Defense of Mass Tort Claims, Class Actions, and Significant Product-Based Litigation
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to a pet food maker in a putative class action alleging Champion Petfoods USA Inc. misrepresented features of its dog food. Weaver v. Champion Petfoods USA Inc., No. 20-2235, 2021 WL 2678801, at *1 (7th Cir. June 30, 2021).
Plaintiff alleged he purchased purchased Champion dog…
Our readers interested in Multi-district Litigation may want to check out recent scholarship from Prof. Brian Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt Law School.
In Many Minds, Many MDL Judges, 84 J. L. & Contemporary Prob. (2021, Forthcoming), the Professor asserts that the federal MDL statute may concentrate more power in the hands of a single person than…
The Fifth Circuit late last year certified the question whether the operator of an on-line marketplace is a seller” under Texas products liability law. McMillan v. Amazon.com, Inc., 983 F.3d 194 (5th Cir. 2020).
The Texas Supreme Court in response determined that Amazon.com Inc. isn’t considered a “seller” under Texas product liability law. No. 20-0979,…
Today’s post looks at standing and the recent US Supreme Court decision in Transunion v. Ramirez, No. 20–297 (U.S. Decided June 25, 2021). The case arose out of the Fair Credit Reporting Act which regulates the consumer reporting agencies and also creates a cause of action for consumers to sue and recover damages for…
Today’s post looks at Rayes v. Novartis Pharms. Corp., No. EDCV21201JGBKKX, 2021 WL 2410677 (C.D. Cal. June 11, 2021), which contains an interesting discussion of an aspect of drug product preemption. The Supreme Court discussed in Wyeth and later clarified in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, 139 S. Ct. 1668, 1679 (2019),…
As we have noted in prior posts, there appears to have been an uptick in the funding of litigation by third parties, a practice that has rightly been questions as opportunistic, overly secretive, contrary to notions of standing and fair play, and as a practice that may lead to increased unnecessary litigation. Back in April…
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action accusing Trader Joe’s of mislabeling its chicken packaging. Webb v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 19-56389, 2021 WL 2275265 (9th Cir. June 4, 2021).
Plaintiff claims she purchased “All Natural Boneless Chicken Breasts,” “All Natural Chicken Thighs,” and “All Natural Chicken Wings,” (the Products)…
Those class action mavens among our readers will want to check out the commentary article by my colleagues James P. Muehlberger, Timothy E. Congrove and Daniel E. Cummings.
The paper is “Class Actions -Will The Supreme Court Finally Resolve The Circuit Split Over Rule 23(C)(4) Issue Class Actions?”
You can find it in the June…
The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a jury verdict for defendant in a suit alleging that it sold faulty wood chippers to an equipment rental company. James v. Terex USA, LLC, No. 20-14553, 2021 WL 2137599 (11th Cir. May 26, 2021).
At trial, the plaintiff sought to introduce lay testimony from a Shane Dinkins about…
The Tenth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a suit seeking to hold a gunmaker n liable for injuries a woman alleged she suffered when a rifle fired spontaneously. Harris v. Remington Arms Co., LLC, 997 F.3d 1107 (10th Cir. 2021). The case turned on the admissibility of plaintiff’s expert evidence.
Roughly two years after…
