As the pool of potential claimants who’ve truly been sickened by exposure to asbestos dwindles, along with the pool of still solvent defendant companies, personal injury lawyers have filed increasingly speculative lawsuits. But many judges, to their credit, are holding the line against such claims
Points of LightAmong many others, the Wall Street Journal today heralded Alabama lawmakers’ slap-down earlier this week of recent state supreme court decisions that embraced the both ridiculous and dangerous legal theory peddled by the plaintiffs’ bar as “innovator liability”
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightAn editorial in Charleston, West Virginia’s leading newspaper offers kudos to lawmakers and the governor for enactment of a tort reform law that effectively overturns a notoriously bad state high court decision that a dissenting justice said explains why the state is known as a Judicial Hellhole
Points of LightOn February 17th and 19th, Judge Staci M. Yandle for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois granted seven motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction for defendants involved in a large multi-defendant asbestos case. In each claim, the plaintiff, a former Navy worker, fell far short of alleging sufficient contacts by the defendants to the state of Illinois to satisfy constitutional due process requirements.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightIn deciding not to hear a plaintiff’s appeal, Pennsylvania’s high court has upheld application the state’s 12-year statute of repose to asbestos claims
Points of LightJudicial Hellholes reporters have long kept an eye on St. Louis, Missouri, one of the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions in the nation. So in the rare instance that a judge there is willing to take even a small stand against the reflexive expansion of civil liability, it’s worthy of kudos
Points of LightATRA Cites Settlement, Coming Garlock Revelations in Urging New Congress, State Legislatures to Pass Asbestos Claims Transparency Laws
Points of LightOn Thursday, October 30th, an Ohio jury delivered a “trick” of their own to frighteningly mischievous class action plaintiffs lawyers who have been running around scaring up unfounded complaints against the washing machine manufacturer, Whirlpool Corp. After a three week trial, the jury found in favor of Whirlpool – that the company’s front loading washing machines did not suffer from a design flaw, leading to mold accumulation.
Judicial Hellholes, Points of LightWith a 5-4 decision today, the Washington Supreme Court narrowly but laudably preserved the integrity of the workers’ compensation system by resisting an asbestos plaintiff’s attempt to alter longstanding interpretation of relevant state law
Points of LightIn a rare “Point of Light” in New York, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich has dismissed a commercial class action flimsily based on a claim of “theoretical defect” in heating oil
Points of LightMinnesota’s Supreme Court has laudably resisted the temptation — succumbed to by many other high courts — to expand liability under the state’s consumer protection statute with an appropriately straightforward interpretation of the law
Points of Light, UncategorizedThe California Supreme Court has appropriately held that a business does not owe a duty to its customers to obtain and make available an automated external defibrillator (AED) for use in a medical emergency
Points of LightThe U.S. Supreme Court has opted against hearing the appeal of notorious class action attorneys found liable for looting a $200 million diet drug settlement fund
Points of LightThe Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Exxon Mobil’s motion for summary judgment after the energy giant had found itself in the jaws of litigious neighbors
Points of Light, UncategorizedThe Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a private company’s bylaw that shifts fees for shareholder lawsuits to the losing party
Points of LightWisconsin Governor Scott Walker earlier today signed into law AB 19, asbestos trust fund transparency legislation
Points of LightThe Arkansas Supreme Court this week unanimously reversed a lower court’s $1.2 billion verdict won previously in an off-labeling lawsuit waged by the state’s attorney general against the maker of widely used and effective antipsychotic medication
Points of LightA Baltimore judge has soundly rejected a proposal by the law firm of Peter Angelos to consolidate approximately 13,000 asbestos-related lawsuits involving different products, exposures, and illnesses, along with scores of defendants
Points of LightNew York federal District Judge Lewis Kaplan today issued his long awaited verdict in Chevron v. Donziger and, as expected, it is an encouraging win for the energy giant and a crushing loss for a once high-flying, if conniving, tort kingpin
Points of LightA Florida Senate bill aimed at keeping passive nursing home investors out of the cross-hairs of personal inuury lawyers has passed out of committee on an 8-1 bipartisan vote this week
Points of LightA Nevada judge this week ordered state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to pay the legal and discovery costs of a mortgage processing provider she and a private-sector class-action law firm from Washington, D.C., had unsuccessfully sued for fraud
Judicial Hellholes, Points of Light