Fourth Circuit Upholds West Virginia Law Regulating Deceptive Medical Legal Advertisements
On April 27th, 2022, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal court decision, ruling West Virginia’s law regulating
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Judge Issues Sound Ruling in LTL Bankruptcy Case
On February 25, 2022, Chief Judge Michael Kaplan, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey, denied claimants’ motions to dismiss
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OKLAHOMA SUPREME COURT REJECTS EXPANSIVE VIEW OF PUBLIC NUISANCE LAW
In 2019, Judge Thad Balkman of the District Court of Cleveland County determined that Johnson & Johnson created a public
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Texas Supreme Court Holds that Defendant Can Challenge Reasonableness of Plaintiff’s Medical Expenses
On May 7, 2021, the Texas Supreme Court held that a trial court abused its discretion in preventing the defendant
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New Jersey Appellate Court Rejects “Junk Science” in Talc Case
On April 28, 2021, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, found that a trial court improperly admitted expert
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Multiple States Move to Enact COVID-19 Liability Protections
Recent statistics have shown the need for state legislatures to prioritize COVID-19 liability legislation this term. As of March 23,
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Mississippi High Court Finds ‘Taint of Unfairness’ in $10.5 Million Verdict, Orders New Trial
On March 11, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed a jury verdict of $10.5 million and remanded the case to the lower
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West Virginia Lawmakers Introduce Reform Legislation Moving State Farther from Hellhole Status
The West Virginia legislature has taken strides this term to introduce multiple reform bills. If passed, these pieces of legislation will
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Maryland Appeals Court Overturns Largest Medical Malpractice Verdict in U.S. History
On February 1, 2021, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals overturned a jury verdict of over $205 million against Johns
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Maryland High Court Adopts Daubert Standard for Expert Evidence
On August 28, 2020, Maryland joined the supermajority of states and the federal government in precluding “junk science” from corrupting
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Federal Judge Takes Stand Against Junk Science in California
Federal Judge William Shubb ruled yesterday that California cannot require Bayer AG to label its glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup as “known to the
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Virginia Lawyers Plead Guilty to Extortion Charges in Case Involving Roundup
On Friday, June 19, Timothy Litzenburg and Daniel Kincheloe pleaded guilty to extortion charges in federal court in the Western
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“Show Me Your Lawsuit” State Passes Significant Reform Bill to Curb Lawsuit Abuse
The Missouri legislature gave its stamp of approval to S.B. 591, sponsored by Sen. Bill White, amending the Missouri Merchandising
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6th Circuit Finds Multidistrict Litigation Must Comply with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
ATRA applauds the Sixth Circuit’s decision in In Re: CVS Pharmacy, Inc., in which it issued a writ of mandamus in an
Points of LightNew Jersey Supreme Court Pumps the Brakes on ‘Junk Science’ and Adopts the Daubert Standard of Expert Testimony
At long last, New Jersey will no longer be considered an evidentiary outlier that permits plaintiff’s to bring meritless cases
Points of LightWest Virginia High Court Soundly Rejects Trial Bar’s Theory of Innovator Liability
On May 11, 2018, the West Virginia Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in the case of McNair v. Johnson
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightFirst of Missouri’s Monster Talc Verdicts Falls on Appeal, Others Likely to Follow
A Missouri appellate court yesterday reversed and vacated a $72 million verdict that was the first of four such controversial, multimillion-dollar verdicts rendered in the City of St. Louis Circuit Court in a series of scientifically groundless lawsuits claiming that the use of talcum powder causes ovarian cancer
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightRecord-Setting But Totally Bogus FCA Verdict Reversed by Fifth Circuit
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last Friday reversed a record-setting federal False Claims Act verdict of $663 million in a case so willfully mishandled by the trial judge that it sunk the Eastern District of Texas into the ignominious rankings of Judicial Hellholes two years ago
Points of LightSCOTUS Decision Prompts Judge in #1 Hellhole St. Louis to Declare Mistrial in Talc Case
Responding to a defense motion that cited an important 8-1 U.S. Supreme Court decision rendered earlier in the day, a St. Louis trial judge yesterday declared a mistrial in the sixth such trial there in which plaintiffs allege, contrary to widely accepted science, that the makers of talcum powder are responsible for their ovarian cancer
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightATRA Cheers SCOTUS Term’s Jurisdiction-Case ‘Trifecta’
With today’s announced decision of a third significant jurisdictional case by the U.S. Supreme Court this term, the American Tort Reform Association applauded the “trifecta,” calling the decisions “welcomed relief for corporate defendants targeted by personal injury lawyers, with plenty of help from plaintiff-friendly courts in California, Missouri, Montana, Texas and elsewhere
Points of LightMissouri, Oregon High Courts Clarify ‘Personal Jurisdiction,’ SCOTUS Poised to Hear Similar Cases
As both state and federal courts in recent years have created confusion by ruling differently on questions of personal jurisdiction (whether a state’s courts should have jurisdiction over cases involving various out-of-state elements), high courts in Missouri and Oregon last week hewed closer to longstanding tradition and appropriately ruled that claims alleging out-of-state injuries against out-of-state defendants doing little business there should be brought elsewhere
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