Defense bar decries ‘reptile’ approach by plaintiffs’ lawyers

Defense lawyers in tort cases are looking for ways to counter what they describe as an increasingly popular “reptile” approach by opposing counsel.

Oct 24, 2019 10:44 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge died from fentanyl and heroin; $117M pelvic mesh settlement announced

Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary to pay $117M settlement in multistate pelvic mesh case Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon have agreed to pay nearly $117 million to settle claims over alleged deceptive marketing for transvaginal surgical mesh devices. Forty-one states and Washington, D.C., will share in the settlement.…

Oct 18, 2019 4:11 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Arrests for low-level crimes plummet; inmate complains about commissary-money restitution

Arrests for low-level crimes plummet in some cities and states In some cities and states, arrests are plummeting for minor crimes such as disorderly conduct, loitering, prostitution and driving violations. Areas with lower arrest rates for such crimes include New York, California and rural Virginia, along with the cities of…

Oct 10, 2019 4:07 PM CDT

ABA hosts first-ever cannabis and hemp law conference

Sep 25, 2019 12:40 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge threatens to toss prison officials in hot cells; $37M award in baby powder suit

Texas corrections chief testifies after judge threatens to lock up officials in hot prisons Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier acknowledged in court Tuesday that the agency had failed to record prison temperatures in seven of eight prisons covered by a settlement in a suit over stifling…

Sep 12, 2019 4:57 PM CDT

BigLaw lawyer’s closing argument struck by judge in case alleging talcum powder caused mesothelioma

A New Jersey judge struck a BigLaw attorney’s closing argument for Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday in a case alleging asbestos in the company’s talcum powder caused mesothelioma in the plaintiffs’ stomach linings. Judge Ana Viscomi of New Brunswick struck from the record the entire argument made by Diane Sullivan,…

Sep 5, 2019 12:25 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Parking lot shooter’s self-defense bid fails; lawyer charged in alleged Mercedes attack

Shooter of unarmed black man found guilty of manslaughter; sheriff hadn’t charged him Michael Drejka’s self-defense argument didn’t succeed when Florida jurors convicted him of manslaughter Friday for fatally shooting a black man who shoved him to the ground. Prosecutors brought charges after the Pinellas County sheriff declined to charge…

Aug 26, 2019 4:17 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: $2B verdict against Roundup maker slashed; law firm breakup now a play

• For the second time in two weeks, a judge in California has reduced a verdict against the maker of Roundup weed killer in a suit by cancer victims. Judge Winifred Smith of Alameda County reduced the award to Alva and Alberta Pilliod from $2 billion to $86.7 million. Defendant…

Jul 26, 2019 5:02 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: House holds attorney general in contempt; opioid executives charged

• The U.S. House voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents on now-scuttled plans to add a citizenship question to the census. The vote refers the case to the Justice Department for prosecution of…

Jul 18, 2019 4:05 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Bar associations battle over trademark; New Jersey judge rebuked over rape case

• Even though the Association of Trial Lawyers of America changed its name to the American Association for Justice in 2006, the Washington, D.C.-based bar association is suing the California-based Association of American Trial Lawyers for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The suit says the American Association for Justice sent…

Jul 3, 2019 4:27 PM CDT

Lawyers, songs and money: Music that changed the law

Some songs or albums move the law. A band or artist will be involved in a lawsuit so groundbreaking and important that it will set a precedent, either enshrined in law or otherwise binding future generations.

Jul 1, 2019 12:05 AM CDT

Cases on BigLaw partner’s suicide, school’s trans bathroom policy turned down by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has left intact a federal appeals court ruling against the widow of a Reed Smith partner who blamed antidepressant labeling for her husband’s suicide. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago had overturned a $3 million award to Wendy Dolin, who alleged that GlaxoSmithKline…

May 28, 2019 1:16 PM CDT

Thomas dissent says SCOTUS should overrule decision protecting military from tort liability

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented Monday when the high court refused to hear the case of a man whose wife died at a naval hospital because of complications from childbirth. The petitioner, Walter Daniel, had filed a tort suit in the death of his…

May 20, 2019 10:18 AM CDT

Juror says $2B award in Roundup cancer trial was intended to have ‘punch-in-the-gut effect’

Jurors awarded $2 billion in punitive damages Monday to a California couple who alleged that their longtime use of Roundup weed killer caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

May 14, 2019 8:55 AM CDT

Roundup weed killer was substantial factor in man’s cancer, jurors find in second trial

Federal jurors in San Francisco found Tuesday that Roundup was a substantial factor in causing the cancer of a California man who used the weed killer to kill poison oak on his 56-acre property for 26 years. Jurors ruled for 70-year-old Edwin Hardeman in the first phase of his trial,…

Mar 20, 2019 9:25 AM CDT