Product Liability

Expert Analysis

• 5 Things To Know About The Bioengineered Food Labeling Bill

  

  Passage of a statute that mandates national standards for disclosure of information relating to genetically engineered foods and preempts inconsistent state and local labeling requirements is a significant accomplishment of the 114th Congress. Attorneys at Sidley Austin LLP explain a few of the most noteworthy ways this legislation would impact food labeling and marketing in the United States.

• Continuing Violations And Statutes Of Limitation Under CPSA

  

  Manufacturers and distributors of consumer products must be able to evaluate the scope of time in which the government can bring a claim for civil penalties under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Yet recent court decisions and ongoing litigation have called into question when exactly an alleged violation starts, say Timothy Mullin and Kevin Penhallegon of Miles & Stockbridge PC.

• Prevent Litigation From Becoming A Threat To Data Security

  

  Recent headline-grabbing data security incidents have shed light both on direct and collateral impacts to companies and their employees. Attorneys should take steps to ensure that their role in the conduct of litigation does not in itself lead to similarly damaging disclosures of sensitive information, say Dante Stella and Sherrie Farrell of Dykema Gossett PLLC.

• What To Know About NY's New Cooling Tower Regulations

  

  As a response to a 2015 legionellosis outbreak in the Bronx, New York's recently finalized cooling tower regulations include broad definitions of what qualifies as a covered cooling tower and who may be deemed an owner, and additional requirements for hospitals and residential health care facilities, say Libby Ford and Jean McCreary at Nixon Peabody LLP.

• Corporations In The Crosshairs Of Product Liability Claims

  

  More than in past presidential campaigns, the leading candidates have targeted American corporations, taking turns outbidding one another in appealing to anti-corporate sentiments. And the plaintiffs bar has been trying to leverage the mood across a broad front — from changes in jury selection to trial strategy to the types of claims they bring, say attorneys at Jones Day.

• OPINION: Our Juries Are Being Circumvented

  

  The Freddie Gray case and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell demonstrate how the government replaces juries, eliminating an important community decision maker and a check on governmental power, says Professor Suja Thomas of the University of Illinois College of Law.

• The Internet Of Health Things: Privacy And Security Issues

  

  While "internet of health things" devices share many privacy and security concerns with their smart kin, other issues are heightened by — or unique to — the health care environment and the sensitive nature of health data, says Kimberly Metzger at Ice Miller LLP.

• Legal Aid, Meet Legal Tech

  

  Because there will never be enough free lawyers to satisfy demand from low-income Americans, we need to leverage technology to allow the legal expertise of one lawyer to reach hundreds or thousands of clients at once, say Jonathan Petts and Rohan Pavuluri, co-founders of startup nonprofit Upsolve.

• And Now A Word From The Panel: 4 All-Star MDLs

  

  In honor of the recent Major League Baseball All-Star Game, this month’s column will name its own all-star team — four multidistrict litigations, across various categories, that changed or are changing the game, says Alan Rothman of Kaye Scholer LLP.

• 2nd Circ. GM Ruling Shows Value Of Debtor’s Disclosures

  

  Bankruptcy Code Section 363 offers a powerful tool for a debtor in bankruptcy to sell its assets free and clear of liens and other interests. However, as the Second Circuit's recent decision in the Motors Liquidation Company case underscores, this power is not without limit, say Darren Azman and Megan Preusker at McDermott Will & Emery LLP.