Under Fed. R. Evid. 9(b), “[i]n alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake.” In our sphere, federal courts are quite variable in how they apply this standard when deciding 12(b)(6) motions. In particular, MDLs seem to have an unfortunate habit of allowing general allegations to support
Pelvic Mesh Remand Cases Continue To Stall
We do not care much about car racing. Sure, we have seen some parts of some races on television, had toy racecars in our remote youth, and have craned our necks to see a few fancy “street legal” versions zooming past. However, we have never attended a race in person and do not follow any
Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign . . . Can’t You Read The Sign?
This past weekend, there was an NCAA Division I clash of athletic teams ranked #5 and #7, respectively, that included two children of two different authors of this Blog. To make things even weirder, one athlete is (cisgender) female and one athlete is (cisgender) male, and they come from opposite ends of the country, although
Reading Tea Leaves: Judge Brown Jackson’s Decisions Relevant To Product Liability
In the coming weeks, there are sure to be many articles looking at what Judge Brown Jackson has written and what that might suggest about the future jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court if she is confirmed. We will not predict what will happen in confirmation. We will, however, weigh in on what Judge
Puzzling Reversal Of A Defense Verdict Over The Admission Of Deposition Testimony
Every once in a while, we encounter a decision that is so obviously wrong that we have to pause and go back to the basics to make sure we did not miss something in our initial read. This dynamic is something like reading the troubleshooting instructions that you might get when you buy a new
Never Satisfied But Motion For New Trial Denied
Here are some things you probably will not hear very often, if at all: 1) a fervent supporter of a defeated political candidate agreeing that the winning elected official has done a good job, regardless of economic growth, infrastructure projects, public health progress, or some other measure of good government; 2) a fervent supporter of
Florida Fee Fight Fascinates Fiscally Fickle Freelancers
We will not get into the details of why, but we have been thinking recently about the issue of mechanisms for shifting costs and fees. The European “loser pays” rules—into which we will not delve, either—are often cited as one of the reasons why there is so much less product liability and other personal injury
Narrowing The Scope Of Preemption-Related Discovery
Discovery can be very expensive. Defendants really like to win on motions to dismiss in part because they get to avoid the costs of discovery. We can pile on these shockingly obvious statements with two more. From a defense perspective, a narrow scope of discovery tends to be a good thing. If narrow discovery leads
Protecting A Veterinarian’s Speech: A Model For Communications On Off-Label Use?
Way before we were lawyers, we read a good chunk of the writings of James Herriot, the nom de plume of a rural English veterinarian who chronicled his exploits in helping All Creatures Great and Small (the title of a movie and TV series about him). The veneration of his seemingly altruistic and tireless work
Differential Diagnosis At Its Worst In Vaccine Litigation
Recently, when we have spoken of vaccine litigation, it has mostly been about challenges to public health policies requiring vaccination against COVID-19 for healthcare workers, students at public universities, etc. We have been pleased to report that these challenges have been failing without lingering too long at the trial court level, like here, here