Law Brief®: David Pfeffer and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Legal Implications of Infrastructure Collapses
When your car’s brakes fail on a busy New Jersey highway or your airbag doesn’t deploy during a collision, a defective automotive part may have caused your injuries rather than driver error. In these cases, defective product...more
In 2024, the Florida Supreme Court changed the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, aligning them with federal standards in many areas. One of those areas was the scope of discovery. What was once an expansive often burdensome...more
“So when is a question too complicated for the jury?” That is the question the Third Circuit sought to answer recently in Slatowski v. Sig Sauer, Inc., ___ F. 4th ___, 2025 WL 2178533 (3d Cir. 2025), reversing a district...more
Defective medical devices present serious risks for patients. Just how big—and how severe—is the problem? Consider this from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): “Each year, the FDA receives over two million medical...more
Court: Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co. - Plaintiff, Ronald Carpenter, filed suit against various defendants, claiming his lung cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos from their products. Carpenter alleged various exposures,...more
Berkoski v. Honda Motor Company, et al., (App. Div. 2025) - The New Jersey Appellate Division was presented with a question about what constitutes a defective product or design under the New Jersey Products Liability Act when...more
Welcome to our seventh issue of The Site Report for 2025! In this edition, we address direct v. consequential damages in Florida, how the OBBB will fuel construction projects, China's construction of the world's largest...more
Are design professionals involved in your Florida project? If so, then you need to be aware of this newly decided case. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Orlando, issued an Order on July 11,...more
In June 2025, a Suffolk County, Massachusetts jury delivered an $8 million verdict in Janice Paluzzi v. Johnson & Johnson (21-2109). The jury allocated $5 million for past pain and suffering and $3 million for future pain and...more
The Court of Appeal for Ontario has certified a class action against the manufacturer of a stolen handgun used to carry out the 2018 mass shooting on Danforth Avenue in Toronto, reversing in part the motion judge’s decision...more
Court: Massachusetts Superior Court, Middlesex County - A Massachusetts jury awarded plaintiff Janice Paluzzi $8 million in damages against defendant Johnson & Johnson and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. (collectively, J&J)....more
Tesla Inc., a leading innovator in electric vehicles, is under increasing legal scrutiny as two major product liability cases bring safety concerns about its cars into sharp focus. These lawsuits highlight alleged design...more
State governments, public school districts, and individuals are suing social media companies, such as TikTok and Snapchat, alleging that defects in their algorithms and platform features cause psychological and physical harm,...more
The Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two (Riverside) in RND Contractors, Inc. v. Superior Court (2025) issued a significant published decision. The California Court of Appeal addressed a previously...more
1. DEVELOPERS WIN AGAIN AS SUPREME COURT REJECTS A "VOLUNTARINESS PRINCIPLE" - The Supreme Court has delivered its judgment in the litigation between developers and designers over structural defects in high-rise buildings,...more
A recent lawsuit involving an AI chatbot represents another indication of a possible shift in how courts will approach software under traditional strict products liability principles. Traditionally, courts have been hesitant...more
Failure analysis is the scientific process of determining the root cause of a failure. It is often related to equipment breakdown with varying levels of consequence, from loss of production, to resulting damage to a...more
In a recent case pending in Hawaii state court, a husband and wife sued a tobacco company defendant for various claims related to its manufacturing and marketing of tobacco cigarettes, including strict products liability,...more
Director of Human Factors, Robert Rauschenberger, PhD, will present a one-hour* course that will cover: - What human factors is, and how it applies to product liability cases - The role of human factors analysis in...more
For the first time in nearly 40 years, an asbestos case was tried to verdict in Rhode Island. This case, The Estate of Bonnie Bonito, resulted in a full defense verdict!...more
An issue of great importance to all construction project parties, including design professionals and contractors, is pending before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). In the matter of Trustees of Boston...more
Last week we were lucky enough to attend the Institute of Energy Law’s 23rd Annual Energy Litigation Conference in Houston, TX, and hear its unique collection of industry professionals exchange insights and address some of...more
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, a reported 419,000 private-sector employees in California sustained workplace injuries and illnesses in 2022. Workplace incidents in the state claimed 508 employees'...more
As federal agencies and states grapple with regulating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its safety profile, and as businesses race to adopt AI for myriad purposes, it is important to recognize a general safety...more
Foley Hoag LLP publishes this quarterly Update primarily concerning developments in product liability and related law from federal and state courts applicable to Massachusetts, but also featuring selected developments for New...more