Blog: Product Liability
- Roundup Judge: "There was clear and convincing evidence that Monsanto's actions were reprehensible."
Jul 27, 2019
In an order entered this week, Judge Winifred Smith of the Superior Court of Alameda County, California, denied Monsanto's post-trial request for a new trial in the Roundup case, Pilliod v. Monsanto, which resulted in a $2 billion verdict for the plaintiffs in May of this year. This is the second time this month that a trial court has thwarted Monsanto's efforts to overturn a jury award entered against the company in connection with its...Read More - Roundup Judge: "Monsanto deserves to be punished."
Jul 16, 2019
In an order issued yesterday, July 15, Roundup MDL Judge Vince Chhabria denied Monsanto's request to put aside last year's verdict in Hardeman v. Monsanto, where the jury awarded the plaintiff $5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages. Following trial, Monsanto had raised three arguments. First, the company requested a new trial on compensatory damages, arguing that the evidence did not support the size of the $5 million award. Second, Monsanto...Read More - PA Supreme Court Weighing Risperdal Appeal on Statute of Limitations
May 17, 2019
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral argument from the parties in the appeals of Saksek v. Janssen and Winter v. Janssen, two cases where the plaintiffs alleged they developed gynecomastia from using Janssen's prescription drug, Risperdal. The cases were filed in Pennsylvania state court, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and were dismissed as untimely under Pennsylvania's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits. The plaintiffs appealed, and the Pennsylvania Superior Court...Read More - $2 Billion Roundup Verdict Against Monsanto
May 16, 2019
Earlier this week, plaintiffs in the Roundup litigation struck another huge blow against defendant Monsanto, with a jury returning a $2 billion verdict against the company over its prized weedkiller product. Plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a married couple in their 70s, had used Roundup on their Northern California farm for decades, and were represented at trial by lead counsel Brent Wisner, of Baum Hedlund. Both were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma just several years apart,...Read More - $120 Million Verdict in TVT-O Trial
May 15, 2019
Just several weeks ago, in late April, J&J's medical device subsidiary, Ethicon Inc., was tagged with yet another trial loss in the transvaginal mesh (TVM) litigation. After a three-week trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas before the Honorable Kenneth Powell, the jury in McFarland v. Ethicon, Inc., returned a verdict for the plaintiff of $20 million in compensatory and $100 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff, 68-year-old Susan McFarland, was implanted with the...Read More - Boeing's Woes Continue: North Charleston Plant Under Scrutiny
Apr 20, 2019
A New York Times article today reported on a troubling trend of potential safety concerns and whistle-blower reports coming out of the Boeing factory in North Charleston, South Carolina, where the company's 787 Dreamliner is manufactured. The Times' investigation, which involved review of internal documents and interviews with current and former employees, shows evidence that the company might have been attempting to rush Dreamliners to market at the expense of safety. John Barnett, a former...Read More - Boeing 737 Diverted After Passengers Get Sick from Odor on Board
Mar 30, 2019
Early yesterday morning, United Flight 1675 from Baltimore-Washington International to San Francisco International was diverted to Washington Dulles International after a strong odor in the cabin caused passengers to fall ill. On arrival into Washington, D.C., emergency medical and rescue personal transported a number of passengers to local hospitals. The plane was a Boeing 737, and this is not the first such incident with this type of aircraft. Leckman Law and and its joint venture,...Read More - $80 Million Verdict Against Monsanto in Latest Roundup Trial
Mar 27, 2019
Last week, the jury in the first phase of Hardeman v. Monsanto found that exposure to Monsanto's weedkiller, Roundup, had caused the plaintiff to develop Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Following that "causation" phase, the trial moved into the liability and damages, which completed today with the jury awarding $80 million in damages. The jury heard evidence about what the company knew and when, and is now the second jury in the country to reach a verdict against Monsanto...Read More - Oklahoma Opioid Settlement: $270 Million
Mar 26, 2019
In 2017, the state of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against thirteen opioid manufacturers, asserting claims for fraud, consumer protection violations, public nuisance, and Oklahoma Medicaid violations. All of the claims stemmed from what the state attorney general characterized as the companies' "deceptive and misleading prescription opioid marketing campaign," which the complaint alleged was the cause of a devastating public health crisis and financial burden on the state of Oklahoma. In short, Oklahoma was seeking recovery...Read More - Xarelto Litigation: $775 Million Settlement
Mar 25, 2019
The blockbuster, billion-dollar blood-thinner, Xarelto, has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits in both state and federal courts over the last few years. The lawsuits allege that the drug's joint-owners, Bayer and J&J, failed to adequately warn physicians about the risks of serious and uncontrolled bleeding injuries -- mainly gastrointestinal and brain bleeding injuries. Today, court documents showed that the two pharmaceutical titans have reached an agreement to settle the litigation for $775 million...Read More