Indiana Supreme Court refuses to recognize third-party claim for spoliation
4/8/24
By: Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua W. Zhao
In Safeco Insurance Company of Indiana ex rel Smith v. Blue Sky Innovation Group, Inc., et al., No. 23S-CT-272, the Indiana Supreme Court rejected the request to create a third-party spoliation …
FMG ushers in a new era of settlement enforcement in California under Hodroj
4/8/24
By: Dhave Kirit Balatero and Amanda M. Figueroa
Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s California partners Paul Bigley and Dhave Balatero successfully enforced a time-limited conditional policy limit settlement in phase one of a bifurcated trial based on the recent holding …
Lost in transmission: CA Fourth District holds Nissan cannot compel arbitration
4/4/24
By: Karim S. Manji
In the case of Damien T. Davis, et. al. v. Nissan North America, et. al., the Fourth District Court of Appeals of California recently held that Nissan North America, Inc. could not compel arbitration under …
PA Supreme Court’s impactful ruling on product defect injuries
3/28/24
By: Michelle Yee
In Sullivan v. Werner Co., 2021 PA Super 66, 253 A.3d 730 (2021), aff’d, 306 A.3d 846 (Pa. 2023), Michael Sullivan, a carpenter, and his wife, Melissa Sullivan, brought a strict products liability action against Wener …
3/25/24
The Nevada Supreme Court recently expanded protections for property owners arising out of known hazards. In Abbott v. City of Henderson, a mother sued for injuries sustained when she fell while assisting her child on …
3/11/24
In Estate of Khiev v. Southern Jersey Transportation Authority, 2024 WL 607735 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2024), the New Jersey Appellate Court upheld the trial court’s decision to allow the Plaintiffs to file a …
Bourbon and bar fights: an overview of Kentucky’s Dram Shop statute in assault cases
3/7/24
By: Austin Anderson and Curt M. Graham
In 1988, Kentucky enacted its “Dram Shop” statute. The law, codified at KRS 413.241, states that no licensed seller of alcohol shall be liable to a person who was injured by an intoxicated …
Tort reform: impact of HB 837 on jury instructions
3/5/24
Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 2-A into law in December 2022, followed by his signing of HB 837 on March 24, 2023. One of the many features of this tort reform was the move …
Yield rational results: Texas’s attempt to rein in nuclear verdicts
3/4/24
By: Gabriel Canto and Tim Soefje
Last year, the Texas Supreme Court in Gregory v. Chohan1 dropped a hammer on “unsubstantiated anchoring,” the plaintiff tactic of putting big numbers, often seemingly pulled out of a hat, in the mind …
2/20/24
By: Donald Patrick Eckler and A. Mark O’Danovich
In Phillips v. Havenar, 2024 IL App. (4th) 230204-U, the Illinois Appellate Court provided a detailed discussion of plaintiffs’ failure to comply with numerous evidentiary and discovery rulings, the most important of …
2/15/24
By: Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua W. Zhao
In WEOC, Inc. v. Niebauer ex rel Estate of Blount, No. 23S-CT-184 (2024), as an issue of first impression, the Indiana Supreme Court considered whether common-law liability still applies to claims …
A new concern for drug-makers emerges: “Pipeline Liability”
2/13/24
California Court of Appeal decision finds pharmaceutical companies owe their customers a duty to move safer alternatives to existing drugs through the development pipeline.
In the 1980s, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis was widely seen as a …