Topic: Mass Torts
Last week Bloomberg broke the news that Bayer had made a settlement proposal to resolve more than 18,000 Roundup lawsuits. Citing those close to the ongoing negotiations, Bloomberg reported the proposal was between $6 and $8 billion. Later that week, mediator Ken Feinberg, who was appointed by Judge Chhabria, issued a statement that the report […]
JUUL Labs, Inc. recently filed a motion with the Joint Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (the “JPML”) to transfer cases against it for consolidated pretrial proceedings and further requested that the MDL be assigned to the Northern District of California. Juul is based in San Francisco. Reply briefs are due later this month and the motion […]
In a recent blog post we discussed a little of the history of mass tort litigation. In that blog we pointed out that recent cases concerning 3M earplugs, the Juul e-cigarette and Roundup, while not typical drug and device cases, are a natural evolution of mass tort litigation. What can the plaintiffs’ bar learn from […]
Regarded by many as the original mass tort, asbestos litigation made front-page headlines in the late 1970s and early 80s, with estimates for the eventual cost of asbestos litigation in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Tobacco was another early litigation where lawyers sought justice for thousands of injured people. Many of the leading firms in […]
We all know smoking is bad for your health and the good news is that adult smoking rates in the United States have declined from a high of 45% in the 1950s to the current rate of approximately 15%. But, in its place we have seen the rapid rise of vaping, led principally by the […]
At the start of the year, we noted significant cases to watch in 2019.Here is a look at where some of that litigation stands at the midyear point, as well as other mass tort litigations that are now evolving and taking shape. 3M Combat Arms™ Earplugs. This is the biggest mass tort litigation news this […]
National Prescription Opiate Litigation – MDL 2804 At a hearing on June 25 held at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland, Judge Polster, in response to concerns raised by distributors, pharmacies and state attorneys general, refrained from ruling on the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ motion to create a “negotiating class”, indicating […]
On June 14, attorneys representing local governments and communities met in Ohio and presented a proposed framework for a comprehensive nationwide settlement of the opioid crisis. Representing hundreds of counties, towns and municipalities, their goal is for impacted local communities to settle with the drug companies as a single “negotiating class” and effect a nationwide […]
The situation: A representative from the executive steering committee for an MDL involving a surgically implanted medical device needed to uniformly and efficiently evaluate and score data provided by myriad law firms. These firms represented a very large number of claimants and the data on the claims was needed to assess offers received from the […]
A state court jury in California found Johnson and Johnson (J&J) and Colgate-Palmolive Co. liable for a California woman’s mesothelioma as a result of her exposure to asbestos in both J&J’s and Colgate-Palmolive’s Cashmere Bouquet talcum powder products. Plaintiff Patricia Schmitz, a 61-year old retired teacher, was awarded $12 million by the Alameda County jury […]
