Category: Product liability

Check Amounts Can Differ Substantially from Class Action Settlements Per Claim

The reported value per claim in a class action settlement can differ significantly from the actual check a class member receives.  Both StarKist and Trader Joe’s have faced class action lawsuits involving damages for allegedly under-filled cans of tuna.  Both defendants settled for cash amounts in the range of $25-29 per claim (although StarKist also …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2018/09/check-amounts-can-differ-substantially-from-class-action-settlements-per-claim/

Virtual Reality Will Change the Way Juries View Evidence

A recent article available at www.digitaltrends.com describes how virtual reality may soon allow jurors to explore crime scenes as they actually appeared.  In the article, Dr. Mehzeb Chowdhury, a researcher in forensic science and criminal investigations at Durham University in the U.K.m describes his MABMAT robotic imaging system as capable of capturing every detail of an …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2016/09/virtual-reality-will-change-the-way-juries-view-evidence/

Supreme Court To Address Use of Statistics For Class Action Certification

The April 2013 Supreme Court decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, No. 11-864, was a profound change benefitting companies facing class action lawsuits.  The Court held that a plaintiff seeking certification must establish through “evidentiary proof” that damages can be measured on a class-wide basis.  Individual damage issues can defeat class certification where those issues …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/06/supreme-court-to-address-use-of-statistics-for-class-action-certification/

Court rules indemnification plaintiff doesn’t have to rely only on former opposing expert.

In National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh Pa. v. Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance Co., the California Court of Appeal in the Second District held that a subsequent indemnity coverage action by an insurer may include expert opinions not presented by the original plaintiff’s experts in the underlying dispute.The underlying plaintiff settled with Costco …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2015/02/court-rules-indemnification-plaintiff-doesnt-have-to-rely-only-on-former-opposing-expert/

Lack of Receipts Sinks Class Action Certification

The Northern District of California recently denied class certification related to claims of improper marketing and advertising of Fresh Step cat litter (In Re Clorox Consumer Litigation, Case No. 12-00280-SC (N.D. Cal. July 28, 2014) (ECF No. 129)). One of the reasons was a failure to establish a class that was sufficiently ascertainable, as plaintiffs …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/08/lack-of-receipts-sinks-class-action-certification/

Ninth Circuit Issues Reminder on Daubert: Trial Court Is A Gatekeeper, Not A Fact Finder

In a recent case involving the City of Pomona (“Pomona”) v. SQM North America Corporation (“SQM”), Pomona alleged that SQM’s importation of sodium nitrate for fertilizer caused a perchlorate contamination in the city.  Although the district court excluded under Daubert the expert testimony of Pomona’s expert witness on causation, the Ninth Circuit reversed the ruling, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2014/06/ninth-circuit-issues-reminder-on-daubert-trial-court-is-a-gatekeeper-not-a-fact-finder/

Appeals Court Rules that “Size Matters”

A recent decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals in the matter of Monitronics v. Veasley upheld a multi-million dollar jury award to an alarm company customer who suffered an in-home assault.  The alarm company argued that their contract included a $250 limitation of liability for any service related losses.  The Appeals Court, in a …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/08/appeals-court-rules-that-size-matters/

$40 Million Being Distributed to Skechers Customers

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is currently distributing $40 million in association with its false advertising settlement with Skechers.  The FTC alleged that Skechers had marketed its Shape-up athletic shoes and other toning shoes based on unproven benefits, specifically stating that Skechers “deceptively advertised its toning shoes, including making unfounded claims that its Shape-ups shoes …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/07/40-million-verdict-in-skechers-case/

Medical Device Manufacturers May be Fighting More Personal Injury Lawsuits in the Near Future

The 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Riegel v. Medtronic held that if a medical device passed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) safety review and received premarket approval, federal law barred common-law state claims that challenge the device’s saftey and effectiveness or whether it was being marketed consistent with FDA premarket approval.  Since this ruling, some …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2013/06/medical-device-manufacturers-may-be-fighting-more-personal-injury-lawsuits-in-the-near-future/