Back in the Pleistocene era when we toiled in law school, it seemed as if modern tort law developed as the result of a cross-continental game of ping pong played between the California and New Jersey courts. That still seems to be the case. Sure, there is the occasional, horrific verdict in flyover country that
The Second Circuit Puts the Lotion Claim in the Preemption Basket
Why does that last half-inch of conditioner seem to last as long as the entire rest of the bottle? This question is merely the philosophical beginning of our morning ablutions. The time is not billable. Pity. But rinse and renewal are not irrelevant to our thinking. Fresh face, fresh mind. Some of the best ideas
Maryland Federal Court Holds Breast Implant Claims Preempted
This week we are pleased to report on yet another breast implant case in which a plaintiff’s effort to circumvent preemption failed. In Diodato v. Mentor Workdwide LLC, 2020 WL 3402296 (D. Md. June 19, 2020), the plaintiff brought manufacturing defect, breach of warranty, and failure to warn claims that were typically skimpy in
SDNY Dismisses Contraceptive Case on Grounds of Preemption and Failure to Plead Fraud
We are not surprised that some readers dissented from our judgment last week that the Billions series is trash, albeit fun trash. We should be accustomed to this sort of thing. Friends constantly pepper us with praise for allegedly realistic depictions of our business. It used to be predominantly about Law and Order, but
Fifth Amendment Assertions by Former Employees Held Not to Count Adversely Against Corporate Defendant
We’ve been reminiscing often lately about our days as a federal prosecutor. Part of that is pure nostalgia. Part of it is wondering about the road not taken. Part of it is explaining to others why the show Billions is so crazily unrealistic.
The Covid-19 lockdown has sent us scurrying through the streaming services in
The Primary Jurisdiction Hits Keep on Coming
Last Thursday, Richard Dean gave us yet another excellent guest-post on primary jurisdiction. That under-appreciated doctrine is to Richard what preemption is to Bexis, or what dog shows are to Rachel, or what Ian Fleming and Dashiell Hammett (whose birthdays coincided with Richard’s May 28 post) are to us.
We had selected primary jurisdiction with
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Breast Implant Manufacturing Defect Claim
It’s a short work week, and we’ve got a short case for today’s discussion. Ebrahami v. Mentor Worldwide LLC, 2020 WL 2510760 (9th Cir. May 12, 2020), eats up only one page when we set our printer to double-sided (which we always do now, since the pandemic work-at-home routine gobbles up paper and ink
Missouri Tort Reform: Abusive Lawsuits Won’t Keep Rolling Along
Missouri is central to America – geographically, culturally, and politically. Some of our greatest literature came from Missouri authors (Twain, Eliot, Angelou). Media figures as unifying as Walter Cronkite and as divisive as Rush Limbaugh at one time called Missouri home. American music wouldn’t be the same without tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (listen to the
N.D. Cal. Decertifies Forgettable Class Action
“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.” – Proust
The lesson of today’s case, Racies v. Quincy Biosciences, LLC, 2020 WL 2113852 (N.D. Cal. May 4, 2020), is worth remembering. Litigation can turn on recollections, and they can be fragile. (That is undoubtedly why documents end up
Seventh Circuit Nixes Negligent Misrepresentation Claim Premised on Alleged Discovery Violation in Prior, Settled Case
When a lawsuit settles, both sides get something. When one of our cases settles, one of the things we get is a raft of mixed emotions. Undeniably, there is a sense of relief. Three weeks of 20 hour days suddenly open up. We can go home. (That sounds a little funny now that we are