In an order filed on August 9, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied earplug manufacturer 3M’s motion for a new trial, stating that 3M and its predecessor Aearo, LLC, had failed to prove that it had been prejudiced in the first...
Litigation Update: Bayer AG Announces End of RoundUp U.S. Residential Sales
On July 29, in an update to investors on its five point plan addressing future litigation, agrochemical manufacturer Bayer AG announced that it would end U.S. residential sales of its glyphosate-based herbicides, including its flagship product, Roundup, and would...
Litigation Update: IMERYS Files Counter Indemnification Claim Against J&J in Talc Litigation
In a complaint filed on July 27, talc miner and Johnson and Johnson (J&J) talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, petitioned the court to find that J&J was obligated to indemnify the company for the tens of thousands of personal injury claims filed against it;...
Litigation Update: Claims Dismissed Against Manufacturers of Generic Zantac
The Florida federal judge overseeing the Zantac multidistrict litigation has dismissed all claims, without leave to amend, against manufacturers of ranitidine, the generic or store brand version of the prescription medication Zantac, citing federal law preemption. On...
Opioid Litigation Update
Opening statements in the sprawling opioids trial pursued by the state of New York and Nassau and Suffolk counties against seven defendant manufacturers and suppliers began on June 29 with four hours of presentations. The case is the first one involving opioids to be...
J&J Settles With New York AG and Ends Its National Opioid Sales Ahead of Trial
In a settlement reached on June 26, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay up to $263 million to the state of New York and Nassau and Suffolk counties to resolve the plaintiffs’ claims that the pharmaceutical giant had contributed to the nationwide opioid crisis that has...
Proposed Class Action Sought Over Claims Neutrogena’s Sunscreen Products Are Contaminated
In a complaint filed on June 21, manufacturer Neutrogena Corporation is facing claims that its sunscreen products are contaminated with “dangerously high levels of benzene”, a “carcinogenic impurity linked to leukemia and other cancers”. Stating that both the...
Litigation Update: JPML Transfers Paraquat Cases to Illinois
On June 7, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation centralized the paraquat litigation pending against defendants Syngenta and Chevron involving the herbicide in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, citing in its order “the...
Litigation Update: Judge Grants GlaxoSmithKline Motion of Summary Judgment in Zofran MDL
In a 68-page order issued on June 1, the federal judge presiding over the Zofran MDL reversed his 2019 decision and granted GSK’s motion for summary judgment on the basis of pre-emption, essentially ending the multi-district litigation against the pharmaceutical...
Litigation Update: Federal Jury Clears 3M in Second Earplug MDL Bellwether Trial
On May 28, a federal court jury in Pensacola, FL found 3M not liable after less than one day of deliberation in the second bellwether trial held in the Combat Arms Earplug Version 2 (CAEv2) multi-district litigation. The jury determined that 3M was not responsible...