Food manufacturers should pay close attention to the recent developments surrounding chlormequat chloride (chlormequat), a chemical that plaintiffs claim has been detected in various food products sold in the United States....more
Companies using formaldehyde in their operations should be aware of recent developments with the potential to substantially impact litigation concerning this substance. With regulations significantly reducing permissible...more
On 27 June 2023, in a plurality opinion authored by Justice Gorsuch, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., holding that a company’s decision to register to do business...more
The American Law Institute is scheduled to vote shortly on a new proposed rule for its Restatement (Third) of Torts that would recognize a claim for medical monitoring, even in the absence of physical injury. Companies in all...more
With new regulations on the horizon, manufacturers need to be aware of the potential litigation risks related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As we previously discussed, the U.S. Environmental...more
What You Need to Know in a Minute or Less - While ethylene oxide (EO) has long been subject to federal regulation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently sharpened its focus on EO emissions. Despite...more
In Herold v. University of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County decision, holding that: (1) common law claims for occupational diseases occurring four years...more
What You Need To Know In A Minute Or Less - Based largely on publicly available data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plaintiffs have been filing an increasing number of personal-injury and class-action...more
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IN A MINUTE OR LESS - Ethylene oxide (EO) is a versatile compound used to make ethylene glycol and numerous consumer products, including household cleaners and personal care items. Also used to sterilize...more
On 19 September 2022, a Cook County, Illinois jury awarded US$363 million to a plaintiff who alleged that her breast cancer was caused by emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO) from a Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, Illinois....more
The long-running dispute over the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s consent-by-registration scheme persists. On 25 April 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. In Mallory,...more
In a highly anticipated decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court closed out 2021 by striking down Pennsylvania’s consent-by-registration statutory scheme that held that an out-of-state business consented to general personal...more
Companies using ethylene oxide (EtO) in their operations should be aware of the substantial increase in litigation and regulatory activities surrounding the compound and how those developments may affect their businesses....more
During the week of 21 June 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued two decisions that ultimately remove any doubt that class representatives must present class-wide evidence of harm at the class-certification stage,...more
The debate as to whether companies registered to do business in Pennsylvania have consented to general personal jurisdiction continues, and the issue is finally before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. As we have discussed in...more
On June 25, an en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued its long-awaited decision in Murray v. American LaFrance LLC. At stake was the question of whether, under Pennsylvania’s unique statutory framework,...more
On October 31, 2019, an en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court will hear reargument in the case of Murray v. American LaFrance LLC to decide whether, following the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in...more
Although it stopped short of declaring New Jersey a “Daubert jurisdiction,” the New Jersey Supreme Court recently issued a landmark decision reinforcing the “rigorous” nature of the “gatekeeping role” that trial courts are...more
Companies facing mass tort and product liability claims ranging from asbestos to pharmaceuticals have undoubtedly been monitoring developments related to personal jurisdiction in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark...more