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Product Liability

  • July 15, 2025

    NYC's Suit Against Flavored E-Cig Sellers Can Continue

    A Manhattan federal judge on Monday rejected a bid by eight vape wholesalers to toss an action brought by New York City alleging the companies flooded the city with flavored e-cigarettes in violation of federal, state and local law.

  • July 15, 2025

    Ohio Justices Asked If Product Liability Law Covers Uber, Lyft

    An Ohio federal judge has asked the state's Supreme Court to weigh in on whether the Ohio Product Liability Act annuls claims against Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. over a car accident involving their apps even though those apps don't fit the definition of a "product."

  • July 15, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Risk Of Harm Justifies Disarming Pot User

    The Third Circuit has found that illegal drug users, including cannabis users, can be disarmed if their use is determined to increase the risk that they could pose a physical danger while possessing a gun, while finding that individual inquiry is necessary.

  • July 14, 2025

    Top Data Privacy & AI Developments Of 2025: Midyear Report

    The rise and rapid fall of a federal proposal to ban states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade and an uptick in activity from data privacy enforcers in states across the country dominated headlines in the first half of 2025, and attorneys are expecting these areas to continue to grab attention in the coming months. 

  • July 14, 2025

    Vape Groups Urge 4th Circ. To Stall NC E-Cigarette Law

    Vape interests are urging the Fourth Circuit to temporarily stop North Carolina officials from enforcing a law that could prevent the sale of many types of e-cigarettes in the state, claiming the statute was pushed by "Big Tobacco" company Reynolds American Inc. and targets products that help people quit smoking.

  • July 14, 2025

    Group Urges 11th Circ. To Ditch 'Radioactive' Mosaic Road

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should not have approved The Mosaic Co.'s request to use radioactive phosphogypsum in road construction at a Florida fertilizer facility, the Center for Biological Diversity told the Eleventh Circuit.

  • July 14, 2025

    Nipple Cover Co., Customer Agree To Drop False Ad Suit

    The woman behind a lawsuit accusing Cakes Body LLC of making reusable nipple covers that don't live up to their "grippy, not sticky" representations has quietly dropped her proposed class claims against the company in California federal court.

  • July 14, 2025

    Exxon's Climate Change Skepticism Is Protected, Court Told

    Exxon Mobil Corp. was engaging in "core political speech" protected by the First Amendment when it made public statements that Connecticut's attorney general has alleged misled consumers about its business practices' contribution to climate change, the company told a state court Monday.

  • July 14, 2025

    Fans Settle With NFL's Commanders In Railing Collapse Suit

    NFL fans suing the Washington Commanders for negligence over injuries they sustained from a collapsing stadium rail have reached a settlement with the team following a Fourth Circuit ruling that could have landed the plaintiffs in arbitration.

  • July 14, 2025

    Victim's Family Says Tesla 'Set Stage' For Fatal Fla. Crash

    The family of a woman killed in a Florida Keys crash told jurors Monday that Tesla Inc. "set the stage" for a reckless driver to plow into the woman's vehicle by overhyping its autopilot software's capabilities despite knowing of vulnerabilities in the program.

  • July 14, 2025

    Law Student Burned At Mass. Frat Party Sues Everclear Maker

    A Boston University exchange student who suffered third degree burns after 190-proof Everclear was poured near open fire at a fraternity party that created an explosive fireball sued the product's manufacturer in Massachusetts federal court Sunday, arguing it dangerously markets the product for wide range of uses near flammable sources.

  • July 14, 2025

    Insurer Seeks $1M Coverage Cap Over 175 Silica Suits

    An insurer for a manufacturer of countertops told a New York federal court that only one primary environmental liability policy it issued applies to roughly 175 lawsuits seeking damages for exposure to silica, pointing to "deemer provisions" relating to coverage for "progressive or indivisible" bodily injury.

  • July 14, 2025

    Feds Argue Trump's Energy Orders Should Not Be Blocked

    The federal government is fighting an effort to block President Donald Trump's fossil fuel-boosting executive orders that was filed by youths alleging U.S. energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change.

  • July 14, 2025

    Amazon Aims To Flush 'Greenwashing' Toilet Paper Suit

    Amazon.com Inc. is asking a Washington federal court to throw out a proposed class action alleging it "greenwashed" its toilet paper products by misleading consumers about the source of wood for the products, saying the plaintiffs can't read their subjective expectations into the labeling.

  • July 14, 2025

    Mazda Slams 'Frivolous' Filings In Tossed Oil Burning Suit

    Mazda Motor of America Inc. is threatening sanctions against the leader of a now-dismissed proposed class action alleging it sold vehicles with an oil burning defect, saying he is retreading since-debunked arguments and misstating facts in his bid to revive his case.

  • July 11, 2025

    6th Circ. Tosses Arbitration Denial In FCA Minivan Fire MDL

    A Michigan federal judge flubbed it when he denied Fiat Chrysler's bid to push into arbitration some of the plug-in hybrid minivan drivers who claim in multidistrict litigation that their vehicles could spontaneously explode, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying the judge tipped the scales against the automaker by raising arguments the drivers hadn't mentioned.

  • July 11, 2025

    5th Circ. Cites Expert Errors In Rejecting BP Spill Sinus Claims

    The Fifth Circuit has ended a cleanup worker's toxic tort lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. claiming he suffered sinus issues from cleaning up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, saying his experts' testimony, some of which was riddled with errors, was properly ejected by the trial court.

  • July 11, 2025

    Ethiopian Airlines Case Settles '2 Minutes' Before Last Hearing

    A Chicago damages trial set for a man who lost his immediate family in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash can be taken off the books because his case settled "literally two minutes" before his final pretrial hearing, attorneys told an Illinois federal judge Friday.

  • July 11, 2025

    Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

    In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

  • July 11, 2025

    Cannabis Industry Group Praises Hemp Ban In Spending Bill

    A cannabis industry trade group has applauded a U.S. Senate committee's adoption of language in a federal appropriations bill that would ban consumable hemp-derived products with THC, while hemp industry stakeholders are seeking to use a one-year delay to amend a policy they say would kill the market.

  • July 11, 2025

    3rd Circ. Revives Benicar MDL Fees Suit Against NJ Law Firm

    The Third Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action against Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys that claims they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, remanding the dispute for the district court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case.

  • July 11, 2025

    Tesla Faces Trial Over Fatal Autopilot Crash In Florida

    The first third-party wrongful death case involving Tesla's autopilot system is headed to trial Monday in Miami federal court, where jurors will determine whether the autopilot was at fault for the death of a pedestrian in a Florida Keys crash.

  • July 11, 2025

    Gun Group's NJ Nuisance Law Case Paused Amid State Action

    A New Jersey federal judge has put the National Shooting Sports Foundation's lawsuit against the Garden State on hold, finding that the group's challenges to a state law — holding gunmakers and sellers liable for crimes committed with their products — are also being raised by one of its members in a related state enforcement action.

  • July 11, 2025

    Mich. Gun Store Seeks Escape From School Shooting Suit

    A gun dealer has asked a Michigan state appellate court to dismiss a lawsuit over the sale of a gun used in a deadly school shooting, arguing it can't be held responsible for the buyer giving the gun to his son.

  • July 11, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs NY Liability Law Targeting Gunmakers

    The Second Circuit has upheld a New York public nuisance statute that opens up firearm manufacturers to civil lawsuits for acts of violence involving their guns.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw

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    When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.

  • Measuring The Impact Of Attorney Gender On Trial Outcomes

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    Preliminary findings from our recent study on how attorney gender might affect case outcomes support the conclusion that there is little in the way of a clear, universal bias against attorneys of a given gender, say Jill Leibold, Olivia Goodman and Alexa Hiley at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References

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    As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Opinion

    The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit

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    The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.

  • What Gene Findings Mean For Asbestos Mesothelioma Claims

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    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.

  • Series

    Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Oft-Forgotten Evidence Rule Can Be Powerful Trial Tool

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    Rule 608 may be one of the most overlooked provisions in the Federal Rules of Evidence, but as a transformative tool that allows attorneys to attack a witness's character for truthfulness through opinion or reputation testimony, its potential to reshape a case cannot be overstated, says Marian Braccia at Temple University Beasley School of Law.

  • FDA Commissioner Speech Suggests New Vision For Agency

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    In his first public remarks as U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Marty Makary outlined an ambitious framework for change centered around cultural restoration, scientific integrity, regulatory flexibility and selective modernization, and substantial enforcement shifts for the food and tobacco sectors, say attorneys at Arnall Golden.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: A Rare MDL Petition Off-Day

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    In an unusual occurrence in the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation's history, there are zero new MDL petitions scheduled for Thursday's hearing session, but the panel will be busy considering a host of motions regarding whether to transfer cases to eight existing MDL proceedings, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

  • Trucking Litigation Will Shift Gears In The Autonomous Era

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    As driverless trucks begin to roll out across Texas, a shift in how trucking accidents will be litigated is swiftly coming into view, with the current driver-centered approach likely to be supplanted by a focus on the design, manufacture and performance of autonomous systems, says Geoffrey Leskie at Segal McCambridge.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: An Untapped Source For Biz Roles

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    Law firms looking to recruit legal business talent should consider turning to paralegals, who practice several key skills every day that prepare them to thrive in marketing and client development roles, says Vanessa Torres at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    Playing Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Poker is a master class in psychology, risk management and strategic thinking, and I’m a better attorney because it has taught me to read my opponents, adapt when I’m dealt the unexpected and stay patient until I'm ready to reveal my hand, says Casey Kingsley at McCreadyLaw.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Becoming A Firmwide MVP

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    Though lawyers don't have a neat metric like baseball players for measuring the value they contribute to their organizations, the sooner new attorneys learn skills frequently skipped in law school — like networking, marketing, client development and case evaluation — the more valuable, and less replaceable, they will be, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • How Mass Arbitration Defense Strategies Have Fared In Court

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    As businesses face consumers who leverage arbitration agreements to compel mass arbitration, companies are trying defense strategies like batching arbitration cases to reduce costs, and escaping specific mass arbitrations without rejecting the process completely, with varying results in the courtroom, say attorneys at Montgomery McCracken.

  • Calif. Climate Superfund Bill Faces Legal, Technical Hurdles

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    California could soon join other states in sending the fossil fuel industry a massive bill for the costs of coping with climate change — but its pending climate Superfund legislation, if enacted, is certain to face legal pushback and daunting implementation challenges, says Donald Sobelman at Farella Braun.

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