Twelve TSCA Developments to Expect in 2025
With the election of Donald Trump, the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2025 will differ significantly from the pre-election expectations. Here are our projections on the...
View ArticleCourt Awards $7.5 Million in Punitive Damages to Connecticut Plaintiff
Jurisdiction: Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of Bridgeport at Bridgeport Decedent Nicolas Barone was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2022. His surviving spouse, Kathryn Barone...
View ArticlePFAS in Fire Protection Products Continues to Generate Litigation, Liability
Litigation risks associated with per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continue to grow, as demonstrated by settlements over the last year in the set of claims being adjudicated in a multidistrict...
View ArticleProp. 65 Short-form Warnings Are About to Get Longer
California’s proposed amendments to the Proposition 65 short-form warning requirements have been approved and are set to take effect on January 1, 2025. Businesses that use the current version of the...
View ArticleUnion Carbide Prevails in Rare Rhode Island Asbestos Trial
Plaintiff Bonito brought this asbestos action based on her diagnosis of, and eventual passing from, mesothelioma. Plaintiff alleged exposure from laundering her husband’s clothes from approximately...
View ArticleCalifornia Environmental Law & Policy Update 12.13.24
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday banned two solvents found in everyday products that can cause cancer and other serious diseases. It was a move long sought by environmental and...
View ArticleHung Out to Dry: USEPA Issues Bans on Trichloroethylene and Perchloroethylene
Continuing its assault on commonly used chemicals that pose risks to human health, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) issued (but has not yet published in the Federal Register)...
View ArticleProposition 65: OEHHA Adopts Changes to “Short-Form” Warning Option
On December 6, 2024, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice stating that the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved changes to the Proposition 65...
View ArticleNovember 2024 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
Exploring Trends in California’s Proposition 65: Claims, Chemicals, Products, and More - California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”), the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires,...
View ArticleIs PFAS the Next Asbestos?
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of thousands of chemicals manufactured since the 1940s for use in consumer products and industrial processes. This article presents an overview of...
View ArticleAmerican Tort Reform’s 2025 Top 10 “Judicial Hellholes” for Defendants
Released yearly in December, the American Tort Reform (ATR) Foundation publishes its annual “Judicial Hellhole” rankings for the upcoming year. The Hellholes represent the worst of the worst...
View ArticleCalifornia Updates Proposition 65’s Short-Form Safe Harbor Warnings
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment recently approved an amendment to the so-called “short-form” safe harbor warnings under the state’s Proposition 65 law. The changes will...
View ArticleIndustrials Regulatory News and Trends - December 2024 #2
California amends Prop 65 short-form warnings. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has announced long-expected new amendments to its Prop 65 short-form warning...
View ArticleNew York Court Denies in Part, Grants in Part Talc Defendant’s Motion for...
In October 2020, Corey G. Griffin was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. He alleged asbestos exposure from the use of talcum powder related to his employment from the late 1950s until the 2000s....
View ArticleCourt Reverses Denial of J&J’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Causation Grounds
Court: Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department - The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department earlier this week unanimously granted defendants Johnson...
View ArticleChanges to California Proposition 65 "Safe Harbor" Warnings to Impact...
California's Proposition 65 regulations are changing January 1, 2025. Proposition 65, enacted in November 1986, requires companies to provide clear and reasonable warnings to California consumers...
View ArticleRoundup Users With Lymphoma May Qualify to File a Lawsuit
Exposure to the weedkiller Roundup (glyphosate) has been linked to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma....By: Hissey, Mulderig & Friend, PLLC
View ArticleConnecticut Court Awards Punitive Damages in Recent Asbestos Trial
The Estate of Nicholas Barone trial in Bridgeport Superior Court in Connecticut before Judge William Clark concluded with a $15 million plaintiff’s verdict on 5/16/2024. The jury also awarded punitive...
View ArticleProp 65 Update: Big Changes to the Short-Form and Internet Warnings
Major new changes to the California Proposition 65 warning requirements went into effect on New Year’s Day. After multiple attempts, California’s Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted...
View ArticleJudicial Hellholes: 2024-2025 Executive Summary
The 2024-2025 Judicial Hellholes report shines its brightest spotlight on 10 jurisdictions that have earned reputations as Judicial Hellholes. Asbestos litigation continues to be a trend within...
View ArticleDecember 2024 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
Exploring Trends in California’s Proposition 65: Claims, Chemicals, Products, and More - California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”), the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires,...
View ArticleThe Role of Toxicology in Florida Accident Investigations: What Happens If...
Accident investigations are essential for determining cause(s), assigning liability, and improving public safety. In Florida, where bustling roads, recreational boating, and tourism create dynamic...
View ArticleFoundation, Not Façade — The Fifth Circuit Affirms the Proper Basis...
In a toxic tort case, plaintiffs must establish general causation. If a substance is incapable of causing the type of injury plaintiff claims, then it certainly didn’t cause theirs. Under Texas law,...
View ArticleClaimant’s Evidence Satisfied the Three-prong Test to Support the Section...
Borough of Hollidaysburg v. Paul Detwiler (WCAB); No. 739 C.D. 2023; Filed November 19, 2024; Judge Wolf - The claimant was a firefighter who developed chronic myeloid leukemia that was diagnosed in...
View ArticleWhat Martin v. Goodrich Means for the Illinois’ Workers’ Compensation Landscape
On January 24, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational...
View ArticleFirst Department Affirms New York Jurisdiction Over Automotive Defendants
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department (NY) - In this asbestos action, plaintiffs allege that decedent, John Beagan, was exposed to asbestos-containing products while in work areas...
View ArticleSupreme Court of New York Grants Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Based upon...
Supreme Court of New York – New York County Eric Biljetina, et al. vs. Brenntag North America, Inc., et al. In this action, the plaintiffs allege the decedent had asbestos exposure through the use of...
View ArticleBiden’s 11th-Hour Ethylene Oxide Decision Continues the Environmental...
On January 14, 2025, the Biden administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a last-minute “interim” decision in the Federal Register for its review of ethylene oxide (EtO) under...
View ArticleDefending Manufacturers Against PFAS Claims: Legal Strategies and Challenges
As litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to rise, manufacturers of PFAS-containing products face significant legal and financial risks. Plaintiffs, including...
View ArticleDemocratic AGs Urge EPA to Expand Protections Against Chlorpyrifos Pesticide
A group of nine Democratic AGs submitted a comment letter in response to the EPA’s Chlorpyrifos; Tolerance Revocation proposed rule, which allows residue from chlorpyrifos, a pesticide, on certain food...
View ArticleU.S. Navy Veterans With Cancer from AFFF May Qualify to File a Lawsuit
Veterans of the U.S. Navy who were exposed to Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and diagnosed with kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, testicular cancer, or other types of cancers may be eligible to file...
View ArticleCommunity and Environmental Groups File TSCA Section 21 Petition Seeking the...
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced on February 11, 2025, that community and environmental groups submitted a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to...
View ArticleJanuary 2025 Bounty Hunter Plaintiff Claims
Exploring Trends in California’s Proposition 65: Claims, Chemicals, Products, and More - California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”), the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires,...
View ArticleRhode Island’s First Asbestos Verdict in Nearly 40 Years
For the first time in nearly 40 years, an asbestos case was tried to verdict in Rhode Island. This case, The Estate of Bonnie Bonito, resulted in a full defense verdict!...By: Adler Pollock &...
View ArticleUS District Court to Examine Link Between PFAS and Cancer
Amidst mounting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulation and litigation, the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) judge overseeing the federal litigation related to firefighting foam has...
View ArticleNational Mass Torts: 2024 Year in Review
Harris Beach Murtha attorneys Abbie Fuchs, Dan Strecker, and Alessandra Ash review and analyze key judicial holdings and legal developments in federal court and tort hot spots across the country that...
View ArticleTexas Court Upholds Summary Judgment in Silica Case
The Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment for Exxon Mobil corporation in Stanley Cole v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (No. 14-22-00756-CV), a premises liability case involving alleged exposure...
View ArticleIllinois Jury Finds for Plaintiff in Wrongful Death Action Involving Asbestos...
Jurisdiction: Illinois Circuit Court – Cook County - This lawsuit involved a survival and wrongful death action brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) in Illinois. Plaintiff,...
View ArticleNew Strategy is Embraced for Product Identification in Multidistrict PFAS...
The Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) MDL has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of a new case management program intended to streamline the complex process of product...
View ArticleGeorgia Federal Court Applies “Fungi or Bacteria” Exclusion and Holds Insurer...
In Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Hampton Court, L.P., et al. the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted an insurer's motion for judgment on...
View ArticleMass Tort Cases: Challenges for Plaintiff’s and Defense Counsel
Mass tort cases present unique challenges for both plaintiff’s and defense counsel. Unlike a class-action case, where a representative plaintiff stands in for the other members of the class, each...
View ArticleDepo-Provera Litigation Update: Women With Meningioma Brain Tumors Eligible...
A March 2024 study published by The BMJ revealed that women who were injected with Depo-Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) are more than five times more likely to be diagnosed with a type of brain...
View ArticleColorado Jury Issues First Defense Verdict after Years of EtO Exposure...
A Colorado jury issued a defense verdict following a six-week trial during which four women alleged their respective cancers were caused by exposure to EtO emitted by the nearby Terumo Blood & Cell...
View ArticleFlorida Jury Awards Plaintiff $18 Million in Asbestos Case against Brake...
Court: Florida – 17th Judicial Circuit Court - Plaintiff, Denise J. Guth Cook alleged asbestos exposure from consumer talc products and automobile parts. She specifically alleged bystander and...
View ArticleLitigation Minute: Emerging Contaminants: Defending Litigation
What You Need to Know in a Minute or Less - Effectively defending emerging contaminant litigation requires counsel capable of navigating extremely complex scientific issues related to causation, while...
View ArticleIARC Classifies Gasoline As a Human Carcinogen – Litigation May Follow
Last month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced its new classification for “automotive gasoline and some oxygenated gasoline additives.” In a result that follows IARC’s...
View ArticleDoes Strict Liability Apply When You’re Injured by Exposure to Toxic Chemicals?
It is becoming almost impossible to avoid being exposed to multiple different chemicals on a daily basis. Companies use them to make their environments look and smell cleaner, to keep pests away, and...
View Article“Occurrence” Provisions Within Excess Policies Support an Exposure Trigger...
Asbestos fibers, chemical fumes, environmental pollutants—what do they have in common? They all involve injuries that manifest over time and are continuously at the center of the complex exposure...
View ArticleU.S. Navy’s Nonadherence to Asbestos Policy Opens Door to Lawsuit
As a sovereign entity, the United States government is immune from suit unless it consents to be sued. However, its sovereign immunity may be waived under certain circumstances under the Federal Torts...
View ArticleLouisiana Asbestos Workers May Qualify for Lung Cancer or Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Asbestos workers in the state of Louisiana who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer or asbestos lung cancer may be eligible to file a lawsuit or bankruptcy trust claim against the companies...
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