The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has released a statement indicating that it has fined Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata $200 million for mishandling the recall of its airbag inflators, which have been linked to at least seven deaths of Americans. On May 19, 2015, the United States Department of Transportation…
Earlier this month, a California federal court dismissed a class action lawsuit seeking to recover damages from the makers of Jim Bean, claiming that the company violated state consumer protection laws by labeling some of its whiskey and bourbon products as “handcrafted.” Dating back to the 1820s, bourbon is a…
While a number of states are moving to legalize the use of cannabis, manufacturers of products containing marijuana may not be entirely clear when it comes to understanding how product liability rules will apply to them. In the recent case of Flores v. LivWell, Inc., two marijuana consumers sued the defendant, claiming…
Last month, the Ohio State Court handed down a decision holding that courts cannot certify proposed class actions that include members who have not suffered any injuries. In Felix v. Ganley Chevrolet, Inc., the trial court granted class certification to a proposed class defined as including all consumers who purchased vehicles from…
In many class action cases, the defendant will attempt to render the action moot by offering a settlement to the lead plaintiff. Last month, the First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected one such attempt to moot in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valle v. ACT, Inc. In this case, the plaintiffs alleged…