Mass Tort Litigation Blogtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-5002332009-07-07T13:50:14ZA Member of the Law Professor Blogs NetworkTypePadMassTortLitigationBloghttp://feedburner.google.comLatest Use of Bellwether Trialstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef011571d2d44b970b2009-07-07T09:50:14-04:002009-07-07T13:50:14ZBellwether trials are gaining popularity, particularly in Louisiana. After Judge Fallon used the trials to help establish settlement values in the Vioxx litigation, Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt is proposing their use in the litigation over formaldehyde-laden FEMA trailers (FEMA Trailer...Joe TortCertification Denied in St. Jude Heart Implant MDLtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01157072e93d970c2009-07-06T14:33:43-04:002009-07-06T18:33:31ZThe U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota recently issued a ruling denying a third attempt at class certification in a consumer fraud MDL alleging material omissions by a manufacturer of a heart valve whose product was found to...Joe TortRobert Rabin on Conflicting Conceptions of Tort Preemptiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef011570cf7b03970c2009-07-05T20:05:31-04:002009-07-06T00:05:31ZProfessor Robert Rabin (Stanford) has posted on SSRN his article, Territorial Claims in the Domain of Accident Law: Conflicting Conceptions of Tort Preemption, Brook. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009). Here's the abstract: Beginning in 1992, with the landmark decision in Cipollone...Joe TortDouglas Smith on Preemption After Wyeth v. Levinetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef011571c25215970b2009-07-05T15:11:27-04:002009-07-05T19:13:53ZDouglas Smith (Kirkland & Ellis) has posted on SSRN his article, Preemption After Wyeth v. Levine, Ohio St. L.J. (forthcoming 2009). Here's the abstract: This Article addresses the Supreme Court’s recent preemption decision in Wyeth v. Levine. In Wyeth, the...Joe TortRoche Pulls Accutane Off the Markettag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0115709ebff2970c2009-06-30T17:34:58-04:002009-06-30T21:34:58ZRoche notified the FDA today that it was pulling Acctane (an acne medicine) off the market. The company faces at least $33 million damage award from jury trials and faces around 5,000 personal injury claims. Michael Hook (an FSU grad...Joe TortCert denied in 9/11 Saudi Liability Casetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0115718fab12970b2009-06-30T10:21:47-04:002009-06-30T14:21:47ZThe Supreme Court yesterday denied certiorari in Burnett v. Al Baraka, in which plaintiffs sought to hold Saudi Arabia and the Saudi royal family liable for the September 11 terrorist attacks. The plaintiffs sought to establish liability by linking the...Joe TortSupreme Court Reaffirms Availability of Damages for Fear of Future Illness in Asbestos Casestag:typepad.com,2003:post-676565132009-06-29T11:07:31-04:002009-06-29T15:08:53ZIn CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Thurston Hensley, the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether a former railroad worker who contracted astestosis after long-term exposure to asbestos on the job could recover damages for pain and suffering under the Federal...Joe TortThe GM Reorganization and Product Liability Claimstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef011570749795970c2009-06-26T21:09:24-04:002009-06-27T01:09:24ZArticle in the Wall Street Journal -- Car Liability, Dealers Pose New Hurdles For GM Plan, by Mike Spector and Jeffrey McCraken. Here's an excerpt: The U.S. Treasury Department is negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general to...Joe TortNTSB Finds Identifies Two New Instances of Airbus-Sensor Problemstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01157073e47e970c2009-06-26T19:00:21-04:002009-06-26T23:00:21ZArticle in the Wall Street Journal -- Safety Board Cites Two New Reports of Problems With Airbus Sensors, by Andy Pasztor. Here's an excerpt: U.S. air-crash investigators are looking into two recent incidents in which they believe Airbus A330 jetliners...Joe TortNestle Not Completely Cooperative with FDA Inspections Prior to E. Coli Outbreaktag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01157073af31970c2009-06-26T18:23:45-04:002009-06-26T22:23:45ZArticle in the Wall Street Journal -- Nestlé Unit Denied FDA Requests, by Jane Zhang. Here's an excerpt: The Nestlé USA plant at the center of a federal probe into an E. coli outbreak involving cookie dough refused to give...Joe TortInteresting Cases in this BNA Class Action Litigation Report Released Todaytag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0115706f4557970c2009-06-26T12:57:13-04:002009-06-26T16:57:13ZSome of the highlights include: Class members may sue an attorney who altered a class settlement in a smokeless tobacco class action without first notifying class members, the Fourth Circuit held in an unpublished opinion (Martin v. Ball, 4th Cir.,...Joe TortExxon to Bear Its Own Costs in Punitive Damages Casetag:typepad.com,2003:post-684047072009-06-23T10:22:50-04:002009-06-23T14:22:50ZBNA Law Week reports that the 9th Circuit has held that each party must bear its own costs in the Exxon punitive damages litigation. (Baker v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (In re Exxon Valdez), 9th Cir., No. 04-35182, 6/15/09). The costs...Joe TortPresident Obama Signs Tobacco Bill Giving FDA Oversighttag:typepad.com,2003:post-683883692009-06-22T22:09:26-04:002009-06-23T02:09:50ZArticle on cnn.com -- Obama signs bill putting tobacco products under FDA oversight. Here's an excerpt: President Obama signed landmark legislation Monday giving the Food and Drug Administration new power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco. The...Joe TortA Collective Solution to the Subprime Mortgage Disastertag:typepad.com,2003:post-682092072009-06-22T11:03:49-04:002009-06-22T16:26:45ZRay Brescia (Albany Law School) has posted an article entitled, Tainted Loans: The Value of a Mass Torts Approach in Subprime Mortgage Litigation, advocating the employment of techniques such as class actions, consolidation of related cases, and global settlements for...Joe TortSherman on Aggregate Litigationtag:typepad.com,2003:post-682833412009-06-19T11:10:15-04:002009-06-20T11:56:36ZEdward Sherman (Tulane) one of the most experienced scholars in the area of complex litigation has posted "An MDL Model for Resolving Complex Litigation if a Class Action Is Not Possible" on SSRN. The piece was published in Tulane Law...Joe Tort