This year, a laboratory issued a report wherein it claims to have tested over-the-counter and prescription acne products containing benzoyl peroxide and found what it deemed to be “unacceptably high” levels of benzene. In...more
9/13/2024
/ Bodily Injury ,
Causation ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Suppliers ,
Toxic Chemicals
The court in the aqueous film-forming foams (“AFFF”) multidistrict litigation recently established a bellwether process to address personal injury claims alleging that polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in AFFF caused thyroid...more
Litigation is expensive. Litigants may turn to third-party funding for support. Such litigation financing can raise ethical concerns and has been criticized for exploiting litigants (personal injury plaintiffs in particular)...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released two proposed regulations that would classify nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as “hazardous constituents” and expand oversight of waste facilities to...more
Sixth Circuit Rejects Overly Ambitious PFAS Class Action -
Hardwick v. 3M Co. (In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours), No. 22-3765, 87 F.4th 315 (6th Cir. Nov. 27, 2023) -
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit...more
1/24/2024
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Case Consolidation ,
Class Action ,
Expert Testimony ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Gross Negligence ,
Mallory v Norfolk Southern Railway Co ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Nursing Homes ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Take-Home Exposure ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wrongful Death
PFAS defendants can use the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC’s) recent statement on the carcinogenicity of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in support of causation and...more
“Nuclear” verdicts are awards that are exceptionally high, eclipsing what would be a rational, reasonable, or expected amount based on the evidence. Three recent jury verdicts awarding unreasonably large compensatory and...more
After a nine-day trial, a state court jury in Stamford, Connecticut, returned a unanimous defense verdict in a case where the plaintiff alleged exposure to benzene in gasoline caused leukemia. The verdict shows how defendants...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated a district court’s order certifying a class of 11.8 million people whose blood is allegedly contaminated with PFAS/PFOA and directed the lower court to dismiss...more
Plaintiffs’ claims in the hair relaxer multi-district litigation (“MDL”) will move forward, according to a decision by the Northern District of Illinois. The decision exemplifies the liberalities sometimes permitted under...more
Recently passed Illinois House Bill 219 and Illinois Senate Bill 1748 expand access to punitive damages and expedited trials, respectively. Illinois House Bill 219 allows for the recovery of punitive damages in all wrongful...more
The California Supreme Court has answered in the negative the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ certified question regarding “take-home” COVID-19 exposure (see Federal Appeals Court Asks California If Covid-19 “Take Home” Suits...more
Use of multi-district-litigation (“MDLs”) to jointly manage discovery in toxic tort and product liability suits involving the same subject matter but filed in disparate jurisdictions is ever increasing. At present there are...more
As of January 30, 2023, Governor Hochul vetoed the New York State Grieving Families Act, which would have overturned century-old law that bars plaintiffs in wrongful death suits from recovering damages to compensate them for...more
Harris Beach attorneys Abbie Eliasberg Fuchs, Bradley M. Wanner and Daniel R. Strecker review and analyze key judicial holdings and legal developments in New York, the federal arena and across the country that have affected...more
1/16/2023
/ Causation ,
Certiorari ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Daubert Standards ,
Discovery ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Mass Tort Litigation ,
Nursing Homes ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS
On August 18, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill amending Section 2801-d of New York’s Public Health Law to expressly provide the legal representative or estate of a nursing home resident the right to bring a...more
In Corby Kuciemba, et al. v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has asked the California Supreme Court to evaluate if employers have an enforceable legal duty to non-employees for non-employees’...more
Mass tort defendants frequently defend lawsuits in venues like Los Angeles County, California, which are favored by plaintiff firms due to their plaintiff-favorable law and propensity for large verdicts. In a recent decision...more
When defending litigation in one state, mass tort defendants must consider other jurisdictions’ rules. For example, while some states generally prohibit a plaintiff from using a defendant’s discovery deposition as part of...more
At the beginning of 2022, New York state enacted the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act (“CIDA”), imposing significant new burdens on defendants in civil ligation. We outlined the original provisions of the law in an...more
A California appeals court permitted a Los Angeles County wrongful death lawsuit for COVID-19 “take-home” liability to proceed. The plaintiff claims that plaintiff’s employer’s negligence resulted in plaintiff’s transmitting...more
The New York State Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act is now in effect. The Act amends CPLR 3101(f), governing disclosure of insurance policy information by defendants and similarly situated parties such as third-party...more
We previously wrote about a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation denying exclusion of Plaintiffs’ specific causation expert and granting Defendants’ motions for summary judgment in a toxic tort suit arising...more
Product distributors, online retailers, and owners of facilities that are open to the public, such as restaurants, brick-and-mortar retailers, and office buildings, may be wondering about their risk of personal injury claims...more
Last year, Harris Beach wrote about a federal magistrate judge’s report and recommendation to deny Defendants’ motions for summary judgment in a toxic tort suit arising from occupational exposure to ortho-toluidine...more