michael P. Carestia

Leventhal Puga

Lieff Cabraser

McCarter & English

McDermott Will & Emery

McGuireWoods

Milbank LLP

Milberg Coleman

Moritt Hock

Motley Rice

O'Hagan Meyer

O'Melveny & Myers

O'Toole Scrivo

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pfau Cochran

Pittman Dutton

Podhurst Orseck

Proskauer Rose

Quarles & Brady

Ropes & Gray

Saul Ewing

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP

Seila Law

Sidley Austin

Simmons Hanly

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Snell & Wilmer

Strauss Borrelli

Susman Godfrey

Thompson Coburn

Tyson & Mendes

Weinberg Wheeler

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

X Law Group

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Co.

All3Media America LLC

Amalgamated Sugar Co. LLC

Amazon.com Inc.

American Association for Justice

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Apple Inc.

AutoZone Inc.

Bayer AG

CNA Financial Corp.

Chevron Corp.

Colgate-Palmolive Co.

ConocoPhillips Co.

Cornell University

DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Education Corporation of America

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

Exxon Mobil Corp.

FaZe Clan Inc.

First Liberty Institute

Genuine Parts Co.

Gilead Sciences Inc.

Home Box Office Inc.

Hulu LLC

L.A. Fitness International LLC

Learning Resources Inc.

Lumen Technologies Inc.

Major League Baseball Inc.

Monsanto Co.

Norfolk Southern Corp.

Public Citizen Inc.

Roku Inc.

Southeastern University

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Hanover Insurance Group Inc.

The Home Depot Inc.

The Sherwin-Williams Co.

TikTok Inc.

Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Valero Energy Corp.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Supreme Court

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Executive Office of the President

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Election Commission

Florida Attorney General's Office

New York Attorney General's Office

New York Supreme Court, New York County

South Florida Water Management District

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

World Health Organization