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Longshoreman awarded $5.6 million against ports authority 

Published: May 14, 2012

Tags: Georgia, truck accident

A Savannah, Ga. longshoreman was awarded more than $5.6 million in damages against the Georgia Ports Authority for injuries suffered in a two-vehicle collision at the port in 2005.

Jury says Mental Health Center partially to blame in man’s murder 

Published: May 14, 2012

Tags: Colorado, mental health, negligence, wrongful death

A jury decided the Mental Health Center of Denver is 50 percent responsible for the murder of an Ethiopian immigrant three years ago.

Couple claims Actos maker concealed bladder cancer link 

Published: May 11, 2012

Tags: Actos, bladder cancer, diabetes medication, Eli Lilly, Kentucky, Takeda Pharmaceutical

A Kentucky resident and his wife have filed a suit against Japanese-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, claiming the diabetes drug Actos caused his bladder cancer.

Car owner isn’t liable for live-in girlfriend’s crash 

Published: May 11, 2012

Tags: family purpose doctrine, negligence

The “family purpose” doctrine did not apply to make a car owner liable for an automobile accident caused by his live-in girlfriend, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled in affirming judgment.

Mississippi’s damages cap unconstitutional, judge rules 

Published: May 11, 2012

Tags: damages cap

A Mississippi judge has declared unconstitutional the state’s $1 million cap on noneconomic damages.

Court tosses $5M punitive award in first ‘Engle’ case 

Published: May 10, 2012

Tags: Benson & Hedges, cigarettes, Engle, Engle litigation, fraudulent concealment, Philip Morris, punitive damages, statute of repose, tobacco, tobacco litigation

A Florida appellate panel has overturned a $5 million award of punitive damages against Philip Morris in the first individual case to go to trial under the state’s court-imposed procedures for product liability suits against cigarette manufacturers.

Parents to pay $1.2 million in son’s DUI crash 

Published: May 10, 2012

Tags: California, car crash, DUI, negligence, traumatic brain injury

A Santa Rosa, Calif. couple has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit that accused them of negligence for giving their alcoholic, adult son the pickup he was driving when he crashed into two teenage sisters at a bus stop.

Landlord and sex offender settle Fair Housing Act case for $2 million 

Published: May 10, 2012

Tags: Fair Housing Act, landlord, New York, sex offender, sexual harassment

A New York landlord who had employed as a superintendent a registered sex offender who had sexually harassed female tenants has reached a $2 million settlement with the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Settlement reached in fatal boat crash suit 

Published: May 10, 2012

Tags: boat accident, maritime law, Pennsylvania, wrongful death

A civil lawsuit over the deaths of two students in a 2010 Philadelphia Duck Boat crash has settled with an agreement to pay $17 million in damages, according to an attorney in the case.

Ruling may save suits against generic drug makers 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 9, 2012

Tags: drug litigation, failure to warn, Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, federal preemption, generic drug litigation, generic drugs, PLIVA v. Mensing, preemption, product liability, Wyeth v. Levine

Since last year, when generic drug makers won a victory on the issue of federal preemption before the U.S. Supreme Court, lower courts have been dismissing cases against generic drug makers left and right.

But last week a federal appeals court issued a ruling that gives plaintiffs a long-awaited opening in those suits.