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LEGAL NEWSLINE

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nicholas Malfitano News


Court: State AG can resolve opioid and other consumer protection suits, DA's can't

By Nicholas Malfitano |
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has the ultimate authority in resolving litigation brought under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and not the district attorneys of Philadelphia and Allegheny counties, per a first impression ruling from the Commonwealth Court.

Philadelphia jury hands down $2.2B verdict in third Roundup trial, the largest ever for that product

By Nicholas Malfitano |
PHILADELPHIA – The manufacturers of weed killer Roundup have lost a third trial in Philadelphia and were hit with its largest-ever verdict at a whopping cost of $2.25 billion, not long after local juries handed down a $175 million verdict award to plaintiffs in the first case and a $3.5 million award in the second.

Phila. Roundup verdict is $3.5M; Monsanto claimed bias by trial judge

By Nicholas Malfitano |
PHILADELPHIA – The manufacturers of weedkiller Roundup are facing a second loss at trial in Philadelphia to the tune of $3.5 million, just weeks after another local jury handed down a $175 million verdict award to plaintiffs in the first case in a series of trials.

Pa. courts tie for No. 1 ranking on annual 'Judicial Hellholes' report list

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON – According to the latest annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released Tuesday by the American Tort Reform Association, Pennsylvania courts have tied with Georgia for the No. 1 ranking for jurisdictions considered unfriendly to businesses.

Class action claiming Walmart improperly weighted and priced items is settled

By Nicholas Malfitano |
TAMPA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – A class action brought against Walmart in a Florida federal court which alleged products sold by the retail giant are weighted and priced improperly, looks to be settled for $45 million.

PRIME Energy Drink companies say plaintiff disregarded warning labels before her son drank its product

By Nicholas Malfitano |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Legal Newsline) – Two Louisville-based companies which produce and market PRIME Energy Drink are seeking to dismiss class action litigation brought by a California woman whose 10-year-old son consumed the product and allegedly suffered adverse health effects.

Bioenergy group says Hawaiian Electric has cornered island market, wants to amend antitrust suit

By Nicholas Malfitano |
HONOLULU (Legal Newsline) – A bio-renewable energy group is seeking to amend and supplement resurrected antitrust litigation against Hawaiian Electric, arguing that its continued anti-competitive conduct is tantamount to “high-handed, monopolistic dominance” that has secured more than 90% of Hawaii’s power generation market.

Court reinstates $940K verdict against cab company sued by Good Samaritan injured in assault

By Nicholas Malfitano |
DENVER (Legal Newsline) – The Supreme Court of Colorado has affirmed a jury’s decision that a taxi cab company owed $940,000 to a man who attempted to stop an assault perpetrated on one of its drivers, only to be run over with the cab by the assailant.

Disabled golfer loses quest to park cart anywhere he wants on course

By Nicholas Malfitano |
SANTA ANA, CALIF. (Legal Newsline) – A panel trio of justices from the California State Court of Appeal’s Fourth District have upheld a lower court ruling that the owners of a San Juan Capistrano-based country club did not discriminate against a golfer with a medical disability.

N.Y. class action against Coca-Cola over rewards points is moved to arbitration

By Nicholas Malfitano |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – A federal judge has stayed class action litigation against The Coca-Cola Company pending the completion of arbitration, in a case that alleged the company unfairly redirected its reward points towards charitable causes.

Pa. courts move up to No. 2 ranking on ATRA's annual 'Judicial Hellholes' report list

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON – According to the latest annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released Tuesday by the American Tort Reform Association, Pennsylvania courts have garnered the No. 2 ranking for jurisdictions considered unfriendly to businesses – moving up two places from the fourth spot on the list, where they had been ranked last year.

Pa. Supreme Court rolls back med-mal venue rules, allowing plaintiffs greater filing leeway

By Nicholas Malfitano |
HARRISBURG – The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee has green-lit standards allowing plaintiffs statewide greater leeway in where to file medical malpractice liability cases, a move cheered by personal injury attorneys and criticized by health care and business interests.

ALI approves controversial Restatement of Consumer Contracts at its annual meeting

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON – At its annual meeting this week, the Philadelphia-based American Law Institute voted to approve a Restatement intended to give legal clarity to consumer contracts – a project which has been subject to controversy, since its foundation is said to diverge from established contract law in some respects.

ALI's Consumer Contracts Restatement may come up for approval vote this year, despite increasing concerns

By Nicholas Malfitano |
PHILADELPHIA – At a virtual meeting this week, the Philadelphia-based American Law Institute is scheduled to continue work on a Restatement meant to give legal clarity to consumer contracts – a project yielding “significant concerns,” according to a member of the legal scholarship organization, especially since it may come up for a final vote at the group’s annual meeting this spring.

Pa. courts drop from the top to No. 4 ranking on ATRA's annual 'Judicial Hellholes' list

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON – According to the latest annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released today by the American Tort Reform Association, Pennsylvania courts have garnered the No. 4 ranking for jurisdictions considered unfriendly to businesses – falling three places from the top spot on the report, where they had been listed for the preceding two years.

Philly DA Krasner sues AG Josh Shapiro's office in Commonwealth Court over proposed $26B opioid settlement

By Nicholas Malfitano |
PHILADELPHIA – A proposed $26 billion settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers which would benefit a group of states including Pennsylvania, has come under fire from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner – who feels the City’s compensation would be undervalued in the agreement, wants to continue litigating and has filed his own lawsuit seeking to preserve that right.

D.C. court rejects Exxon's appeal of order to remand advocacy group's case to Superior Court

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A panel of federal appellate judges recently dissolved an administrative stay in an advocacy group’s lawsuit against fuel giant against Exxon Mobil, which claims the company has not done enough to combat climate change, and ordered the case would stay in the D.C. Superior Court.

Judge denies Avenatti's attempt to add defendant and remand defamation case to Delaware state court

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) – Michael Avenatti will not have the opportunity to add a defendant to his defamation lawsuit against Fox News or remand the case to Delaware Superior Court, per a federal appellate judge.

Philadelphia remains the No. 1 'Judicial Hellhole,' now joined by Pa. Supreme Court

By Nicholas Malfitano |
WASHINGTON – In the latest annual report of “Judicial Hellholes” released today by the American Tort Reform Association, Pennsylvania courts have taken the No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive year – due to high-dollar mass tort verdicts, expanding medical liability litigation and a lower reliability standard for expert witness evidence, among other issues.

Pa. Supreme Court disregards SCOTUS ruling, decides jurisdiction applies in pelvic mesh injury case

By Nicholas Malfitano |
HARRISBURG – A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the concept of specific jurisdiction in 2017 did not guide the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, when it affirmed a $12.85 million damages award in a pelvic mesh injury matter against a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.