Personal Injury, Civil Procedure, Toxic Torts

Judge Dismisses Some Claims, But BP Trial Goes On

by Josh Crank | Lawyers.com on 3/21/2013

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier dismissed claims today against the contractor that supplied oil giant BP with drilling fluid, but denied most other dismissal requests from defendants in the civil trial over the Deepwater...more

I've Got This Doctor You Gotta See!

by Katherine Gallo, Esq. on 3/18/2013

In most personal injury actions the plaintiff is served with a Notice for an Independent Medical Examination. It has become so commonplace that no one really thinks twice about the demand. However, there are a few...more

Recent Changes To The BP Claims Program

by Viles & Beckman, LLC on 2/27/2013

The BP oil spill started with the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. The failure of BP Oil to cap the spill promptly resulted in millions of barrels of crude oil being released into Gulf...more

Policy Observer - January 2013

by Nancy Harris, Alex Lathrop | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 1/25/2013

It has been nearly three months since Superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast of the United States. With several hundred thousand residents still without homes and many businesses still operating out of temporary facilities,...more

"Every Breath" Theory: On Its Last Breaths?

by Sharon Caffrey, Erin Carter, Alyson Lotman | Duane Morris LLP on 1/23/2013

The "every breath," or cumulative exposure opinion, has been proffered by plaintiffs' experts in asbestos cases to prove specific causation, regardless of the type of product or amount of exposure. The U.S. District Court for...more

Navigating Mass Torts and Product Liability (MTPL) Litigation in the U.S. Legal System: Litigation Challenges for Japanese MTPL...

by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 1/17/2013

In This Presentation: • Challenges of U.S. Courts • Specialized and Aggressive Plaintiff’s Bar and Contingency Fees • Jury Trials • Pretrial Discovery • Personal Jurisdiction • U.S.-Based Subsidiaries •...more

A Toxic And Mass Tort Update: Illinois Supreme Court Limits "Forum Shopping"

by Polsinelli on 1/14/2013

In its December 28, 2012 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a forum non conveniens decision reversing the St. Clair County Court and directing the trial court to dismiss plaintiff's asbestos case. Fennell v. Illinois...more

Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update: January 2013 - Plaintiffs Bear the Burden of Establishing Causation by Competent Expert...

by Sean Patterson | Sedgwick LLP on 1/7/2013

Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently ended 16 years of toxic tort litigation relating to fugitive hexavalent chromium (C6) exposure involving the City of Willits and...more

Lone Pine Order Forces Plaintiffs to Ante Up

by Jeffrey M. David, James W. Huston, Julie Y. Park | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 11/30/2012

Last week, the court in In re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation granted Defendant Merck & Co.’s motion for a Lone Pine order. No. 06 MD 1789 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 20, 2012). Lone Pine orders are valuable tools in defending mass...more

Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update - October 2012: Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of a Public Nuisance Lawsuit

by Sedgwick LLP on 11/8/2012

On September 21, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Alaskan village of Kivalina against 23 energy companies. Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., 2012 WL...more

Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update - October 2012: Expert’s Epidemiologic Study Comparing Populations Was Insufficient to...

by Sedgwick LLP on 11/8/2012

The New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed the exclusion of an expert opinion seeking to establish general causation between exposure to petrochemicals and autoimmune conditions, including lupus, and affirmed a trial judgment...more

N.J. Supreme Court Requires Plaintiffs to Prove Causation in Spill Act Cases

by McCarter & English, LLP on 10/8/2012

On Wednesday, September 26, 2012, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in NJDEP, et al. v. Ofra Dimant, et al. interpreting New Jersey's environmental cleanup statute, the Spill Compensation and...more

Asbestos Alert: Maryland Court Rules on Substantial Factor

by Low, Ball & Lynch on 9/28/2012

Dixon v. Ford Motor Company - Court of Special Appeals of Maryland (June 29, 2012) 2012WL2483315 A recent decision of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals may provide the basis for persuasive argument in California...more

Asbestos Alert! Analysis of Robinson v SSW, Inc.

by Guy Stilson on 9/25/2012

This is an analysis of an asbestos wrongful death case where the claim was defeated because the defendant non-California corporate entity had dissolved. The court of appeal held that although California law contains a...more

COITO v. SUPERIOR COURT--Is It Heading Back to the Supreme Court?

by Katherine Gallo, Esq. on 9/23/2012

On August 14, 2012, Judge William A. Mayhew of Stanislaw Superior Court issued his Notice of Hearing on Issues Re Remand in the case of Debra Coito v. State of California. The order requested that the following issues to be...more

Placing Limits on Forum Shopping

by Sedgwick LLP on 9/17/2012

Our preview of the September term of the Illinois Supreme Court continues with Fennell v. Illinois Central Railroad Company, a case which may clarify the standards limiting the ability of a plaintiff - or sometimes, a...more

Are Class Action Changes Coming to New Jersey?

by CJ (Candida) Griffin, Esq. on 6/5/2012

Are Class Action Changes Coming to New Jersey? by CJ Griffin on June 5, 2012 Changes to New Jersey’s laws governing class action lawsuits could be on the horizon. Last month, the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee...more

Two New Civil Opinions Coming From the Illinois Supreme Court

by Sedgwick LLP on 5/21/2012

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, May 24, it will file opinions in two civil cases.. Bonhomme v. James, No. 112393 et al. -- (1) Should the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation be...more

Significant Rulings From the Deepwater Horizon Court on Discovery and Evidentiary Matters

by Sedgwick LLP on 4/10/2012

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has been handling hundreds of consolidated cases (involving more than 100,000 individual plaintiffs) brought in the wake of the explosion, fire and capsizing of...more

The Chevron Ecuador Saga Continues as Second Circuit Overturns Anti-Enforcement Injunction

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 3/13/2012

In the latest U.S. chapter of the long and hard-fought battle over claims of pollution and adverse health effects from oil development in the Ecuadorian rain forest by Texaco (acquired by Chevron in 2001), a potentially...more

Save Time, Money & Angst -- MEET and CONFER

by Katherine Gallo, Esq. on 3/2/2012

The purpose of the “meet and confer” requirements set forth in C.C.P. §§ 25.450(b)(2)), 2025.480, 2030.300(b), 2031.310(b), 2032.250 and 2033.290 was for the lawyers to revisit their position, in good faith discuss a...more

State Supreme Court Revises "Two-Injury" Rule

by Dechert LLP on 2/29/2012

The traditional single claim rule requires a plaintiff to bring at one time a suit for all the injuries arising from the same accident or incident, or risk being barred. In the toxic tort context, the...more

Am I Naïve to Think Something Should Be Done?

by Katherine Gallo, Esq. on 2/27/2012

What do you do when you are being out muscled by a party who has deep pockets and a lawyer who's intent is to abuse the discovery process and run up his bills. ANSWER--GET THE COURT INVOLVED!!...more

Busy Mass Tort Court Revamps Procedures

by Dechert LLP on 2/23/2012

Our readers recognize that Philadelphia (home base for MassTortDefense) is a hot-bed of mass tort activity, administering those cases through a Complex Litigation Center. Now comes important news that the Honorable...more

Retroactive Application of Florida's Asbestos and Silica Act Held Unconstitutional

by Sedgwick LLP on 1/3/2012

In a 5-2 decision released Friday, July 8, the Florida Supreme Court held that the retroactive application of the 2005 Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act (Act) is unconstitutional because it divested the named...more

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Personal Injury › Civil Procedure › Toxic Torts