SAN DIEGO - A California resident on Nov. 27 filed a national class action lawsuit seeking refunds for what it says is a misleadingly advertised and unapproved at-home genetic testing kit called 23andMe (Lisa Casey, et al. v. 23andMe, INC., et al., No. 13-2847, S.D. Calif.).
RALEIGH, N.C. - A workers' compensation commission properly admitted the testimony of a veterinarian on the issue of animal studies in an asbestos-related esophageal cancer case, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held Dec. 3 (Paulette Smith Wise, executor of the estate of Harvey Smith v. Alcoa...
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Actos multidistrict litigation on Dec. 4 denied a motion by defendant Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. to exclude the plaintiff's punitive damages expert from the first bellwether trial, scheduled for Jan. 27 (In Re: Actos $(Pioglitazone...
BOSTON - A federal judge in Massachusetts on Dec. 11 certified a nationwide class of direct purchasers of Nexium on their antitrust claims contending that the manufacturer of the heartburn medication and generic drug manufacturers entered into reverse-payment agreements to keep generic versions of the...
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A West Virginia federal magistrate judge in pelvic mesh multidistrict litigations on Dec. 11 denied a motion to apply the Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1998 (BAAA) to restrict discovery sought by plaintiffs (In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair Systems Product Liability...
CHICAGO - Heartburn drugs are significantly associated with vitamin B12 deficiency, according to an investigation report published in the Dec. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
SILVER SPRING, Md. - Nipple aspirate tests are not a replacement for mammography, other breast imaging or breast biopsy, the Food and Drug Administration said in a Dec. 12 safety communication.
WILMINGTON, Del. - The law firm that represented the Official Committee of Equity Security Interest Holders in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Rotech Healthcare Inc. on Dec. 13 moved for a protective order, contending that Rotech should not be permitted to depose members of the firm (In Re: Rotech Healthcare...
SEATTLE - An expert's testimony that each "identified exposure" to asbestos substantially contributes to mesothelioma differs from the type of "each and every" exposure challenged by a defendant, a Washington federal judge held Dec. 13 in allowing trial testimony from three experts...
SANTA ANA, Calif. - The federal judge in California presiding over the Toyota unintended acceleration multidistrict litigation issued an order on Dec. 12 setting the stage for a possible settlement of wrongful death and personal injury claims brought against the auto manufacturer (In Re: Toyota Motor...
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A plaintiff's police practices expert can opine regarding standards and training at a jail in a civil rights action stemming from the beating of a mentally ill prison inmate by a jailer, a federal judge in Kansas held Dec. 16 (Ronell Richard v. Robert Hinshaw, et al., No. 09-1278...
SEATTLE - A Washington federal judge declared a mistrial in an asbestos action after the jury reported Dec. 16 that it was deadlocked and that additional deliberation was unlikely to change the result (Joanne K. Lipson, et al. v. ON Marine Services Co. LLC, Ferro Engineering Division, No. 13-1747, W...
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Actos multidistrict litigation on Dec. 19 said that a plaintiff in the first bellwether trial can present expert testimony that use of the type 2 diabetes drug can cause bladder cancer within one year of use (In Re: Actos $(Pioglitazone$) Products...
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (BII) will face sanctions, possibly including adverse inference and the loss of certain affirmative defenses, after the Pradaxa maker said it cannot produce the complete files of a former high-level scientist involved in the development of...
HONOLULU - The sophisticated user doctrine applies in both negligence and strict liability contexts under maritime law, but a manufacturer does not prevail because it cannot show that it considered whether the U.S. Navy would provide the necessary warnings about the hazards of asbestos, a Hawaii federal...
CHICAGO - The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 2 stayed the Pradaxa multidistrict litigation court's order that all future depositions be conducted in New York pending the court's review of a petition for a writ of mandamus by defendant Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. ...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An estate whose representative opted out of Engle v. Liggett Group Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 [Fla. 2006]) and failed to file her wrongful death lawsuit within the statute of limitations may not take advantage of claim tolling offered by class membership, Florida's First District Court...
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An estate whose representative opted out of Engle v. Liggett Group Inc. (945 So. 2d 1246 $(Fla. 2006$)) and failed to file a wrongful death lawsuit within the statute of limitations may not take advantage of claim tolling offered by class membership, the First District Florida Court...
SAINT LOUIS - The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 9 ruled that a new trial was not warranted in a workplace injury action, concluding that the trial court properly allowed testimony from an expert witness for the plaintiff (George Tedder v. American Railcar Industries Inc., No. 13-1063,...
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The South Carolina Court of Appeals on Jan. 8 overturned a $7.7 million construction defects verdict, concluding that the trial court erred by not allowing the defendant's expert witness to give opinions regarding allegedly defective stucco at a condo complex (Mark F. Teseniar, et...
NEW YORK - A plaintiffs' expert modified a widely accepted testing criteria before concluding that a defendant's talc contained asbestos, a New York justice held Jan. 9 in precluding James Millette's testimony under Frye (Lawrence Bernard and Marilyn Bernard, et al. v. Brookfield Properties...
SEATTLE - A Washington federal judge impermissibly delegated his role as gatekeeper under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc. (509 U.S. 579 $(1993$)) to the jury when he admitted two experts and "each and every" exposure testimony in an asbestos case that produced a $10.2 million verdict, a...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - An asbestos plaintiff's quick disclosure of a replacement naval expert and the long time before trial warrants allowing the expert's trial testimony, a Rhode Island judge held Jan. 15 (Rosie K. Sweredoski, et al. v. Alfa Laval Inc., et al., No. 2011-1544, R.I. Super., Providence...
SAN FRANCISCO - Equal protection prohibits peremptory strikes of potential jurors based on sexual orientation, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 21 in remanding for a new trial a case in which a federal jury in California found that Abbott Laboratories did not violate antitrust laws...
MADISON, Wis. - The statute encompassing the Daubert standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 [1993]) applies to standard-of-care testimony in medical malpractice cases, a Third District Wisconsin Court of Appeals panel held Jan. 22 (Tina Rupert v. James Standias, et al., No. 2013AP1705...