It is hardly a compliment to describe something as “plain vanilla.” It refers to the simplest version of something, sans any extras. It is ordinary. It is not special. It is dull. And yet vanilla can be a remarkable, complex flavor. Our favorite morning Starbucks cold double shot comes with vanilla. If we get a
Illinois Court Imposes Sanctions for Invalid Precomplaint Discovery
Famous (and infamous) Illinois trial lawyer Clarence Darrow once said that he never wished a man dead, but had occasionally read some obituaries with great satisfaction. (That same quote is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain.)
We’re no Darrow. We’ve never saved a client from capital punishment, or discredited a former presidential candidate in a
Sex, Drugs, Booze, and Contributory Negligence
Sometimes we write about a case because it is important. Sometimes we write about a case because it is novel. And sometimes we write about a case simply because it is fun. Nixon v. Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd. et al., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48067 (W.D. Va. March 17, 2022), tumbles into that
D. Nevada Dismisses Gardasil Vaccine Lawsuit
Happy Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you.
If all FDA approved medicines enjoyed the preemption protection that vaccines do, the DDL product liability litigation landscape would be leaner and less nonsensical. Flores v. Merck & Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46442 (D. Nev. March 16, 2022), shows why that is so.
S.D. Ohio Dismisses Zostavax Class Action
Did you know that both LeBron James and Steph Curry were born in Ohio? So were Neil Armstrong, Halle Berry, Simone Biles, Thomas Edison, Dean Martin, Jack Nicklaus, and Steven Spielberg. (We once ran into – we mean literally – Dean Martin as he was launching himself out of a Beverly Hills restaurant. He was
E.D. Pa. Trims Pelvic Mesh Claims
Bostic v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 WL 952129 (E.D. Pa. March 29, 2022), is a Pennsylvania mesh case raising a host of familiar issues in a motion to dismiss context. The complaint is of the typically overpleaded (14-count) variety. Dickens was not really paid by the word, but plaintiff lawyers seem to think they might
D.Colorado Limits Pelvic Mesh Plaintiff Experts
The pelvic mesh remand hits just keep coming. We like Shostrom v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55748 (D. Colorado March 28, 2022), because it hammers some ubiquitous plaintiff mesh experts and because it finds a way to depart from an awful MDL ruling. The fact that the opinion comes at the expense
E.D. Cal. Mesh Decision Says 30(b)(6) Testimony is not Judicial Admission
Enborg v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51601 (E.D. Cal. March 21, 2022), is the pelvic mesh case of the week, and it involves a variety of plaintiff challenges to the defendant’s experts. That fact in itself is interesting. Usually it is the defense side that challenges expert opinions. Maybe the plaintiff side
S.D. Texas Dismisses Consortium Claim for Pre-Marital Injuries
Back by popular demand, here is the mesh case of the week: Clowe v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46387 (N.D. Texas March 16, 2022). There is a bit of same-old-same-old in this case, but there is also something new.
Let’s start by getting through the same-old. The plaintiffs (the wife suffered the
D. Arizona Precludes Pelvic Mesh Punitive Damages
The pelvic mesh case of the week – McBroom v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 WL 604889 (D. Arizona March 1, 2022) – focuses on the regulatory status of the device. We always knew it was an important issue, and McBroom provides yet another reason why that is so.
As you must know by now, the