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Products Liability Prof Blog

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Last Entry: August 16, 2009 at 14:17:18

Gail Charnley's Qualifications for the Consumer Product Safety Commission

Posted on January 31, 2008
Dr. Gail Charnley is being considered as a potential replacement for Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman Nancy A. Nord, as noted in an earlier post. A short post doesn't give a full sense of qualifications. A full cv is attached...

Preemption of Prescription Drug Failure to Warn Claim Adds Emphasis to Supreme Court Term

Posted on January 30, 2008
A federal trial court in Okalahoma has concluded that a the claim of a widow, whose husband committed suicide while taking an anti-depressant medication, is preempted by federal law, Dobbs v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, 2008 WL 169021 (W.D. Okla.). Annabel Dobbs...

New York Court to Decide Defendant's Burden of Proof for Summary Judgment on "Defect" Question

Posted on January 29, 2008
The New York Court of Appeals will hear arguments in February in Ramos v. Howard Industries, Inc., to consider a manufacturer's burden of proof to establish in a motion for summary judgment that its product was not flawed or defectively...

White House Considering Consumer Product Safety Commission Candidates

Posted on January 29, 2008
Annys Shin reported in the Washington Post Saturday that the White House is considering Gail Charnley to replace Nancy A. Nord as chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Charnley, who has a doctorate in toxicology from MIT, has a...

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Suicide Studies in Drug Trials Required by FDA

Posted on January 24, 2008
Gardiner Harris writes in today's New York Times that The FDA is now requiring drug companies to study closely the impact of the drugs on patients during clinical trials, and that "[t]he new rules represent one of the most profound...

Benzene Exposure Failure-to-warn Claim Preempted by OSHA Regulations

Posted on January 24, 2008
A Minnesota DIstrict Court dismissed a wrongful death action brought by the family of a former industrial worker against the makers of benzene-containing products to which he was allegedly exposed in his workplace. OSHA regulations that govern warning and labeling...

New Preemption Articles

Posted on January 21, 2008
There are two new articles covering preemption in products liability cases that should be of particular interest in light of the Supreme Court's decision last week to grant review in two preemption cases. Professor Catherine M. Sharkey of the New...

Supreme Court Grants Review in Vermont Supreme Court Preemption Case

Posted on January 18, 2008
The Supreme Court granted review on January 18 in Wyeth v. Levine, --- S.Ct. ----, 75 USLW 3500, 76 USLW 3018 (U.S.Vt. Jan 18, 2008) (NO. 06-1249) of the Vermont Supreme Court's decision in Levine v. Wyeth, --- A.2d ----,...

Supreme Court Grants Review in Light Cigarette Preemption Case

Posted on January 18, 2008
The Supreme Court granted review today in Altria Group v. Good. The plaintiffs in the case alleged that they smoked Marlboro Lights for at least fifteen years. They sued Philip Morris USA, Inc. and its parent company, Altria Group, Inc.,...

Minnesota Bridge Collapse Result of Design Flaw?

Posted on January 17, 2008
A National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) investigation has preliminarily concluded that the August 1, 2007 collapse of the Interstate-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota into the Mississippi River was due to a flaw in the bridge's original design and that there...

Hunting Tree Stand Manufacturer Agrees To Pay $420,000 Civil Penalt

Posted on January 13, 2008
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced in a release on January 10 that a Wisconsin-based tree stand manufacturer, Ardisam Inc., of Cumberland, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay the government a $420,000 civil penalty. The penalty settles a government...

Florida Supreme Court Deadline for Smokers' Suits is Today

Posted on January 11, 2008
In Engle v. Liggett Group, Inc., 945 So.2d 1246 (Fla. 2006), the Supreme Court of Florida overturned a $145 billion punitive damages verdict against cigarette makers, decertifying a class action, but upholding jury findings that the companies were negligent and...

Tennesseee Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Mesothelioma Case Based on Second-Hand Exposure to Asbestos

Posted on January 11, 2008
The Tennessee Supreme Court heard arguments on January 8 in a case that will decide whether Alcoa Inc. is responsible for the asbestos-related death of a former worker's daughter who contracted mesothelioma because of second-hand exposure to asbestos dust brought...

Nancy Nord Emphasizes Retail Safety in National Press Club Speech

Posted on January 08, 2008
A Wall Street Journal article by M.P. McQueen summarizes Nancy Nord's National Press Club comments on January 7. The highlights: ? The News: The CPSC may increase scrutiny of retailers and require them to test products they sell to certify...

Chinese Product Safety Progress

Posted on January 07, 2008
An International Herald Tribune article notes that in China, a four-month product safety initiative, which was part crackdown and part public relations drive, ended in December. The initiative was in response to a variety of problems with Chinese products, including...

FDA to Clear Cloned Livestock

Posted on January 04, 2008
A Wall Street Journal article by Jane Zhang, John W. Miller and Lauren Etter notes that the FDA is expected to declare as early as next week that milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are safe for...

Seventh Circuit Affirms Judgment in Second Trial for Crane Rebuilder

Posted on January 04, 2008
Mesman v. Pro Crane Services, Inc., 2008 WL 36168 (7th Cir. 2008), decided January 2, was before the Seventh Circuit for a second time after the court had previously affirmed the district court's order for a new trial, 409 F.3d...

CPSC Announces Recall of Chinese-Manufactured Wagons Because of Excessive Lead Levels in the Paint

Posted on January 03, 2008
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the first voluntary recall of the year of a Chinese-manufactured toy, this time a metal toy wagon. About 15,000 of the units, red metal wagon model MH1250, were recalled by Tricam Industries because of...

CPSC Announces First Recall of New Year

Posted on January 02, 2008
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the first voluntary recall of the new year today. KYMCO Co. recalled all model year 2006-2008 MXU 500 ATVs. The recall included 1,350 units. The hazard statement was that "[t]he pivot bolts holding the...

"Dubious Data Awards" from STATS

Posted on January 02, 2008
A consumeraffairs.com article notes the year's "Dubious Data Awards" from STATS (non-profit Statistical Assessment Service), which is affiliated with George Mason University. It "highlights the top-ten abuses of science and statistics in the media," according to Don Rieck, STATS spokesperson...

A Congressional Push for Increased Product Safety

Posted on December 31, 2007
Jim Tankersley and Maurice Possley note in a Chicago Tribune article that "[a] year of recalls and lead scares in the toy industry is spurring Congress toward the largest overhaul in decades of the nation's product safety watchdog," and that...

"State Health Officials Fault Lack of Federal Action on Waterproofing Sprays"

Posted on December 29, 2007
A New York Times article by Eric Lipton says that "[t]he Consumer Product Safety Commission is unnecessarily leaving the American public at risk through its failure to properly investigate a long-running series of lung injuries tied to widely available waterproofing...

Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Statutory Caps on Punitive and Compensatory Damages Against Constitutional Attack

Posted on December 28, 2007
In Arbino v. Johnson, Slip Opinion No. 2007-Ohio-6948 (December 27, 2007), the Ohio Supreme Court upheld caps on damages from 2005 Ohio tort reform legislation in a 5-2 opinion. Chief Justice Moyer wrote for the court. Justice O'Donnell dissented in....

Shopping Channel HSN Agrees to Pay $875,000 Civil Penalty

Posted on December 27, 2007
On December 27, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that HSN LP (previously known as the Home Shopping Network) of St. Petersburg, Fla., agreed to pay a civil penalty of $875,000 in settlement of allegations that it failed to make...

Fifth Circuit Refuses to Permit Texas Plaintiff to Dismiss Accutane Case with No Prejudice to Avoid Texas Statute of Repose

Posted on December 27, 2007
A recent Fifth Circuit case provides a good illustration of the impact of conflicts of laws rules in products liability cases. In Hyde v. Hoffman LaRoche, Inc, 2007 WL 4441065 (5th Cir. Dec. 20, 2007), the plaintiff claimed that he...

What Happens After the Recall?

Posted on December 24, 2007
A New York Times article by Louise Story and David Barboza focuses on the aftermath of the recent recalls of lead-tainted products. The article notes that the recall is only the first step in the process. The second step is...

Medtronic to Settle Defibrillator Suits for $114.1 Million

Posted on December 22, 2007
A Minneapolis StarTribune article by Janet Moore today notes that on Friday, Medtronic Inc. said that it had reached a $95.6 million settlement of 2,682 lawsuits filed by patients who sued following a 2005 safety recall of one of the...

Out-of-State Lawsuits Flood Minnesota Courts

Posted on December 21, 2007
A recent ABA article, "Lawsuits Travel Up North," by Mark Hansen points out that Minnesota has become a haven for products liability lawsuits arising in other jurisdictions. Minnesota has longer statutes of limitations for negligence (six years) and strict liability...

American Tort Reform Association's New List of "Judicial Hellholes"

Posted on December 21, 2007
The American Tort Reform Association recently released its sixth annual "Judicial Hellholes" report. The Executive Summary defines hellholes as "places where judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an inequitable manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits...

House of Representatives Passes Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act by a 407-0 Vote

Posted on December 20, 2007
On Wednesday the House of Representatives approved H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, by a 407-0 vote. The bill represents a comprehensive approach to improving consumer safety and provides for the first reauthorization of the Consumer Product Safety...

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