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Product Liability

  • August 08, 2025

    Judge Says Insurer Must Face $100M Biz Interruption Claim

    A chemicals manufacturer accusing a reinsurer of failing to fully cover its roughly $100 million business interruption claim over a chemical plant explosion can still pursue its coverage claims, a Texas federal court ruled, finding the Texas Supreme Court would likely adopt the same holding.

  • August 08, 2025

    NJ Legislation Highlights From The 1st Half Of 2025

    During the first half of 2025, New Jersey lawmakers addressed a long-standing judicial vacancy crisis, strengthened protections for utility customers and streamlined the asbestos remediation process for Jersey City's historic courthouse.  

  • August 08, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Federal Machine Gun Ban Is Constitutional

    The Sixth Circuit has upheld a federal ban on machine guns, finding the prohibition to be in line with the country's tradition of regulating "dangerous and unusual weapons."

  • August 08, 2025

    AT&T Faces Suit After Fiber Optic Cable Kills Texas Woman

    The family of a Texas woman who died in May after a low-hanging fiber optic line struck her in the head is suing AT&T and its cable maintenance contractor, claiming that the cable hung below required safety code heights and that the companies failed to follow proper installation procedures.

  • August 08, 2025

    Trade Group Sues Colorado Over Gas Stove Labeling Law

    A home appliances trade association has told a Colorado federal judge that recently passed state legislation mandating that a health warning be placed on all gas stoves is unconstitutional.

  • August 08, 2025

    Transit Cos. Get Woman's $1.7M Tripping Verdict Undone

    A New Jersey appeals panel has vacated a $1.7 million verdict in favor of a woman who sued Delaware River Port Authority and Port Authority Transit Corp. after she tripped and fell at a train station, saying the trial court wrongly permitted an inadmissible lay opinion that tainted the verdict.

  • August 08, 2025

    NC AG Has Power To Pursue PFAS Pollution Suit, Judge Rules

    Two DuPont spinoffs can't shirk a forever chemical contamination suit brought by the North Carolina Attorney General's Office, a state court judge has ruled, finding Attorney General Jeff Jackson does have the authority to pursue the case even after lawmakers curbed his powers.

  • August 08, 2025

    Ford Can Arbitrate Some Claims In Hybrid Engine Fire Suit

    A Michigan federal judge has sent to arbitration six plaintiffs in a proposed class action alleging Ford Motor Co. sold hybrid vehicles with engine defects that could lead to fires, finding the automaker did not waive its right to arbitration by participating in earlier stages of the litigation.

  • August 08, 2025

    Pennsylvania Litigation Highlights Of The 1st Half Of 2025

    In the first half of 2025, Pennsylvania judges have created a federal and state court split in a $175 million verdict against Monsanto in Philadelphia's Roundup mass tort, reduced the tax fraud sentence of a member of the family behind an iconic Philadelphia cheesesteak shop and permanently barred a college apparel company from copying Penn State trademarks. 

  • August 07, 2025

    Crypto Buyers Win Class Cert. Against Kardashian, Celebs

    EthereumMax buyers accusing celebrities of promoting the cryptocurrency allegedly used in a pump-and-dump scheme can certify subclasses in four states, but not their nationwide class, a federal judge ruled, agreeing with famed boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. that there's a risk of California and Florida securities laws being inappropriately applied outside those states.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Orders Chemours To Cut Discharges At W.Va. Plant

    A West Virginia federal judge on Thursday ordered Chemours to take any steps needed to stop its Washington Works manufacturing plant from continuing to discharge excessive amounts of a harmful "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.

  • August 07, 2025

    BioPharma Co.'s $15M Deal Over Ruined J&J Vaccines OK'd

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to a $15 million settlement to close out a stockholder derivative suit claiming Emergent BioSolutions Inc. and its top brass made a mint selling stock before their allegedly lax oversight led to the contamination of over 15 million Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses.

  • August 07, 2025

    SC Judge Tosses Charleston Climate Suit Against Energy Cos.

    A South Carolina state judge has ruled that a city of Charleston lawsuit seeking damages from oil and gas companies for greenhouse gas pollution and climate change impacts is barred under the U.S. Constitution and federal Clean Air Act.

  • August 07, 2025

    NC Town Alleges Chem. Giants Hid PFAS Health Risks

    A North Carolina town sued Arkema Inc., Dynax and other chemical manufacturers on Wednesday over the infiltration of toxic "forever chemicals" into its drinking water, alleging the companies knew for decades that the compounds were dangerous and willfully ignored it.

  • August 07, 2025

    6th Circ. Revives Whirlpool Stove Activation Class Suit

    The Sixth Circuit has reinstated a proposed class action alleging Whirlpool Corp. sold stoves with defective knobs prone to accidental activation, saying the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that the company knew of the defect because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sent it consumer complaints.

  • August 07, 2025

    Wilson Elser Nabs Former Transpo Safety Board Adviser

    A former team leader for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration who worked with its passenger carrier division on issues involving commercial passenger vehicles like buses and motor coaches has joined Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP's Washington, D.C., office as an of counsel.

  • August 07, 2025

    Kratom Buyers Take Addictiveness Suit To 9th Circ.

    A proposed class of kratom buyers is appealing to the Ninth Circuit after their claims that Thang Botanicals and FTLS Holdings LLC misled them about the addictive qualities of kratom products were dismissed with prejudice.

  • August 06, 2025

    Judge Blocks Mich. Landfill From Taking Radioactive Waste

    A Michigan state judge on Wednesday blocked a Detroit-area landfill from accepting thousands of cubic yards of radioactive material stemming from the Manhattan Project, holding that it could be sent to a less-populated area and pose less risk.

  • August 06, 2025

    Ga. Judges Weigh Birth Defect Ruling in Sterigenics Case

    A group of Georgia residents who alleged they were injured by emissions from a Sterigenics sterilization plant urged the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday to overturn a lower court's grant of partial summary judgment to the company on the issue of whether the plant's emissions caused birth defects.

  • August 06, 2025

    RJ Reynolds Keeps Trial Win In Cancer Death Suit, Panel Says

    A Massachusetts intermediate-level appeals court on Wednesday affirmed RJ Reynolds' trial win in a suit accusing it of causing a man's lung cancer, saying a new trial was not warranted as the trial judge did not unfairly exclude certain evidence.

  • August 06, 2025

    Indivior Beats Investor Suit Over Opioid Drug Sales Forecasts

    A Virginia federal judge Wednesday tossed an investor class action accusing drugmaker Indivior PLC of overstating the financial prospects of its drugs used to treat opioid use disorders and its ability to forecast such financial projections, finding, among other things, that the complaint's challenged statements are inactionable.

  • August 06, 2025

    Feds Give Amazon's Zoox Robotaxis Green Light

    Amazon's self-driving car unit, Zoox Inc., has received federal approval to deploy fleets of robotaxis, making the company the first to receive an exemption from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for U.S.-built autonomous vehicles under a newly expanded program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday.

  • August 06, 2025

    Feds Launch Safety Probe Of SEPTA After EV Bus Fires

    The Federal Transit Administration has launched an inquiry into the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's storage of decommissioned electric buses, which the federal agency said comes after a lithium-ion battery fire in one of SEPTA's yards.

  • August 06, 2025

    Judge OKs Addition Of Kenvue, Janssen To J&J Talc MDL

    A New Jersey federal judge has rejected Johnson & Johnson's challenge to cancer patients' bid to add additional corporate defendants to multidistrict federal litigation over its talcum powder products, finding the additions would not be futile.

  • August 06, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs J&J Spinoff In 'Rapid Release' Label Suit

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to revive a proposed class action alleging a Johnson & Johnson spinoff company misled consumers by claiming that "Rapid Release" Tylenol gelcaps dissolve faster than other types of Tylenol.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    At 100, Federal Arbitration Act Is Used To Thwart Justice

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    The centennial of the Federal Arbitration Act, a law intended to streamline dispute resolution in commercial agreements, is an opportunity to reflect on its transformation from a tool of fairness into a corporate shield that impedes the right to a fair trial, says Lori Andrus at the American Association for Justice.

  • Opinion

    Attorneys Must Act Now To Protect Judicial Independence

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    Given the Trump administration's recent moves threatening the independence of the judiciary, including efforts to impeach judges who ruled against executive actions, lawyers must protect the rule of law and resist attempts to dilute the judicial branch’s authority, says attorney Bhavleen Sabharwal.

  • The Math Of Cross-Examination: Less Is More, More Is Less

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    When conducting cross-examination at trial, attorneys should remember that “less is more, and more is less” — limiting both the scope of questioning and the length of each query in order to control the witness’s testimony and keep the factfinders’ attention, says Thomas Innes at the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

  • Ga. Tort Reform Bill May Help Dampen 'Nuclear' Verdicts

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    Many aspects of the tort reform bill just passed by the Georgia Legislature — including prohibitions on suggesting damage amounts to juries, and limits to recovering phantom damages — face opposition from the plaintiffs bar, but are a key first step toward addressing excessive damage awards in the state, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • As Failure-To-Warn Preemption Wanes, Justices May Weigh In

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    Federal preemption of state failure-to-warn claims has long been a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases, but is now under attack in litigation over the weedkiller Roundup and other products — so the scope and application of preemption may require clarification by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Michael Sena at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Design Thinking Can Help Lawyers Find Purpose In Work

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    Lawyers everywhere are feeling overwhelmed amid mass government layoffs, increasing political instability and a justice system stretched to its limits — but a design-thinking framework can help attorneys navigate this uncertainty and find meaning in their work, say law professors at the University of Michigan.

  • Tools For Witness Control That Go Beyond Leading Questions

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    Though leading questions can be efficient and effective for constraining a witness’s testimony, this strategy isn’t appropriate for every trial and pretrial scenario, so techniques like headlining and looping can be deployed during direct examination, depositions and even witness interviews, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Opinion

    Weight Drug Suits Highlight Need For Legal Work On Safety

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    The rapid ascent of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic has revolutionized diabetes management and weight loss — but legal wrangling over issues including off-label prescriptions, side effects and compounded versions underscores lawyers' roles in protecting patient safety, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

  • Will Independent Federal Agencies Remain Independent?

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    For 90 years, members of multimember independent federal agencies have relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. establishing the security of their positions — but as the Trump administration attempts to overturn this understanding, it is unclear how the high court will respond, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.

  • 4 Do's And Don'ts For Trial Lawyers Using Generative AI

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    Trial attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools should review a few key reminders, from the likelihood that prompts are discoverable to the rapid evolution of court rules, to safeguard against embarrassing missteps, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses

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    In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.

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