Category

Product Liability
If you are handling or investigating any water losses due to the failure of certain Viking brand VK457 sprinkler heads, you may be able to benefit from a class action settlement. As you may be aware, a class action suit, entitled Jackson, et al. v. Viking Group, Inc., et al., No. 8:18-cv-02356-PJM (D. Md.), was brought...
The Alter Ego doctrine is used by the courts to ignore the corporate status of a group of stockholders, officers, etc., so that they may be held personally liable for their fraudulent or unjust actions[1].  A parent corporation will be considered the alter ego of a subsidiary corporation if it controls and directs its activities...
On March 23, 2018, a Tesla Model X SUV hit a concrete median in Mountain View, California. The impact ripped the Tesla’s 1,200 pound, 400-volt lithium ion battery open and splattered energized battery cells across the 101 freeway. The Mountain View Fire Department arrived on the scene and quickly realized they were ill-equipped to respond...
If you are handling or investigating any water losses due to the failure of certain InSinkErator brand F-201 instant hot water filter systems, you may be able to benefit from a class action settlement. A class action suit, entitled Richard Desio et al v. InSinkErator et al., was brought in the U.S. District Court for...
As winter approaches and snow and ice begin to cover parts of the nation, property owners in the affected areas will begin to rely upon snowmelt systems to keep roofs free of snow and ice. In recent years, to avoid the eyesore of heat cable running along the rooftop, snowmelt systems that can be installed...
In a 2014 blog post, I reported on Oregon’s expanded product liability statute of repose (“SOR”). The point of that previous blog post was that in 2009 the Oregon legislature made an important revision to its SOR. First, the legislature extended the SOR from 8 years to 10 years. Second, and more importantly, the legislature...
A recent opinion from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama highlights how the failure to identify the seller of a defective product can lead to dismissal. In Jackson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 2:17-cv-00634-AKK (N.D. Ala.) the court was faced with a plaintiff who was severely burned when a gasoline container...
One of the newest fads to hit the market place is the fidget spinner. It’s the palm sized three-eared triangular device with ball bearings that can be spun quickly when held between the thumb and index finger. They are promoted to relieve stress, enable children with attention problems to better focus on tasks, and provide...
The Connecticut Supreme Court, in Bifolck v. Philip Morris, Inc., recently made what the Court termed “modest refinements” to Connecticut’s product liability law. Case No. SC 19310 (Conn. Dec. 29, 2016). To recover under Connecticut’s Product Liability Act, a plaintiff alleging a product was defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or defective for a failure to warn...
The Sixth Circuit recently held that it would not apply Kentucky’s economic loss doctrine to consumer purchases, and consumers are free to pursue tort claims against manufacturers even when damage occurs only to a product itself. The Sixth Circuit was sitting in diversity and ruled in State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Norcold, Inc.,...
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