We’ve only discussed Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates, P.A. v. Allstate Insurance Co., 559 U.S. 393 (2010), a couple of times. Shady Grove, displaced – in federal court – a variety of state-law limitations on class actions because those restrictions were at odds with Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, and in federal
Mallory in the States – Now Two-Plus Years Post-Deluge
It’s now been about two-and-a-half years since the Supreme Court sided with forum-shopping plaintiffs in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., 600 U.S. 122 (2023). Mallory was, in places 5-4, and elsewhere 4-1-4, and everywhere extremely fact specific – to the point of including a defendant-specific image of its Pennsylvania contacts. 600 U.S. at
Introducing the New Reference Manual for Scientific Evidence
Since it was published in 2011, the third edition of the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual for Scientific Evidence has been the go-to guide for federal judges seeking to sort out scientific testimony, and a major source of non-precedential authority for both sides when arguing motions under Fed. R. Evid. 702. 2011, however, was fifteen
Who Is the “Expert” When Expert Witnesses Use AI?
This “just desserts” story caught our eyes earlier this year – a hot-shot expert witness, on artificial intelligence, no less, got caught with his own hand in the AI cookie jar. As a result, his credibility was destroyed, and his testimony was excluded. The litigation leading to Kohls v. Ellison, 2025 WL 66514 (D.
Shameless Plug − CLE Webinar on the Best and Worst Drug/Medical Device and Vaccine Decisions of 2025
As 2025 came to an end, we presented our loyal readers with our annual review of our ten worst decisions of the past year and our ten best decisions of the past year.
Now, in the new year, as we do each year, we’re pleased to announce that four (we hope) of your bloggers –
Guest Post – The AI LEAD Act: A Step Toward Regulating AI Product Liability in the United States
Today’s guest post is by Reed Smith‘s Jamie Lanphear. Like Bexis, she follows tech issues as they apply to product liability litigation. In this post she discusses a pro-plaintiff piece of legislation recently introduced in Congress that would overturn the current majority rule that electronic data is not considered a “product” for purposes
Running the Table – The Ten Best Prescription Drug/Medical Device Decisions of 2025
A year ago, Bexis thought this would be the last blogpost he would ever write, and that he would retire along with 2025. Not gonna happen – at least not yet, thanks to Reed Smith making him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Bexis will be stepping back from some things, but not from the Blog.
Running on Empty -The Ten Worst Prescription Drug/Medical Device Decisions Of 2025
It’s time for our annual parade of horribles. It’s no fun, but somebody needs to do it, if only to make sure that the other side, and those who aid and abet them, know that we are paying attention. So here is our annual naughty list, the bottom ten worst prescription medical product liability litigation
Guest Post – A Fraudulent Joinder Sitcom – Ms. Bean Goes to Court
Today’s guest post is from Reed Smith‘s Matt Jacobson. His post is not (primarily) about British comedy, but rather about fraudulent joinder. The specific topic is most interesting if you practice in Wisconsin, but as to removal generally, it introduces a provision of the statute that many of our readers will be unfamiliar
Cross-Jurisdictional Class Action Tolling Fails in Texas
It’s been a been a while – some five years – since we discussed cross-jurisdictional class action tolling. That’s mostly because, aside from the occasional result-oriented atrocity that occurred in the Valsartan MDL, class actions are no longer a top-shelf problem in prescription medical product liability litigation. But it’s still nice to report on a