We have long thought that “direct filing” procedures in multidistrict litigation were a solution in search of a problem. We also think direct filing procedures in MDLs pose significant waiver risks without a corresponding upside. Alas, our inclinations were confirmed recently when the Seventh Circuit ruled that a mass tort defendant’s acquiescence to complaints filed
New Mexico calls itself the Land of Enchantment, and with good reason. Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Monument, the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, the ski slopes of Taos, and Chaco Culture National Historic Park are all splendid visual treasures. A green chili burger is a lovely work of art. And there is a reason all that
Today’s case, BCBSM, Inc. v. Celgene Corp., 2021U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52785 (March 22, 2021), is an antitrust case. The plaintiffs alleged that a pharma company suppressed generic competition. We enjoy reading antitrust cases, always doing so with a healthy skepticism about the merits of the claims. We did, after all, attend the University of
Last July, Bexis blogged about two inconsistent personal jurisdiction rulings in talc litigation. Those rulings created a personal jurisdiction split between a Missouri court and the talc MDL court on whether non-Missouri plaintiffs could sue a non-Missouri defendant in Missouri even if those plaintiffs did not use the product or suffer an injury in
We’ve all seen lists of so-called hellhole jurisdictions — court systems that treat corporate defendants brutally. What about a list of the places where corporations get a fair shake? Indiana would be on that list. Jurors in the Hoosier State don’t casually toss around multimillion dollar verdicts. Further, both federal and state judges in Indiana
We often say, as we said last week, that this blog is not designed to do plaintiffs’ work for them. Thus, we are a heckuva lot more likely to trumpet pro-defense rulings than wrong ones. Still, it is important to know the problem areas out there, and today’s case displays one of them. It
When we see a case title with the same name on both sides of the v, we think of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce, the will contest described by Dickens in Bleak House. That fictional case dragged on for years and throughout the course of the book, ending only when legal expenses devoured all the
Don’t stop us if you’ve heard this before, because you have. A plaintiff brings an lawsuit over injuries allegedly from a medical device, sues not only the company that made and marketed the device but also a parent company that did not make or market the device, said parent moves for dismissal for want
California courts continue to find ways to exercise personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants, even when there is little or no dispute that the Constitution and the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court do not permit it. “Resistance” is probably too strong a word, insofar as it calls up images
Today’s post looks at a case where a defendant was in the wrong place. You might say the same thing about us. As you read this, we are on summer holiday. Because our vacation almost always takes place, as it does this year, during the Drug and Device Son’s birthday, he has veto power over