Lawsuit Abuse Impact News

February 4, 2013

When does product liability reform improve economic well-being?

Overlawyered | February 4, 2013

A new empirical study from Joanna Shepherd in the Vanderbilt Law Review looks at the question.

Second Circuit - Fosamax Plaintiff's Expert Testimony a Sham

Drug and Device Law Blog | February 4, 2013

We've seen time and time again how plaintiffs attempt to manipulate treating physician testimony, usually but not always cloaked by biased judicial rulings that prevent one side - our side - from talking to treaters informally, while giving plaintiffs full reign to subject treaters to all manner of persuasion.

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact

February 1, 2013

EDITORIAL: Settling baseless lawsuits only encourages more of them

West Virginia Record | February 1, 2013

Sure, it’s less time-consuming, less risky and generally less expensive to knuckle under, but doesn’t that just encourage more baseless lawsuits to be filed in anticipation of easy income? Wouldn’t it be better, in the long run, to fix this “broken window” before we start seeing worse breakdowns in our legal system?

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact, Trial Lawyers' Influence, West Virginia

January 31, 2013

Spaceport insurance bill breezes through Senate unopposed

Santa Fe New Mexican | January 31, 2013

Observers often complain that New Mexico’s legislative process is way too slow. But that’s certainly not the case with a bill that would limit lawsuits against firms that supply parts for spacecraft used in Virgin Galactic’s operation at the $209 million spaceport in Southern New Mexico.

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact, New Mexico

January 30, 2013

EU Data Rules Would Spur Class Action Abuse, Chamber Says

Law 360 | Subscription Required | January 30, 2013

The U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform voiced concern Tuesday about the European Union's approach to group litigation under its draft data protection regulation, saying certain proposals would incentivize law firms and other profit-driven third parties to promote mass litigation and fail to protect against legal abuse.

Tags: Class Action, International, Lawsuit Abuse Impact, Trial Lawyers' Influence

Why I Can't Claim My $10 From Facebook In The 'Sponsored Stories' Settlement

Forbes | January 30, 2013

I was among the approximately 125,000,000 Facebook users who got an email this weekend alerting us to the settlement of a class action lawsuit against the social networking giant for putting our names and faces in “Sponsored Story” ads that were broadcast to our friends.

Tags: Class Action, Lawsuit Abuse Impact, Legal Ethics

LETTER: Costs of Too Many Hungry Lawyers

Wall Street Journal | January 30, 2013

America's annual surplus of lawyers has made us the most litigious country in the world. Nationally, we spend nearly 2.2% of our annual GDP on tort costs, $800 per capita, up 800% from 1950.

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact, New York, Trial Lawyers' Influence

January 28, 2013

Liability Issues Create Potholes on the Road to Driverless Cars

Wall Street Journal | Subscription Required | January 28, 2013

Arizona lawmakers last year were debating a law laying out guidelines for an up-and-coming technology: self-driving vehicles. Then they got to a question they couldn't steer around: Who is to blame if a driverless car gets in a wreck?

Tags: Arizona, Lawsuit Abuse Impact

January 25, 2013

DOJ Won't Appeal Second Circuit Ruling on Off-Label Marketing

American Lawyer | Subscription Required | January 25, 2013

Ever since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in December that drug companies have a constitutional right to promote their drugs for off-label uses, lawyers have been posing two questions: What does this mean for the U.S. government's practice of parlaying off-label marketing claims against drug companies into billion-dollar settlements? And, more immediately, will the government ask for en ban rehearing or appeal to the Supreme Court?

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact

Why U.S. is forgoing appeal of landmark 2nd Circuit off-label ruling

ThomsonReuters | January 25, 2013

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that the government has decided not to seek review of a landmark 2012 ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S. v. Caronia. As you probably recall, a split 2nd Circuit panel held in December that the First Amendment protects truthful speech about the off-label use of FDA-approved products, finding that the misbranding provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act do not prohibit off-label marketing, as long as it's not misleading.

Tags: Lawsuit Abuse Impact