John Breslin News
Airports will face 'extensive and costly litigation' if PFAS included in Superfund law, group says
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Airports would face "extensive and costly litigation" if a family of chemicals used in firefighting foam is designated hazardous under the Superfund law, airport executives warn.
Purdue Pharma reportedly offers deal to settle opioid MDL claims; Judge recently OK'd plaintiffs experts to testify
CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) – Purdue Pharma, the maker of the pain drug OxyContin, has reportedly offered a settlement in a lawsuit filed by more than 1,500 counties and municipalities over claims that it helped ignite the opioid crisis that has left hundreds of thousands dead over two decades.
Oil trade association files suit against California over law allowing increased union involvement
SACRAMENTO (Legal Newsline) – Oil companies in California want a federal court to strike down state regulations that allow union representatives to be more involved in workplace safety.
Former Fox News presenter Tantaros says New York's #MeToo law applies to her sexual harassment claims
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A former Fox News presenter is seeking to move her sexual harassment claims against the news channel back into state court, arguing a New York statute introduced in the aftermath of the birth of the #MeToo movement bars mandatory arbitration of the allegations.
Bayer on reported multibillion-dollar Roundup proposal: No comment on 'rumors or speculation'
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (Legal Newsline) - Bayer will not comment on "rumors and speculation," the company said following a report that it has proposed a multibillion-dollar global settlement over claims that the use of its weedkiller causes cancer.
Class action lawsuits over the price of tuna clear major hurdle
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge in California has certified three putative classes in suits against canned tuna manufacturers over alleged violations of federal anti-trust statutes.
Report details funding of climate change litigation through well-heeled foundations, non-profits
Organizations and attorneys involved in legal action against companies over the impact of climate change are being supported and funded by a network of non-profit foundations, according to a new report.
PFAS litigation expands to include corporate plaintiffs; Refinery suing over cleanup
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (Legal Newsline) – Allegations of product liability is at the core of a lawsuit filed by an oil refining company against a raft of defendants over the sale of a firefighting foam containing chemical compounds believed dangerous to health and the environment.
Treatment centers allege Michigan's largest health insurer 'slashed' reimbursement rates; BCBS says its rates were appropriate
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Legal Newsline) – Four substance abuse treatment centers in Michigan have filed a lawsuit against an insurance company over claims that it "slashed" reimbursement rates, or did not pay, for the treatment of patients at their facilities.
Whistleblower wants his money, asks D.C. Circuit to order SEC to pay up from Teva settlement
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – An unnamed individual involved in a case that led to a pharmaceutical company paying hundreds of millions of dollars to settle bribery charges is asking the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to order the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promptly rule on his claim for whistleblower compensation.
California court grants Johnson & Johnson subsidiary new trial after $400 million talc verdict
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson will face a new trial over claims that its talcum powder caused ovarian cancer, a California appeals court has ruled. The appeals court also affirmed a ruling voiding a verdict awarding more than $400 million against the parent company.
Cancer treatment center wants to block Florida law that voids non-compete agreement
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will fight an attempt by a cancer treatment center company to bar state officials from enforcing a provision within a new law that outlaws certain non-compete agreements.
New Jersey's new disclosure law is 'political revenge' and an attack on free speech, Koch brothers' group claims
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – Advocacy and civil liberty groups are fighting against a new law in New Jersey that critics claim will silence voices, with some opponents describing it as a direct attack on the First Amendment.
Bayer hires outside counsel as pressure grows following jury verdicts and continuing share loss
FRANKFORT, Germany (Legal Newsline) – Chemical and agri-business conglomerate Bayer has hired outside counsel and set up a committee in response to lawsuits and its falling share price in the face of thousands of claims that a key ingredient of its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
Deference doctrine remains in place, but actions on government overreach still likely, D.C. attorney says
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A U.S. Supreme Court decision cements a long-standing doctrine that federal agencies do have wide powers to oversee regulations, but other legal actions on claimed overreach are possible, according to one attorney with expertise in litigation challenging agency actions.
Business leaders bothered by Kansas Supreme Court's 'awful' decision to remove cap on damages
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) – An industry insider says business leaders in Kansas are reacting with "extreme disappointment" at the decision by the state Supreme Court to scrap the cap on non-economic damages in personal injury actions.
ISN Software seeks Delaware supreme court review of malpractice claim against its former lawyers
ISN Software Corp. is asking the Delaware state supreme court to overturn a ruling that it failed to file in time an allegation of malpractice against its lawyers.
Honolulu and D.C. could soon join global warming-litigation craze
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Government officials in two more areas are believed to be considering suing fossil fuel companies in a bid to force them to pay towards the cost of mitigating the effects of climate change - even though the two biggest rulings in this litigation have been in favor of Big Oil.
Baltimore's lawsuit against fossil fuel companies over climate change remanded to Maryland state court
BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) – Fossil fuel companies can be sued in state court in Maryland after a federal court remanded a case filed by the city of Baltimore over climate change.
Six months after federal sentencing act signed, impact still being studied
Six months after its December 2018 passing with large bi-partisan support, the details of how an act aimed at reforming federal prison sentencing is impacting the 180,000 federal prisoners is becoming clearer.