On October 4, 2023, the three-judge Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey threw out a $223.8 million talc litigation verdict against Johnson and Johnson (J&J), finding that the science relied on by the plaintiffs was not sound. The 2020 verdict...
Proposed Consolidation JPML Hearing on Uber Sexual Assault Litigation
Oral arguments on the petition filed with the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to consolidate all sexual assault cases filed against Uber into MDL No 3084, In Re: Uber Technologies, Inc. Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation, are scheduled to be heard...
Liability Forecasting: Vital for Mass Tort Settlements
Liability forecasting plays an important role in mass tort settlements. One effect of the four-decades-long asbestos litigation is that defendants in mass tort cases often create large settlement trusts through which they compensate current and future claimants for...
Leveraging Data to Negotiate Stronger Mass Tort Settlements
As with the other cases they litigate, plaintiffs’ attorneys will negotiate mass tort settlements to secure maximum compensation for their injured clients. But mass tort cases, for a number of reasons, are more complex to litigate and settle than typical personal...
High Reliability Organizations and Law Firms
High Reliability Organizations (“HRO”) are institutions that operate in complex, hazardous environments, making few mistakes (i.e., medical errors, air traffic errors) over long periods of time. HROs have existed since the 1980s in the aircraft carrier, air traffic...
Successful Claimant Engagement with Mass Tort Clients
We recently explained how mass tort law firms can fix their claimant engagement struggles by taking a relationship-based approach to the process. In that post, we suggested firms can avoid these struggles by regularly and proactively communicating with their clients...
Four Ways the Texas Two-Step Changes How Plaintiffs Litigate Mass Torts
By enabling defendants to shield themselves from mass tort liability, the “Texas Two-Step” is a new obstacle for plaintiffs pursuing mass tort cases against manufacturers of dangerous products. For the uninitiated, the Texas Two-Step is a bankruptcy process in which a...
Debunking Four Misconceptions About Mass Tort Litigation Support
When lawyers first begin to represent clients in mass tort cases, grow the number of mass tort cases they’re involved in, or increase the number of mass tort clients they represent, they often come to a stark realization. To effectively—and ethically—represent their...
Plaintiffs File Transfer Motion with JPML to Consolidate Hair Product Litigation Cases
On November 15, 2022, a Motion to Transfer was submitted to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) by plaintiffs seeking to consolidate all pending hair product litigation cases filed against a number of defendants, including cosmetics giant...
J&J’s LTL Management Bankruptcy and Talc Litigation Update
On September 19, 2022, oral argument was held before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia during which attorneys for talcum litigation injury victims urged the Court to allow their clients to pursue their claims against Johnson & Johnson maintaining...