Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
1. DEVELOPERS WIN AGAIN AS SUPREME COURT REJECTS A "VOLUNTARINESS PRINCIPLE" - The Supreme Court has delivered its judgment in the litigation between developers and designers over structural defects in high-rise buildings,...more
A recent lawsuit involving an AI chatbot represents another indication of a possible shift in how courts will approach software under traditional strict products liability principles. Traditionally, courts have been hesitant...more
Failure analysis is the scientific process of determining the root cause of a failure. It is often related to equipment breakdown with varying levels of consequence, from loss of production, to resulting damage to a...more
In a recent case pending in Hawaii state court, a husband and wife sued a tobacco company defendant for various claims related to its manufacturing and marketing of tobacco cigarettes, including strict products liability,...more
Director of Human Factors, Robert Rauschenberger, PhD, will present a one-hour* course that will cover: - What human factors is, and how it applies to product liability cases - The role of human factors analysis in...more
For the first time in nearly 40 years, an asbestos case was tried to verdict in Rhode Island. This case, The Estate of Bonnie Bonito, resulted in a full defense verdict!...more
An issue of great importance to all construction project parties, including design professionals and contractors, is pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In the matter of Trustees of Boston...more
Last week we were lucky enough to attend the Institute of Energy Law’s 23rd Annual Energy Litigation Conference in Houston, TX, and hear its unique collection of industry professionals exchange insights and address some of...more
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a reported 419,000 private-sector employees in California sustained workplace injuries and illnesses in 2022. Workplace incidents in the state claimed 508 employees'...more
As federal agencies and states grapple with regulating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its safety profile, and as businesses race to adopt AI for myriad purposes, it is important to recognize a general safety...more
Foley Hoag LLP publishes this quarterly Update primarily concerning developments in product liability and related law from federal and state courts applicable to Massachusetts, but also featuring selected developments for New...more
The United States Supreme Court first recognized products liability, including strict liability, as part of the general maritime law in East River Steamship S.S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval, Inc., 476 U.S. 858 (1986). The...more
In Shears v. Ethicon, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a judgment entered in favor of Ethicon and its parent company Johnson & Johnson following a jury trial in a pelvic mesh products liability...more
The number of cases involving so-called “nuclear verdicts” — that is, verdicts with awards of $10 million or more — have risen sharply, and many of those cases concern product liability claims. For large corporations, such...more
In Pelton v Maytag, 2024 ONSC 3016 (“Pelton”) the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”) ruled that the defendant manufacturers were not liable for failing to warn consumers that the product could fail because of a...more
Women whose Paragard copper IUD broke during removal or while being implanted may be eligible to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for their injuries. Thousands of women who were injured by broken Paragard IUDs have...more
The grace period for claims that would have been viable under Florida’s 10-year statute of repose, but were no longer viable after Florida shortened the statute of repose to 7 years, is quickly approaching its expiration. On...more
An expert witness is not supposed to pick a desired result and then reverse engineer inputs and methods that reach that result. As the Ninth Circuit observed 30 years ago, “[c]oming to a firm conclusion first and then doing...more
Product liability claims require proof of causation. To be sure, they also require proof of some defect in the product and/or its accompanying warnings and product literature. But defect and causation are separate elements...more
In 2014, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in Tincher v. Omega Flex, Inc., 628 Pa. 296, 104 A.3d 328 (2014). That case was a product liability action based on a design defect. The defense bar...more
AN OVERVIEW OF THE CAUSES OF ROOF FAILURE - Collapses of wood-framed roofs are frequently reported in North America, ranging from simple agricultural roofs to complex roofs in industrial buildings. Controllable factors...more
Getting a shoulder replacement is supposed to improve your quality of life. It is supposed to eliminate your pain, restore your mobility and allow you to do most of the things you were able to do before you started to have...more
Crafting the perfect medical device is never an exact science—but a patient should never suffer because of defects in a product that was intended to improve their quality of life. Determining whether a device manufacturer or...more
Just before Christmas, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a lump of coal to products liability defendants: Sullivan v. Werner Co., 2023 WL 8859656 (Pa. Dec. 22, 2023), affirming a lower court ruling that barred evidence...more
The London Engineering Group’s LEG 3 exclusion—one of three standard form provisions issued by the London Engineering Group addressing coverage arising from construction or design defects—is an increasingly common defects...more