In August 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to exclude an expert’s causation opinion as unreliable and grant summary judgment in favor of a herbicide manufacturer.The case, which arose from claims...more
12/3/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Causation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Daubert Standards ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Herbicides ,
Monsanto ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Pesticides ,
Rule of Evidence 702 ,
Summary Judgment ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On October 24, 2025, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied motions to dismiss in a high-profile challenge to asbestos trust data-retention policies, allowing asbestos defendants’ claims to proceed...more
10/31/2025
/ Asbestos Litigation ,
Asbestos Trust Claims ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Retention ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Duty to Preserve ,
Equitable Relief ,
Injunctions ,
Spoliation ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Trusts
On August 15, 2025, Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 328 into law, effective immediately. The bill makes significant changes to the law governing jurisdiction in Illinois, namely changing Illinois from a specific...more
8/20/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
General Jurisdiction ,
Illinois ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Litigation ,
Specific Jurisdiction ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Tort Reform ,
Toxic Exposure
Oklahoma has now joined many other states creating specialty business courts to handle complex business litigation. Senate Bill 632 creates two new specialized business courts, which will be located in Oklahoma County and...more
6/30/2025
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Court ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Complex Litigation ,
Copyright ,
Effective Date ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Judges ,
Jurisdiction ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Trade Secrets
Since the passage of Senate Bill 328, there has been a movement calling on Illinois Governor Pritzker to veto Senate Bill 328. Advocates for the veto include the American Tort Reform Association, the American Property...more
Senate Bill 328, as amended, makes significant changes to the law governing jurisdiction in Illinois, which would change Illinois from a specific jurisdiction state to a general jurisdiction state for actions that allege...more
6/4/2025
/ Business Corporation Act ,
Business Entities ,
Business Litigation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Foreign Corporations ,
General Jurisdiction ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Illinois ,
Jurisdiction ,
Liability ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Toxic Chemicals
We previously reported that the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the...more
On January 24, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the...more
1/28/2025
/ Asbestos ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Civil Claims ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Due Process ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Illinois ,
Occupational Exposure ,
Statute of Repose ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
To exercise valid jurisdiction over any claim, a federal court must have both personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. Subject matter jurisdiction can be based on diversity of citizenship, the presence of a...more
This article is one of a series of posts diving into each aspect of The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) as the industry awaits MoCRA’s full implementation. This installment focuses on MoCRA’s...more
As discussed in the Product Perspective, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) represents a major shift in cosmetic industry regulations. This article, in a continuing series of posts diving into each...more
As discussed in the Product Perspective, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) represents a major shift in cosmetic industry regulations. This article, in our continuing series of posts diving into...more
8/24/2023
/ Cosmetics ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) ,
Product Labels ,
Reasonable Certainty Standard ,
Responsible Party ,
Safety Standards ,
Testing Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals
As discussed in the Product Perspective, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) represents a major shift in cosmetic industry regulations. This article is one of a series of posts diving into each...more
On May 18, 2023, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 219 (Bill) which, if signed by Governor Pritzker, would allow punitive damages in wrongful death cases. Illinois law does not currently permit punitive damages...more
Facility Registration: What Is a Facility and Who Has to Register?
Section 607 of MoCRA requires the registration of facilities that manufacture or process cosmetics for distribution in the United States. While this...more
Am I making a “cosmetic product”?
If you are a manufacturer, packer, importer, or distributor, the first question you should be asking is whether your product falls under the definition of a “cosmetic product,” which...more
The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (“MoCRA”) was signed into law on December 29, 2022. MoCRA expands the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to regulate cosmetics and serves as the...more
On November 5, 2021, Cook County’s HIPAA Qualified Protective Order (“QPO”) was considerably reconstructed in light of the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in Haage v. Zavala, 2021 IL 125918. Illinois litigators were...more
On May 17, 2019, Illinois adopted legislation eliminating the state’s 25-year statute of repose under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act for latent diseases. The legislation overturned the prominent Supreme Court decision...more
A pending amendment to Rule 30(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure obligates parties to “meet and confer” regarding subject matters for examination. Adopted and submitted to Congress by the U.S. Supreme Court in...more
In May, the Illinois Supreme Court significantly revised its rules related to remote proceedings – including court appearances, video conferences, and civil trials. These changes aim to improve the administration of justice...more
On December 19, 2019, the First District issued its opinion in Daniels v. Arvinmeritor, Inc., affirming a $6 million verdict for the estate of Patrick O’Reilly, a union pipefitter from 1957 to 1998 who passed away from...more
The Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Sullivan v. A. W. Chesterton, Inc., et al., No. 18-3622 (E.D. Pa. June 6, 2019), grappled with the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania statutes, 15 Pa.C.S. § 411 and 42 Pa.C.S. §...more
In October, a Cook County jury awarded a $6 million dollars to the family of a deceased pipefitter in a mesothelioma trial. Daniels, et al. v. John Crane Inc., et al., No. 2016-L-011308 (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Cty.). John Crane,...more
The stage is set for a heated showdown between GOP leaders and bipartisan critics over implementation of HB 1645. If adopted by the Senate, the bill would alter several provisions related to a plaintiff’s ability to bring...more