Mass Torts vs. Class Actions: A Tale of Two Strategies
Tips and Strategies for Successful Mass Tort Management
NGE On Demand: Insurance Issues in Bankruptcy with Jason Frye
IP|Trend: Discovering Source Code
Last week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Illinois Senate Bill 328 (“SB 328”) into law, marking a significant expansion of the jurisdictional reach of Illinois courts in the realm of toxic tort litigation. The law...more
The Supreme Court’s 2024 Purdue decision1 held that the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize a release and injunction under a Chapter 11 plan of claims against a non-debtor, even if they relate to claims against or by the...more
It has been approximately two months since the highly anticipated Supreme Court decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., and it is already making a significant impact in bankruptcies around the country. In September...more
In Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al., the U.S. Supreme Court held that nonconsensual releases of third-party claims against nondebtors are not authorized under the Bankruptcy Code, resolving a longstanding circuit...more
On June 27, 2024, in one of its most high-profile bankruptcy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al., No. 23-124, holding that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code does not authorize releases...more
In a landmark decision that will significantly impact future reorganization plans, the Supreme Court categorically held in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., that bankruptcy courts lack the authority to approve nonconsensual...more
In a landmark 5-4 decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma that will significantly reshape corporate bankruptcy practice, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split regarding the authority of a bankruptcy court to approve...more
In perhaps the most significant Supreme Court bankruptcy ruling since Stern v. Marshall, the Supreme Court today—by a 5-4 majority—overruled the Second Circuit’s approval of the Purdue Pharma Chapter 11 plan and its...more
Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc. and Hanson Permanente Cement, Inc. (collectively, the “Debtors”), manufacturers of asbestos-containing cement products, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 30, 2016 (“Petition Date”) in the...more
As the calendar turns to autumn, the United States Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) is commencing its new term and preparing to address a monumental issue that will impact chapter 11 law and the mass tort system: the permissibility...more
Post-TransUnion, A Closer Examination of Threshold for Article III Standing- Class action trials are rare. The potential magnitude of an adverse verdict, even when improbable, makes the risks of trial unpalatable for...more
There are few rights more important to civil defendants—particularly corporate entities—than personal jurisdiction, which restricts “‘judicial power not as a matter of sovereignty, but as a matter of individual liberty,’”...more
Harris Beach attorneys Abbie Eliasberg Fuchs, Bradley M. Wanner and Daniel R. Strecker review and analyze key judicial holdings and legal developments in New York, the federal arena and across the country that have affected...more
SCOTUS Leaves Standing 9th Circuit Ruling in Tuna Case That, at Certification, Plaintiffs Need Not Show Putative Class Has Few Unharmed Members - Litigation of the class certification question nearly always involves expert...more
On December 16, 2021, Judge McMahon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (District Court) issued her decision in In re: Purdue Pharma LP, overturning the bankruptcy judge’s confirmation of...more
On June 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) appeal to overturn a $2.12 billion dollar damages award to 22 female plaintiffs who alleged their ovarian cancer was caused by J&J’s...more
Interpreting Bristol-Myers : Are Unnamed Members of Nationwide Class Actions ‘Parties’? If So, When? In 2017, the Supreme Court decided Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California (BMS), holding that a...more
After years of limited guidance, the Supreme Court has finally provided direction to lower courts on the issue of preemption when they delivered their opinion in Merck v. Albrecht. “Preemption” is a common defense used by...more
In 2019, significant developments are expected on issues that have been percolating in the mass tort and class action litigation arena for several years. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on cases relating to...more
A defendant in a talc jury trial intends on appealing a recent verdict reached in a Missouri case involving twenty-two plaintiffs who claimed that the defendant’s talcum powder contained asbestos and that they developed...more
While he often kept us guessing about how he might vote in politically significant cases, retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy was far more predictable on class action issues over the course of his 30-year tenure on the Supreme...more
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark personal-jurisdiction decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb, federal district courts have continued to disagree about whether to apply the court’s holding to cases involving nationwide class...more
On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that has the potential to reshape the way class actions are litigated in courts throughout the country. In Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California,...more
In June 2017, we wrote about the Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017) and how it would likely affect attempts by plaintiffs to pursue multi-state or nationwide class...more