John O'Brien News
South Carolina's governor hopes plaintiff lawyers don't derail tort-reform bill
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - South Carolina lawmakers are on notice to pass a bill that Gov. Henry McMaster says will help businesses struggling with insurance premiums at the expense of the state's powerful trial lawyer machine.
FTC's monopoly case against Amazon set for 'Economics Day' hearing
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - The new-look Federal Trade Commission will be in Seattle federal court March 7 for a special event in one of the Biden Administration's biggest lawsuits - an antitrust case against Amazon.
Insurer gets bad news in carbon monoxide wrongful death lawsuit
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Legal Newsline) - An insurance company will be brought into a wrongful death lawsuit after the Alaska Supreme Court found carbon monoxide doesn't fall under a "pollutants" exception in its policy.
Lab has 'whistleblower' settlement in place in Zantac case
PHILADELPHIA - The product-testing lab whose research has created tens of thousands of lawsuits still works to settle a case it brought itself and received no support from the federal government and more than two dozen states refusing to participate.
Voters should pick the Supreme Court, not lawyers, Kansas Chamber says
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - Kansas lawmakers recently moved one step toward letting voters pick the state's Supreme Court justices, though associations from both sides of civil courts oppose doing so.
As J&J's talc trial goes on, Beasley Allen wants the whole thing moved to a different court
HOUSTON - As a Houston federal bankruptcy judge conducts a lengthy trial over whether to approve Johnson & Johnson's plan to effectively settle tens of thousands of ovarian cancer claims, lawyers against that strategy are fighting to move the issue to a different court.
Senate passes Ga. tort-reform bill, passes it on to House
ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - Georgia lawmakers are one step closer to addressing their state courts system's reputation as unfair to defendants, as a tort reform measure awaits approval by its House.
AI woes: Judge boots Morgan & Morgan lawyer for citing nonexistent cases
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Legal Newsline) - A personal injury lawyer who fell victim to the shortcomings of artificial intelligence will be booted off a case as it heads to trial.
Class action that followed lab's study on benzene in dry shampoo looks to be settled
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Rather than continue to fight in court, Unilever will settle a class action lawsuit spawned by the testing lab Valisure, whose testing of consumer products has been criticized by the federal government in the past.
New York ticket-fees law leads to $2.5M settlement with Regal Cinemas
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Regal Cinemas will settle a class action lawsuit alleging a $1.80 booking fee for movies violates New York law.
Conservative justice: Libs on Wisconsin SC just gutted voters' rights
MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - It's another 4-3 vote on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that has angered the conservative minority, as one justice says the denial of a voter's power to question how 2022 voting was held "guts" the people's access to courts in election law.
'The problem with these cases is that none exist': AI troubles hit Morgan & Morgan
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Legal Newsline) - With "great embarrassment," the nation's largest plaintiff firm is trying to explain why it is using made-up cases to bolster its arguments.
Identities of Seattle cops at Jan. 6 rally/riot shouldn't be private, court rules
OLYMPIA, Wash. (Legal Newsline) - Seattle police officers who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, rally that led to the storming of the U.S. Capitol were never entitled to anonymity, the state's highest court has ruled.
Infant burned when car seat placed next to stove; Can Mom sue for her own emotional injuries?
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The Connecticut Supreme Court won't extend certain claims in lawsuits any further than they already go, ruling recently in a closely watched case against a parent who put her infant daughter in a car seat next to a stove.
With numbers not on its side, Beasley Allen wants new client vote on J&J's $9B talc fund
HOUSTON - The two law firms opposing Johnson & Johnson's massive talcum powder settlement that would give $9 billion to women blaming their ovarian cancer on Baby Powder wants a new vote.
Changes from 2023 didn't take Roundup plaintiffs' 'shaky' causation experts
SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Experts once called "shaky" by the federal judge hearing thousands of Roundup cases can continue to testify, as the latest wave of plaintiffs make their way through a multidistrict litigation proceeding.
Facebook not to blame for mass shooting by white supremacist in South Carolina
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) - A federal appeals court refuses to pin the blame for a mass shooting in South Carolina on Facebook, rejecting a lawsuit that said its algorithm radicalized murderer Dylann Roof.
J&J bashes Beasley Allen as it seeks approval of $9B talc plan
HOUSTON - Johnson & Johnson takes aim at plaintiffs attorneys opposing its massive settlement of cancer claims related to Baby Powder, basically calling them hypocrites whose lone standard is how much money they will make for themselves.
Canadian companies plead with Carolina high court to stop asbestos judge
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Legal Newsline) - Two portraits of Canadian companies were painted Tuesday as the South Carolina Supreme Court was asked to decide what, if any, limits there are on the controversial measures taken by the state's asbestos judge.
New-look CFPB doesn't want any money this year
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A federal agency's unique funding system will have it receiving no money this year, as the new director says it already has enough.