Daniel Fisher News
Talc supplier's bankruptcy could be what Johnson & Johnson needs to bring order to costly asbestos litigation
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Johnson & Johnson has borrowed a page from the legal playbook pioneered by breast-implant manufacturer Dow Corning to try to consolidate thousands of talc lawsuits in a single federal court for resolution.
Beware of even the fine print, attorneys warn of ALI's insurance law Restatement
Beware of even the fine print, attorneys warn of ALI's insurance law Restatement
Multidistrict litigation swamps courts as rules struggle to catch up; Is reform on the way?
Multidistrict litigation – sprawling cases sometimes involving thousands of plaintiffs from all over the country – now represents more than half of the civil caseload in federal courts, according to a new survey, yet defendants complain the rules governing them are largely judge-made and haphazardly enforced.
Ahead of talc test, NYC judge gives good news to asbestos defendants
The January 31 decision could have especially strong implications for lawsuits over talcum powder
Trump DOJ acts on threat to trial lawyers who sue on behalf of the government
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Department of Justice's recent effort to toss lawsuits it says it wasted hundreds of hours investigating is emblematic of a strategy under President Donald Trump to rein in trial lawyers who are using a federal whistleblower law to seek millions of dollars.
Opioid judge rejects dismissal plea, orders first lawsuits to trial
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Opioid manufacturers and distributors lost their long-shot bid to end more than 1,000 lawsuits against them as the federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation rejected their motions to dismiss and ordered the first cases to trial next year.
Opioid plaintiffs: A small percentage of pill shipments were 'suspicious.' Or maybe it's nearly all of them
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Forced to identify opioid prescriptions they say were “suspicious” and never should have been shipped, Ohio cities and counties came up with a rough estimate. Very rough.
Study undermines key theory behind talc asbestos lawsuits
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Plaintiff experts who testify that even extremely low levels of asbestos exposure can cause cancer may be in trouble after a study of some 2 million women found no difference between urban and rural residents in the rate of mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the chest lining that is normally associated with asbestos.
Pennsylvania opioid litigation in chaos as plaintiff lawyers fight over control
MEDIA – Opioid litigation in Pennsylvania appears to be in chaos as a prominent law firm has withdrawn from a leadership position on the plaintiff side and unions and the county surrounding the city of Allentown fight efforts to consolidate all lawsuits in a single court.
Money for nothing: SCOTUS could stop class action funds from being steered to non-parties
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a case that could end cy pres, the practice of steering money in class action settlements to organizations with absolutely no connection to the underlying lawsuit.
Time running out for lawyers suing opioid industry to show specific proof
The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against the opioid industry has given plaintiffs a stark choice on a tight deadline: Hand over evidence of specific prescriptions they believe were improper or lose the right to present such evidence forever.
Opioid lawsuits should proceed, magistrate tells MDL judge
A magistrate judge recommended that a bellwether trial against the opioid industry proceed, rejecting nearly all the arguments presented by manufacturers, distributors and retailers in their motions to dismiss hundreds of lawsuits accusing them of causing a national crisis.
Trump admin makes use of Medicare law in blunt warning to asbestos lawyers
In the Trump administration, at least, the government will no longer look the other way as asbestos lawyers negotiate lenient terms that make it easy for their current clients to get money at the expense of future claimants and federal entitlement programs.
Art imitates life: 'Billions' describes six-figure, part-time jobs on asbestos trusts
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - The third season of the wildly popular show "Billions" premiered in March with a mention of an oddly arcane subject: asbestos bankruptcy trusts. The dialogue coming out of the mouth of prosecutor Chuck Rhodes, played by Paul Giamatti, becomes a little less mysterious when you look at who wrote it, however.
Judge sees litigation as only an `aid in settlement discussions’ for opioid lawsuits
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against the opioid industry that have been consolidated in federal court said some trials may occur but that litigation is “not a substitute or replacement” for his preferred goal of a comprehensive settlement.
Judge in massive opioid case watching plaintiff lawyer spending, orders them to fly coach
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation against the opioid industry ordered plaintiffs’ attorneys to keep monthly records of the time they spend on their cases down to a tenth of an hour and imposed strict rules on who can collect fees, in an effort to prevent the excesses that have drawn criticism in other class actions and mass tort cases.
Self-driving cars, thinking machines will test limits of tort law
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - Self-driving cars, machines that teach themselves how to operate and home digital assistants that can enter into legally binding contracts are all either on the market now or soon will be. So the next question is: Whom do you sue when they run amok?
Study on consumer lawsuit loans finds high rates, confusing terms
AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) - The broadest study yet of consumer litigation finance – money forwarded to lawsuit plaintiffs in anticipation of a victory in court or a legal settlement – found a “very complicated and circuitous” system in which some borrowers appear to subsidize others and the median interest rate exceeds 40%.
N.Y. opioid litigation won't be stayed; Lawyers seeking 1,000 more county-plaintiffs
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A New York judge has refused to stay lawsuits by a number of New York counties against opioid manufacturers and distributors, rejecting arguments that the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t yet determined whether narcotic painkillers are unnecessarily dangerous - a central question in any litigation.
Opioid judge orders companies to pay bulk of special master costs because they have 'greater discretionary funding'
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors has ordered defendant companies to pay three-quarters of the costs of special masters who are overseeing settlement negotiations.