Glenn Minnis News
Jury won't pin blame for nurse's lung cancer on R.J. Reynolds; Company argued she never tried to quit smoking
DEDHAM, Mass. (Legal Newsline) - A state court jury in Massachusetts has absolved R.J. Reynolds of all liability in the death of 54-year-old nurse Dawn O’Toole after lawyers for the tobacco industry giant stressed to jurors her habit of smoking was predicated on choice and she never really tried quitting.
Mother sues Weather Channel for $125 million over storm chaser's death
LUBBOCK, Texas (Legal Newsline) – Attorneys for the mother of a man killed in a violent Texas Panhandle collision caused by two Weather Channel storm chasers have filed a $125 million wrongful death suit.
Wrongful death trial begins in Mass. court against R.J. Reynolds, grocery store chain
DEDHAM, Mass. (Legal Newsline) - Attorneys representing the estate of a Massachusetts nurse who smoked Newports and died of lung cancer seven years ago is arguing the tobacco industry is to blame, while defense attorneys say the woman never attempted to quit.
Imerys Talc files for bankruptcy over mounting baby powder litigation
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - With the floodgate of asbestos-related legal action taken against the company over the last decade showing no sign of subsiding, talc supplier Imerys Talc America and two of its subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
California jury awards $1.63 million in case against BNSF after plaintiff had rejected $50K settlement
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Just weeks after rejecting a $50,000 pre-trial settlement offer from his former employer in a personal injury suit, one-time California maintenance worker David Arizaga walked away on Jan. 10 with a $1.63 million verdict against BNSF Railway Co.
Agriculture group: By suing hog farms over the smell, attorneys win while farmers lose
RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) – Animal Agriculture Alliance president and CEO Kay Johnson Smith worries that there's little farmers can do to resolve issues being litigated in nuisance lawsuits that target them in federal court in North Carolina.
Brnovich maintains consumer privacy is priority while defending outside counsel as 'necessity'
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich wants Arizona residents to know he has a one-track mind when it comes to protecting their internet privacy rights.
Woman's trial against Johnson & Johnson over mesothelioma diagnosis begins in New Jersey
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – Health care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson's alleged failure to honor its own pledge on the issue of asbestos and talc in its baby powder will end in a New Jersey woman being forced to pay the ultimate price, her attorney stated during opening arguments in the latest case over allegations its products caused mesothelioma.
Monsanto-Roundup bellwether trial results in $289 million verdict
A California jury has ordered agricultural giant Monsanto to pay a former school groundskeeper $289 million in damages after finding he contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from using the company’s industry leading weed-killer Roundup.
Attorney: $21.7 million California verdict in talc, mesothelioma case 'probably changes the complexion of things a bit'
JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Defense attorney Walter “W.G.” Watkins Jr. thinks the impact of a $21.7 million mesothelioma-related verdict recently reached against Johnson & Johnson and its talc suppliers by a Los Angeles jury could have implications that extend far beyond that region.
Court grants authority of New York entity to begin clean-up of FMC Corp. site, recover costs
ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – The New York Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court’s decision in a dispute between the state environmental agency and a chemical manufacturing plant, paving the way for the clean up of a hazardous waste site in Niagara County.
New Jersey court rules eBossWatch defamation suit was properly dismissed
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – The New Jersey Supreme Court has ended a defamation lawsuit by mandating that “the single publication rule” applies to a article posted online.
Plaintiff in Cirque du Soleil junk fax suit seeks reconsideration of Illinois-only class members
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – The plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division have filed a motion with the court to reconsider an order that partly granted class certification even as it found that class must be limited to Illinois class members.
New Jersey city seeks to dismiss environmental group's suit over emergency planning act
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – The New Jersey city of Linden, its Local Emergency Planning Committee and the State Emergency Response Commission have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the trio by an environmental group alleging state and federal violations in the required implementation of the Emergency Planning Committee Right to Know Act.
TCPA defendant wants access to plaintiff's cell phone; Attorneys resisting Royal Sea Cruise's effort
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – Royal Sea Cruise has filed a memorandum of points and authorities in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California aimed at bolstering its motion seeking to compel arbitration in a telephone harassment suit.
Recent verdict awarding $1.8 million to man's family in asbestos lung cancer case largest in Michigan's history
SAGINAW, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – Attorney James Bedortha seems convinced there was a method in the reasoning of a pool of jurors who on March 16 awarded the largest wrongful death award in an asbestos cancer victim case in Michigan state history.
Baby powder caused mesothelioma, N.J. jury finds in issuing $37M verdict
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A New Jersey jury has found in favor of a Vernoa couple and ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay them $37 million following a trial over traces of asbestos in the company’s baby powder.
Retailers get help from lawsuits when new Prop 65 regulations take effect
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A list of products that require warning labels because they contain possible cancer-causing ingredients continues to grow in California, though retailers will be gaining some protection from litigation that stems from them.
Leahy's CREATES Act left out of budget; Would have thrilled trial lawyers but hurt patients, economist says
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Despite support from a few Republicans, a measure championed by Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., targeting health care costs did not make its way into the budget passed by Congress earlier this month.
Lawyer: Spokeo ruling not turning out like defendants hoped
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Despite optimism from the defense side, a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to again consider a high-profile class action lawsuit is a boost to plaintiffs lawyer, a Philadelphia attorney says.