5/8/25
By: Sander Alvarez and Cody M. McNearney
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment that, as a matter of law, auto insurer GEICO Indemnity Company could not have breached the duty of good faith …
Category: Tort and Catastrophic Loss
Newest EPA efforts related to Forever Chemicals
5/8/25
In a press release on April 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator identified a series of planned agency actions to address Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), colloquially referred to as Forever Chemicals.
The …
5/6/25
On April 29, 2025, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, found that drivers with a CDL have an enhanced duty of reasonable care, encompassing their knowledge and expertise as a CDL driver.
The case …
Illinois Appellate Court affirms summary judgment for CTA after woman dies on the tracks
4/24/25
The Illinois Appellate Court (First District) affirmed summary judgment for the defendant Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and its driver when it found that no duty of ordinary care was owed to a trespasser on its railroad …
RICO, what is it good for?… Business losses arising from personal injury claims?
4/21/25
By: Stephanie N. Miller and Kevin R. Stone
An unlikely alignment of justices1 on the Supreme Court may have opened Pandora’s box for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) claims with their decision in Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. …
District court finds that university had no special duty to protect minors visiting campus
4/17/25
On Feb. 4, 2025, the District Court of New Jersey found that it would not be fair “to impose upon Princeton a proactive duty to monitor and protect all comers who walk onto its campus – …
4/15/25
By: Tyler J. Pare
In Cardoso v. Jacques, 2024-J-0613, 2173CV00199, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held that a driver who caused a motor vehicle accident could be held responsible for an injured party’s subsequent drug overdose and death. The …
4/10/25
A Los Angeles County jury awarded $50 million to a plaintiff who suffered burns to his groin and genital region after receiving a hot drink from a Starbucks drive-thru window. Michael Garcia, the plaintiff, contended that …
Seventh Circuit finds drive-thru drive-by shooting unforeseeable
4/7/25
By: Patrick Eckler and Charlotte Meltzer
“Our sympathies may lie with Mr. Scott, but because this extreme, isolated, and unprovoked display of violence was not reasonably foreseeable, we affirm.”
In a recent Seventh Circuit decision, the Court affirmed summary judgment …
California Supreme Court confirms an exception to the Economic Loss Doctrine
4/1/25
By: Gaia T. Linehan
In Rattagan v. Uber Technologies Inc. (2024) 17 Cal.5th 1, the California Supreme Court recently answered a question posed to it by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals: May a plaintiff assert a tort claim …
3/26/25
By: P. Michael Freed and Xander D. Melnick
Addressing an issue of first impression, the Supreme Court of Georgia recently held that the New York Times v. Sullivan “actual malice” standard does not apply to a defamation plaintiff’s burden to …
Forever chemicals in food: When will the FDA act on PFAS?
3/20/25
By: Noël Couch, Katherine E. Morsman, and Kevin M. Ringel
For over a year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has remained silent on a request to set enforceable limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in food. …