Class action alleges Ziploc misled consumers about harmful microplastics in its products

June 4th, 2025|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Amid rising concerns about toxic chemicals in consumer products, Apple finds itself under scrutiny. Guest contributor Justin Ward examines the controversy surrounding Apple’s smartwatch bands after researchers detected elevated levels of PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” While Apple insists its products are safe, a class action lawsuit alleges deceptive marketing and health risks, raising broader questions about accountability and chemical transparency in tech and apparel.

Fall bellwether trials for social media addiction cases to test novel legal theories

March 3rd, 2025|Categories: Business Litigation, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Are social media platforms the next Big Tobacco? A major lawsuit argues they’re designed to be addictive—will the courts agree? Justin Ward explores the upcoming bellwether trials against major social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. The consolidated lawsuits, involving over 1,900 claims, argue these platforms are deliberately designed to exploit young users and cause addiction—drawing comparisons to cases against nicotine and opioids. Ward examines the complex legal challenges, including First Amendment issues and Section 230 protections, as courts determine whether these claims of negligence and failure to warn will move forward. The trials could set major precedents for social media regulation and corporate accountability.

Key Developments in Antitrust Class Action Litigation: Recent Developments, Key Class Action Trends, Significant Rulings, and Major Settlements Shaping the Future of Antitrust

February 11th, 2025|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Complex Business Litigation, New Webinars|Tags: , , , , |

Gain an understanding of the latest developments in antitrust class action litigation, including evolving class certification standards, key rulings on multi-district litigation, and major settlements shaping the field on a CLE webinar featuring experienced antitrust attorneys Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer A. Riley, and Sean P. McConnell. Explore significant court decisions on pricing algorithms, the right-to-repair movement, and baseball’s antitrust exemption while staying informed on critical trends in competition law. Register now!

Class Action Defense: Key Developments on the Arbitration Front

February 8th, 2025|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Corporate Compliance, New Webinars|Tags: , , , , , , |

Gain a better understanding of the key developments on the arbitration front related to class action defense, including the key U.S. Supreme Court rulings shaping the litigation landscape and the main arbitration trends to remain vigilant for on a CLE webinar featuring experienced class action defense attorneys Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Eden E. Anderson. Register today!

Trends and Strategies in Wage & Hour Class and Collective Actions

February 8th, 2025|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Employment, New Webinars|Tags: , , , , |

Gain a better understanding of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and wage and hour collective actions, get up to date on significant trends and recent key settlements in this area of law, and grasp the main considerations for conditional class certification and decertification and the key collective action rulings handed down in 2023 on a CLE webinar featuring experienced class action defense litigators Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer A. Riley, and Greg Tsonis. Sign up today!

Defense of Data Breach Class Actions: Key Trends, Rulings, and Settlements

September 26th, 2024|Categories: Class Actions, CLE OnDemand, Complex Business Litigation, New Webinars|Tags: , , , , |

Data breach class actions have emerged as one of the fastest growing areas in the complex litigation space, forcing companies to navigate evolving cybersecurity risks, negative publicity, and costly litigation as a result. Litigation was particularly notable in 2023, with a record-breaking number of filings and several high-profile cases resulting in substantial settlements. The sheer volume of individuals affected by data breaches has grown significantly, leading to larger classes and subsequently higher settlement demands. Furthermore, the nature of the data being compromised is becoming more sensitive – including financial and health information – which increases the potential damages awarded in these cases. Join experienced class action defense litigators Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer A. Riley for a high-level breakdown of the data breach class action landscape through analysis of key trends, rulings, and litigation strategies.

AI Survival Guide: Best Practices to Mitigate AI Litigation Risk

September 18th, 2024|Categories: CLE OnDemand, Complex Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance, Emerging Litigation & Risk|Tags: , , , , |

Organizations using artificial intelligence-based technologies that perform facial recognition or other facial analysis, website advertising, profiling, automated decision making, educational operations, clinical medicine, generative AI, and more, increasingly face the risk of being targeted by class action lawsuits and government enforcement actions alleging that they improperly obtained, disclosed, and misused personal data of website visitors, employees, customers, students, patients, and others, or that they infringed copyrights, fixed prices, and more. These disputes often seek millions or billions of dollars against businesses of all sizes. This webinar identifies recent trends in such varied but similar AI litigation, draws common threads, and discusses best practices that corporate counsel should consider to mitigate AI litigation risk. Our excellent speakers are Jerry Maatman and Justin Donoho of Duane Morris.

Cracking the College Sports “Cartel”: Good for Athletes, Competition, and the Games by Joy Sidhwa and Tim LaComb

February 13th, 2024|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

Momentum in the national debate over whether a college athlete should profit from licensing deals for their “names, images, and likenesses,” or NILs, swung in favor of players on June 21, 2021, when the Supreme Court ruled for the athletes in NCAA v. Alston. Authors Joy Sidhwa and Tim LaComb of MoginRubin, LLP discuss the impacts of the decision and subsequent court decisions and state legislation which have further cemented and defined the changing amateurism rules in college sports. As the authors note, "the ultimate test of whether amateurism drives demand will come after new state laws allow compensation unrelated to education. If compensation doesn’t trigger a drop in demand, the NCAA will lose its procompetitive justification for the restriction and likely bring an end to amateurism rules".

Pixel Litigation Tests Old Privacy Law

September 21st, 2023|Categories: Class Actions, ELP, Technology Law|Tags: , , , , |

New litigation alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act -- which came well before online video streaming -- demonstrates how plaintiff attorneys are creatively applying traditional causes of action to litigate modern privacy issues in the absence of a federal law. Listen now for insights.

The Use—and Abuse—of Rule 41(a) to Destroy Federal Question Jurisdiction Post-Removal

September 14th, 2023|Categories: Complex Business Litigation, Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors John defends manufacturers in product liability litigation involving a range of products, e.g., ATVs, RVs, institutional chemicals, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. From single cases to mass tort litigation and class actions, John has defended clients in courtrooms around the country. Michael is General Counsel of Thor Motor Coach Inc., a final-stage manufacturer of motor homes headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana. He is also an adjunct professor of commercial law at the Notre Dame Law School. Taryn focuses her practice on litigation. She has experience dealing with products liability, discovery issues, corporate structure and governance, wealth management, private and commercial lending, real estate, and Indian affairs for lobbying both on state and federal levels. Taryn contributed valuable research to this article. Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. The Use—and Abuse—of Rule 41(a) to Destroy Federal Question Jurisdiction Post-Removal "A plaintiff seeking to divest the court of subject matter jurisdiction post-removal should at least comply with the requirements of the rule they have relied on. Glossing over those requirements undermines the purpose and intent of both the rule and removal statutes. The case should stay put in federal court in the [...]

The Plight of the Indirect Purchaser

June 30th, 2023|Categories: Class Actions, Complex Business Litigation, ELP|Tags: , , , , |

Consumers and businesses -- indirect purchasers of products whose prices are fixed by those who supply the maker of your purchase may not collect damages in states that -- surprisingly, do not have antitrust laws that give them standing. But what about federal law? Why do some states provide for damages and others do not? Are there alternatives? 

The Rise of Multi-Claimant Litigation in England and How Companies Can Manage Potential Exposure

June 21st, 2023|Categories: Emerging Litigation & Risk, HB Tort Notes, Journal, Mass Torts, New Featured Post for Home Page, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Authors Sheila L. Birnbaum Mark S. Cheffo Dorothy Cory-Wright Evan Flowers Jacqueline Harrington Will Sachse Stephen Surgeoner Rachel Leary Caroline Power Julie Witham Interviews with leading attorneys and other subject matter experts on new twists in the law and how the law is responding to new twists in the world. The Rise of Multi-Claimant Litigation in England and How Companies Can Manage Potential Exposure "With the growth in US/English partnerships for bringing multi-claimant actions in England, there may be an increased interest in leveraging US discovery for copycat English claims. The larger mass torts become in the United States, the more likely they are to feed into related multi-claimant actions in England." Abstract: Recent court decisions have signaled the English courts’ willingness to embrace multi-claimant litigation and to broaden the types of questions decided on a collective basis. These developments have led UK-based plaintiffs’ lawyers to expand mass tort filings, including doing so in partnership with US plaintiffs’ lawyers who are actively advertising in England. This article provides an overview of multi-claimant litigation in England, highlights some of the factors that may lead to its increase, and discusses steps that companies operating in the English market can take now to manage potential exposure. Three primary [...]

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