Legal Resources
Dispute In New Jersey Court Over Samples of Johnson & Johnson’s Talc Products
New Jersey was one of the first states to establish a multidistrict litigation (MDL) docket for thousands of pending ovarian and uterine cancer claims against Johnson & Johnson for the company’s talcum powder products. Last week, a number of plaintiffs on the New...
Excess Carrier Not Required To Pay $2.5 Million To Primary Carrier, Court Says
On August 18, 2017, a three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit appellate court reversed a lower court’s finding that excess insurer U.S. Fire Insurance was required to pay $2.5 million to primary carrier Trinity Lloyd’s Insurance Co. to cover the defense costs of a...
State Cracks Down Over Asbestos Regulations
In two separate instances recently, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts continued to show that it will not show leniency towards individuals and companies alike over failure to comply with existing asbestos regulations. In the first instance, the Massachusetts...
Paint Companies Fight $1.15 Billion Lead Ruling
Yesterday, paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams Co. and two former lead pigment makers (ConAgra Grocery Products and NL Industries) argued to a California appellate court that a trial court’s ruling of $1.15 billion against the companies should be reversed. The...
$1 Billion In Coverage For Company’s Asbestos Claims
Nearly 14 years ago, ITT Corp. filed a lawsuit alleging that a group of insurers are obligated to cover ITT’s legal costs and expenses in numerous asbestos lawsuits filed against the company. The company is seeking nearly $1 billion in coverage for the claims...
$440 Million Award In First California Talcum Powder Trial
Yesterday, a California jury returned a verdict against Johnson & Johnson in the amount of $417 million, ending a four week bellweather trial that marks the first case tried to verdict against Johnson & Johnson in which it was alleged that the company's talcum...
First California Talcum Powder Case Goes To the Jury
As CMBG3 reported earlier this year, the first California case (Eva Echeverria v. Johnson & Johnson, number BC628228, in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County) against Johnson & Johnson regarding allegations of ovarian cancer caused by talcum...
EPA’s Regulations Regarding Hydrofluorocarbons Stricken
On August 8, 2017, a split D.C. Circuit Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot use the Clean Air Act to try to force companies to use alternatives for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in various products. The ruling is being heralded as a victory...
Insurance Documents Must Be Turned Over In Coverage Dispute
In a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Federal Court involving a coverage dispute between two insurance carriers over underlying asbestos suits, U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller ordered that internal documents must be turned over despite arguments that they are...
Ye Be Warned: Do Not Rely On Mere Presumptions
Two Lead Class Actions Revived By Sixth Circuit
On July 28, 2017, the Sixth Circuit court revived two class action lawsuits regarding lead-contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan, finding that the Safe Drinking Water Act does not preempt the lawsuits from proceeding. The two lawsuits, Boler v. Earley and...
Johnson & Johnson Stops Class Action Ovarian Talc Case
On July 14, 2017, the New Jersey federal court ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in its effort to block a class action filing based on claims that the company failed to disclose the alleged ovarian cancer risks of its talcum powder product. The ruling is a...