Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
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
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
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced that Whirlpool Corporation agreed to pay an $11,500,000 civil penalty associated with the CPSC’s charges that Whirlpool knowingly failed to immediately report...more
Key Takeaway: In Superior Oil Company, Inc. v. Labno-Fritchley, 207 N.E.3d 456 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023), the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s denial of summary judgment in a product liability case. The court...more
On May 4, 2023, Montana changed its product liability laws when the Governor signed SB 216, which was effective upon passage and applies to claims that accrue on or after May 4, 2023. Among the changes is the adoption of a...more
In recent years, products liability law has been significantly impacted by advancements in technology, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. As more companies adopt these technologies to...more
Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., 2022 WI 109 (Dec. 28, 2022), gave the Wisconsin Supreme Court its first opportunity to interpret Wis. Stat. § 895.047, part of the Wisconsin Legislature’s 2011 product liability statute....more
What is Arkansas’ law on Comment K to Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts? Arkansas follows comment k to Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts with regard to unavoidably unsafe products. This is an...more
What is the definition of “defective condition” under Arkansas law? “Defective condition” is defined by statute to mean “a condition of a product that renders it unsafe for reasonably foreseeable use and consumption.” Ark....more
Numerous products in our day-to-day lives incorporate or consist of software. The legal system, however, has been hesitant (at best) to bring software within traditional product liability regimes. Courts have grappled with...more
It has been almost seven years since Tincher v. Omega Flex Inc. was decided by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The Tincher court left much unanswered but called on Pennsylvania’s lower courts, the legal academy and the bar to...more
In Verrazono v. Gehl Company, et al., 50 Cal.App 5th 636, Plaintiff Gary Verrazono (“Plaintiff”) sued Defendant Gehl Company (“Defendant”) for negligence and strict product liability based on design defects of Defendant’s...more
New York Federal Court granted Defendants’ Daubert motion to exclude design defect expert testimony on a design defect claim for PAM Cooking Spray and dismissed all product liability claims on summary judgment, including...more
For at least two decades, Pennsylvania law has recognized an exemption from strict liability for prescription drug manufacturers based on the state Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Restatement (Second) of Torts Sec. 402A...more
New York state's High Court has expanded the optional safety device exception to strict products liability to apply to equipment rental. ...more
Fall has descended upon us, along with that nip in the air and the aroma of pumpkin spice. All of these herald our latest edition of Pro Te: Solutio, which contains three fascinating articles on topics of current interest in...more
As our use of AI technology becomes more frequent, interconnected, and integral to daily life, the liability exposure to AI product designers and manufacturers continues to escalate. There are more potential liability risks,...more
In Kim v. Toyota Motor Corp., 6 Cal.5th 21 (Cal. 2018), the Supreme Court of California considered whether the trial court properly allowed the defendant to introduce evidence of industry custom and practice in defense of a...more
In the world of products liability, design defect claims arise when the product is inherently dangerous in its design. The test for whether a product is inherently dangerous has evolved in modern years from the “consumer...more
Snell & Wilmer attorneys Dan Rodman and Morgan Petrelli recently represented Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. in the trial of a 2006 Yamaha Rhino rollover lawsuit in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada (Case No....more
Massachusetts state and federal courts issued a number of important product liability decisions in 2017. The Product Liability and Toxic Tort Litigation Group at Nutter recently reviewed these cases. Highlighted below are...more
Big Picture: Product Liability in California - California applies its strict product liability laws to all products put into the stream of commerce and sold to the public, and those laws govern a wide array of products. ...more