News about the long‑running talc MDL has developed since, but the opinion we discuss today (In re Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Prods. Mktg., Sales Pracs., & Prods. Liab. Litig., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162870, 2026 LX 335455, 2026 WL 2111340 (D.N.J. July 22, 2026)) is worth a look. It is a prime
Today’s post is not from the Reed Smith side of the blog.
We remember a time years ago when the phrase “Lone Pine order” was not widely understood. That has long since changed, and now it’s tough to imagine anyone who practices in mass torts not being familiar with it. Indeed, we’ve posted repeatedly about courts entering Lone Pine orders in certain litigation. We also have a cheat sheet of favorable Lone Pine orders. But as we posted a year ago, the term “Lone Pine” carries a lot of baggage, and we suggested it might be time to stop using the name of a 1986 New Jersey case to refer to a case management procedure for requiring plaintiffs to establish the factual bases for their claims. Terms like “Threshold Evidence Orders” or “Case Vetting Orders” seem more appropriate, and dropping the Lone Pine description might generate less resistance from plaintiffs’ counsel and courts.
Continue Reading Case Vetting Order in the Thalidomide Litigation
When the proposed (soon to be approved) Fed. R. Civ. P. 16.1, concerning MDL practice was finalized last year, we gave it one cheer in our “New Rule 16.1 – Better Than Nothing, But Not by a Lot” blogpost. We were, and remain, concerned that the provision concerning early vetting of MDL claimants will prove inadequate to address the serious problem created by huge numbers of meritless claims. But we did point out that the section about exchanging information about the “factual basis” of claims was different from the other items on the rule’s topic list: it used “how and when,” as opposed to “whether” or “if” – indicating that such early exchanges were viewed as mandatory (in some form). This, we thought, gave the defense an opening for seeking serious early vetting of MDL claims.
That may already be happening.
Continue Reading Excellent MDL Early Vetting Order Raises Hopes for Rule 16.1
On the internet, “because reasons” is the default when you don’t have the time or energy to explain why something is correct, but you are sticking with your viewpoint nonetheless.
It is the opposite of what our profession expects from lawyers and the courts: We all are supposed to explain, with crystalline clarity, why our
In our legal world, Lone Pine is not a small California town near the majestic Mt. Whitney and the sobering Manzanar National Historic Site. It is an order directing plaintiffs to come forward with some evidence that they took, or were exposed to, the product they are suing over, and some evidence about their