For over three decades, federal preemption of state failure to warn claims has served as a powerful defense in strict liability tort cases. Courts have consistently dismissed lawsuits challenging the adequacy of warnings for...more
The Estate of Nicholas Barone trial in Bridgeport Superior Court in Connecticut before Judge William Clark concluded with a $15 million plaintiff’s verdict on 5/16/2024. The jury also awarded punitive damages, the exact...more
A jury in St. Louis, Missouri was recently asked to award over $6 billion in damages against baby formula manufacturers defendants in a lawsuit that alleged the defendants’ specialized infant formulas for premature babies...more
Court: Supreme Court of New York, New York County (NYCAL) - In this asbestos action, boiler defendant Burnham LLC was sued for a variety of claims, including failure to warn, loss of consortium, and punitive damages....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
Last week, we highlighted a wave of litigation targeting underwear manufacturers. This week, litigation activity is now focusing on outerwear. On April 25, 2022, the same firm behind several of the underwear complaints...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in a May 10 Opinion and Order (“Opinion”) addressed a negligence claim against a Waste Transfer Station (“Landfill”) operator. See Buchanan v. Santek Env’t...more
The first appellate shoe has dropped in the litigation involving the herbicide Roundup, Johnson v. Monsanto Co., decided July 20, 2020, by California’s 1st District Court of Appeal, Division One. We discussed the verdict and...more
By now, you’ve probably read reports of the $8 billion punitive verdict against Johnson & Johnson in an individual case alleging failure to warn that young men using its antipsychotic drug Risperdal could develop breasts. ...more
Louisiana generally does not permit punitive damages. But if an accident happens on navigable waters, and the plaintiff brings a claim under federal maritime law, a Louisiana jury can award punitive damages, and Louisiana...more
Last week, the coordinating judge for the Risperdal mass tort litigation released an opinion explaining why punitive damages claims are barred in the nearly 1,500 cases consolidated in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. ...more
Mesh products have been regularly used to repair abdominal hernias since the 1950s. In the 1970s, gynecologists used surgical mesh products designed for abdominal hernia repair to repair prolapsed organs....more
In This Issue: ..Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (Finally) Enforces Agreement for Individualized Arbitration of Unfair and Deceptive Practices Claims Following United States Supreme Court Decision Reversing...more