Daniel Fisher News
Court rejects 'bad-faith' effort to delay talc company's bankruptcy
PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court criticized as a “bad-faith tactic” a motion by insurance companies to disqualify a lawyer that was appointed by a judge to represent future asbestos claimants in the bankruptcy of Imerys Talc America.
Court overturns $3 million punitive damages award in case of Old Spice talcum powder
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A California appeals court reversed a $3 million punitive-damages award against a former supplier of cosmetic talc, ruling there wasn’t evidence the company’s executives knew their product contained dangerous amounts of asbestos when the plaintiff claimed his exposure.
'Man up': Coaches not liable for athlete's injuries from wasp sting
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) - High school coaches who were accused of urging a student to “man up” and compete in a long-distance race after he was stung by a wasp can’t be sued for negligence because there is no evidence they were responsible for the runner’s subsequent fall and injuries, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled.
Driver can be liable for accident victim's suicide attempt, court rules
SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who admitted she rear-ended another car while glancing at her cellphone can’t avoid liability for the other driver’s emotional trauma and subsequent suicide attempt, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled, overturning an appeals court’s decision that the suicide attempt wasn’t foreseeable.
Delaware starting to shine a light on who is funding litigation in the state
DOVER, Del. (Legal Newsline) - The Delaware Senate has passed a resolution that would require the state’s court system to study whether to require lawyers to disclose outside funding sources, two months after federal courts in Delaware mandated disclosure of third-party litigation funders.
Walmart: SCOTUS decision destroys DOJ's opioid lawsuit
Walmart and the Justice Department disagreed on the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring prosecutors to prove doctors “knowingly” wrote invalid opioid prescriptions, with Walmart arguing the ruling obliterated the government’s civil lawsuit accusing it of failing to block millions of illegal opioid prescriptions, while Justice saying the decision bolstered its case.
Doctors decrying Covid vaccine sue Twitter after they were banned
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Five doctors who say they were unfairly suspended from Twitter after making controversial Covid-related posts have sued the platform for breach of contract, saying Twitter bowed to political pressure instead of following the science.
Industry group loses constitutional challenge to California's Private Attorney General Act
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - A lobbying group for California businesses lost a constitutional challenge to a state labor law that allows citizens to act as private attorneys general, as an appeals court rejected claims the law violates the separation of powers.
Kansas county will be able to tax Walmart more because a Walmart is on the property
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - The Kansas Supreme Court reversed an appellate decision that protected Walmart and other “big box” retailers from paying higher property taxes, saying a state administrative agency has the authority to weigh different property appraisal methods before arriving at a final value.
Latest opioid ruling puts MDL judge further out of step on public nuisance
A federal judge soundly rejected the “public nuisance” theory behind most opioid litigation, further isolating the judge in charge of thousands of similar lawsuits who has consistently ruled in favor of plaintiffs on this very question.
Alabama school board members can be sued over sex harassment by principal
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - School-board members can be sued over allegations they failed to fire a principal who was later convicted of sexual harassment, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled, finding there was enough evidence for a jury to conclude the board members knew or should have known of the principal’s propensity for misconduct.
Frustrated Bar exam taker can't win money from Nebraska Supreme Court
LINCOLN, Neb. (Legal Newsline) - A woman who sought almost $500,000 from the Nebraska State Bar for failing to provide proper disability accommodations when she took the bar exam can’t seek relief from the Nebraska Supreme Court even though the state’s high court is in control of attorney licensing.
Loophole saves trial lawyers who paid for accident reports to find clients
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - Trial lawyers who paid for accident reports so they could target motorists with offers to represent them in court can’t be sued under a federal law that protects personal information obtained “from a motor vehicle record.”
After plaintiff lawyers rebel, opioid judge backpedals on fees
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - The federal judge in charge of multidistrict opioid litigation walked back an order that set off a rebellion among plaintiff lawyers who complained it would interfere with their cases in state court and steer billions of dollars in fees to a small group of attorneys who dominate the federal litigation.
Old chalk bought on eBay good enough evidence for asbestos lawsuit, court rules
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiff lawyers who purchased decades-old samples of chalk on eBay for an expert to test for asbestos didn’t have to establish a chain of custody proving they hadn’t been tampered with, a Maryland appeals court ruled, saying a jury must decide if the samples were authentic.
Uber not liable for sexual assaults by fake drivers, court rules
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - Uber Technologies had no duty to protect women who got into cars driven by men who sexually assaulted them even though the ride-app company knew people were printing out official-looking Uber stickers on home computers and using them to lure victims, a California appeals court ruled.
Wisconsin restaurants lose key COVID ruling over insurance
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - Wisconsin restaurants that were prohibited from providing in-person dining during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown can’t access insurance policies that protected against business losses due to physical damage or “contamination,” the state’s highest court ruled.
Drug case watched by Washington's trial lawyers goes to Eli Lilly
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Washington state law is clear that drug companies need only provide clear warnings to doctors for prescription medicines, the state’s highest court ruled, rejecting a plaintiff’s argument the rise in direct-to-consumer advertising required a change in the rules.
Supreme Court to mull $25M weedkiller/cancer case as Biden admin flips view
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to discuss Thursday whether to accept Monsanto’s appeal of a $25 million jury verdict based on its failure to put a warning label on Roundup herbicide -- a label the Environmental Protection Agency has said would violate federal law.
Judge upholds New York law targeting gun makers with lawsuits
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A federal judge upheld a New York law allowing anyone to sue the gun industry for creating a public nuisance, ruling that legislators had successfully drafted the statute to fit within an exception to a federal law that otherwise protects gun makers against liability for the criminal acts of others.