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
Can a company be found liable for failure to warn about hazards of another company’s product used in packaging for its own product? What about when the company wasn’t warned that packaging could contain anything potentially...more
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, October 21, 2022 - In this case, the plaintiffs Arnold and Ruth Pritt allege that Arnold Pritt (“Plaintiff”) was exposed to asbestos while serving in the...more
Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, October 11, 2022 In this asbestos action, the plaintiff Gloria Maryn alleged exposure to asbestos from laundering the clothes of her son, Victor Arana. Mr. Arana...more
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, July 8, 2022 - In this asbestos matter, the defendant ViacomCBS Inc. (“Westinghouse”) moved for partial summary judgment as to Decedent Callen Cortez’s...more
New Jersey Supreme Court, June 30, 2022 - In this asbestos action, decedent Willis Edenfield (“Edenfield”) commenced a failure to warn product liability action against defendant Union Carbide. The Appellate Division...more
On March 2, 2022, a Wisconsin federal judge dismissed Burton v. Am. Cyanamid Co., No. 07-C-0303, 2022 WL 623895 (E.D. Wis. Mar. 2, 2022), a lingering fifteen-year personal injury litigation against lead-based paint...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“Court”) addressed in a March 11th Opinion whether the federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (“HMTA”) preempted certain state tort law claims in...more
Massachusetts federal and state courts issued several important product liability decisions in 2021. Nutter’s Product Liability practice group reviewed these cases and report on their significant holdings as follows...more
Last week we wrote about the status of Arkansas’ law recognizing a post-sale duty to warn, ultimately concluding that Arkansas Courts have not recognized the existence of any such duty. This week we will explain how, despite...more
Does Arkansas law recognize a post-sale duty to warn? In a nutshell, no. While Arkansas state courts have not expressly considered the issue, all legal authority indicates that the answer is indeed “no.” To support this...more
On December 18, 2018, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an opinion clarifying manufacturers’ duty to warn consumers under Arizona common law. The Court held that the federal Medical Device Amendments (“MDA”) impliedly...more
First Circuit Holds Foreseeability of Health Risk Is Standard For Failure To Warn Even Though Claim Is For Property Remediation, And Bulk-Selling Chemical Manufacturer Had Post-Sale Duty To Warn Only Direct Customers Even If...more
The Washington State Supreme Court recently released its decision in Taylor v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. where it held that Washington law requires medical device manufacturers to warn hospitals that purchase their products of...more
In Washington, manufacturers of medical devices now have a duty to warn hospitals that purchase their devices. Additionally, product manufacturers of “unavoidably unsafe products” face strict liability for failure to warn...more
Last month, in Taylor v. Intuitive Surgical Inc., the Washington Supreme Court saddled medical device manufacturers with a new duty to warn under Washington law — the duty to warn hospitals about potential risks their...more
In Webb v. Special Elec. Co., the California Supreme Court formally adopted the "sophisticated intermediary doctrine," which provides an additional defense that manufacturers and suppliers can assert against product liability...more
Massachusetts Federal Court Holds Proof of Testing of Proposed Alternative Design Not Required in Design Defect Claim, Evidence Plaintiff Ignored Defendant’s Warnings Did Not Establish He Was Sole Proximate Cause of Injury on...more