News from June 2021
Mansion owner isn't liable for murder at Memorial Day party thrown by renters
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – The owner of a party house is not liable for what happened when an event thrown by renters ended in an unsolved murder.
Walmart sued after report on heavy metals in baby food
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Walmart's baby food is not as healthy as it claims to be, a class action lawsuit against the company says.
Tennessee's $750K cap on pain-and-suffering is absolute
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - Tennessee’s high court ruled that state law caps noneconomic damages at $750,000 for all plaintiffs, following up on a 2020 decision that found the damages cap is constitutional.
Exxon feels confident in Second Circuit, asks for hold on Connecticut's climate change case during appeal
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) – Exxon is requesting a stay of a federal judge’s decision that sends Connecticut Attorney General William Tong’s climate change lawsuit against it back to state court.
Overdose data shows growing trends of opioid-related drug poisonings
CHARLESTON – An expert epidemiologist who analyzed Cabell County and West Virginia overdose data to show opioid trends in death rates soared from 2001 to 2017.
Pain clinic doc loses court challenge after CVS shuts off supply
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - A physician who was cut off by CVS after his hydrocodone prescriptions surged nearly fivefold lost his bid to force the pharmacy chain to fill his scrips, after a California appeals court said he has to seek redress from state regulators first.
Why is South Carolina a 'hotspot' for asbestos lawsuits?
The number of asbestos cases filed nationally is down 9%, so why are they skyrocketing in South Carolina?
After SCOTUS ruling, Connecticut's climate change lawsuit still sent to state court
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The oil industry’s recent victory at the U.S. Supreme Court over climate-change litigation proved short-lived, as a federal judge remanded Connecticut’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil back to state court, ruling the company failed to make a compelling argument the case raised exclusively federal issues.
LGBTQ students sue a Jewish university for not letting them form an official club
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York's Yeshiva University is facing a lawsuit from an LGBTQ student group for not allowing an official student club with the terms "LGBT" or "gay" in the title.
Lawsuit follows infant's trip to NYC body-piercing shop
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A body piercing business in New York City faces a lawsuit after allegedly harming an infant while piercing it.
Drug distributors, former DEA official point fingers everywhere at opioid trial
CHARLESTON — Fingers were pointed and blame was thrown all around a federal courtroom as a retired Drug Enforcement Administration official and attorneys for three drug distributors butted heads for a second full day of testimony.
Study finds asbestos lawyers are suing way more companies in New York than they should be
No legislation has been introduced yet but a new study shows that reform is needed to focus New York City Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL) cases on defendants that may have some responsibility for plaintiffs’ injuries while reducing legal spending by defendants that do not belong.
D.C. cops appeal loss in challenge of new law
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – District of Columbia cops are appealing a judge’s decision that keeps intact a law passed during anti-police violence riots that changes the way they are disciplined.
San Diego can't get out of lawsuit brought by woman shot by rubber bullet
SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - San Diego County and its sheriff’s department will have to face accusations a deputy shot a woman with a rubber bullet while her children were protesting police violence.
Gov. DeSantis: Anti-riot bill doesn't target minorities, only wrongdoers
ORLANDO, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has come to the defense of his anti-riot bill, urging a federal judge to throw out the constitutional challenge to it filed by Black Lives Matter Tampa and a lawyer group.
Class action against Ancestry.com finds hope in Whitepages ruling
CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers hoping to take a bite out of Ancestry.com for using old yearbook photos say a Seattle judge’s recent decision boosts their case.
Rannazzisi's testimony repeatedly challenged, questioned and stifled
CHARLESTON – A key former Drug Enforcement Administration official spent the day on the witness stand giving testimony between objections, legal limitations and frustrations.
Freedom Foundation: Court loss for Minnesota AG is a win for accountability, transparency and 'all Minnesotans'
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Legal Newsline) - Critics frustrated by Attorney General Ellison’s lack of transparency involving his lawsuit against Big Oil are lauding a recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision requiring the AG to release concealed communications between his office and other states' attorneys general.
Judge dismisses proposed class action filed by plaintiff who was sore from workout and took curcumin
LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers weren’t specific enough when they sued the maker of a curcumin supplement, a federal judge has ruled in throwing out the case.
Pepperidge Farm slams butter cracker lawsuit, asks judge to throw it out
NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – Pepperidge Farm, accused of not putting enough butter in its butter crackers, is asking a federal judge to throw out a proposed class action lawsuit.