Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
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
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
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
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
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, May 27, 2022 - In this matter, the plaintiffs allege that decedent Shirley Hilster was exposed to asbestos from contact with her husband’s work clothes and...more
It is axiomatic that a plaintiff must offer evidentiary support for each element of her claim in order to survive summary judgment. And a ubiquitous feature of product liability actions is the use of expert witnesses by both...more
ase In the wake of March Madness, it is only appropriate to call attention to an opinion laced with pithy basketball puns. In Nachimovsky v. Nike, Inc. et al., 2022 WL 943421 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 29, 2022), Plaintiff injured his...more
For over two decades, dating back to Daubert and the ensuing amendments to Rule 702, federal district courts have been charged to act “as gatekeepers to exclude unreliable expert testimony.” Fed. R. Evid. 702 advisory...more
A series of recent rulings out of the Southern District of Texas in an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter case reflect how well-planned discovery can lead to a successful multipronged summary judgment motion and can effectively...more
In Kenney v. Watts Regulator Co, No. 20-2995, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4539 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2021), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania considered whether to exclude the plaintiff’s...more
From contraceptives to mesh implants, shampoos to pasta, New York state and federal courts issued decisions in 2020 which further shaped the landscape in the medical and life sciences legal world. To prepare the best product...more
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (“NJCFA”) relating to the sale of a product are not per se subsumed by the New Jersey Product Liability Act (“NJPLA”). The...more
In a decision reinforcing the importance of expert testimony in design defect and failure to warn cases, the Eastern District of New York recently dismissed claims against the makers of PAM cooking spray. In Urena v....more
Applying basic scientific principles to exclude an expert’s unfounded and unsupported opinions, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has granted summary judgment to the maker of the antipsychotic...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently reversed a district judge’s grant of summary judgment to a manufacturer in a product defect claim for an explosion at an ethanol plant. In Green Plains Otter Tail, LLC...more
The onset of spring weather can mean only one thing: We are heading into prime season for road construction. If you haven’t seen the cones and Jersey barriers yet, you will soon. The new construction season brings with it...more
Most states have statutes of repose, which define the date certain for parties to assert any and all claims for construction and design related issues, and provide a final cut-off for liability with respect to a project. For...more
Harris Beach attorneys Judi Abbott Curry, Victoria A. Graffeo and Marina Plotkin prevailed on plaintiffs’ appeal to the Second Circuit of product liability failure to warn claims against Pioneer Surgical Technology, Inc. and...more
Frederick (Rick) Fern and the New York City Harris Beach Life Science Practice Group were successful in securing a summary judgment for medical device manufacturers Curlin Medical Inc., Moog Inc., and distributor B. Braun...more
Massachusetts Appeals Court Holds Birth Control Patch Manufacturer Had Duty to Warn Patient Directly But Packet Insert Adequately Warned of Greater Risk of Blood Clots As Compared to Birth Control Pill; Design Defect Claim...more
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board v. INET Airport Systems, Inc., et al., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 6646, 819 F.3d 245 (5th Cir. Apr. 12, 2016) - This action arose out of a construction project in terminal E of...more
Just last week, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed plaintiff’s negligence and §402(B) strict liability claims on summary judgment in Morello v. Kenco Toyota Lift, et al. The court reserved dismissal of the...more
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Failure-to-Warn Claim Against Drug Manufacturer Not Preempted Because There Was No “Clear Evidence” FDA Would Not Have Approved Plaintiffs’ Suggested Warning; Also Holds...more