-
November 09, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The assistant to the U.S. solicitor general on Nov. 9 urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Carlson v. Green, while the attorney for a staff nurse at a federal detention center urged the court to go further and overturn Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics during oral argument over a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling recognizing a cause of action for damages under Bivens for an inmate who was injured in a prison gang fight but was not sent to a hospital.
-
November 06, 2026
PITTSBURGH — The widower and children of a woman who became ill and died after allegedly being exposed to benzene from hydraulic fracturing operations near her family home filed an amended complaint in Pennsylvania federal court against a fracking company that operated wells less than a mile from the home, alleging that it previously told community members its fracking operations would not produce toxic emissions.
-
November 04, 2026
CHARLESTON, S.C. — 3M announced Nov. 3 that it has reached an agreement to make a $7.35 billion pretax nominal commitment to be paid over nine years to settle more than 100,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-related personal injury claims in and outside the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) multidistrict litigation (MDL) in a federal court in South Carolina.
-
November 02, 2026
NEW ORLEANS — A trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the causation opinions of two experts proffered by a Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup worker in a case alleging worsening asthma from exposure to toxic substances, a split Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, upholding the summary judgment ruling for BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Co. (together, BP).
-
October 30, 2026
ST. LOUIS — A Missouri jury on Oct. 29 returned a verdict in favor of Monsanto Co. on claims by three individuals who alleged that their or their decedents’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) was caused by use of Roundup products containing glyphosate; the verdict was filed nearly a week after a Missouri judge partially granted and partially denied Monsanto’s motion for directed verdict.
-
October 29, 2026
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida federal judge granted summary judgment to Carnival Corp. in a passenger’s slip-and-fall suit after excluding a floor-safety expert’s testimony and a treating physician’s causation opinions and finding insufficient evidence of a dangerous condition or notice.
-
October 29, 2026
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming federal judge partially granted a hydraulic fracturing company’s motion to bifurcate, agreeing to hold separate trials for two fracking site worker plaintiffs who suffered serious burns from equipment explosions and sued the company for negligence, holding that bifurcation into two separate trials would aid in the adjudication of the lawsuit, avoid prejudice against the company and be only minimally prejudicial to a co-defendant; however, the judge refused to sever the suit into two separate cases.
-
October 28, 2026
HONOLULU — The Hawaii Supreme Court in a ruling addressing a nearly three-decade-long pesticide exposure case by banana plantation workers said the appropriate approach to causation in mass toxic tort cases is set out in comment g in Section 26 of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm, but that the three factors must be considered in a different order.
-
October 28, 2026
HOUSTON — A business development manager sued her employer in a Texas court alleging injury and retaliation after she filed a workers’ compensation claim in connection with injuries she alleged that she suffered after being told during a training tour of a Wyoming facility to place her head into multiple frac tanks without any personal protective equipment (PPE).
-
October 27, 2026
ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a $420,115.22 judgment awarded to a woman involved in a low-speed collision between two tractor-trailers after finding that the trial court failed to clearly resolve a challenge to the admissibility of testimony from one of her treating physicians.
-
October 26, 2026
LOS ANGELES — A California jury found that a bicyclist who experienced serious head injuries after his bike struck a raised section of sidewalk incurred damages of $11.5 million and that the state Department of Transportation bore 95% of the liability.
-
October 22, 2026
DECATUR, Ga. — A Georgia jury awarded a man $5 million for malignant mesothelioma he contracted after exposure to asbestos in motorcycle parts, sources told Mealey Publications.
-
October 19, 2026
POCATELLO, Idaho — An Idaho man who alleges that his repeated exposure to an herbicide containing glyphosate caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) may proceed with his negligence and design defect claims following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Monsanto v. Durnell as “[t]he Supreme Court’s decision was sufficiently tailored” and none of the plaintiff’s “claims are preempted by virtue of Durnell except those specifically related to a failure to warn claim based on labeling,” a federal judge in Idaho ruled, partially granting and partially denying Monsanto Co. summary judgment.
-
October 16, 2026
PHILADELPHIA — A split Pennsylvania appeals court on Oct. 15 affirmed a trial court’s $725 million judgment for a service station worker diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and $500,000 for the man’s wife after a jury determined that Exxon Mobil Corp.’s predecessor in interest manufactured and sold defective gasoline containing benzene.
-
October 15, 2026
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge dismissed with prejudice a suit filed against the Chicago White Sox (CWS) and Major League Baseball (MLB) by a former pitching prospect alleging negligence and violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA), arising from allegations that the defendants required that he be vaccinated for COVID-19, which the prospect alleged ultimately ended his career, finding that the suit is time-barred.
-
October 13, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted the U.S. solicitor general’s motion to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae supporting a staff nurse at a federal detention center who has asked the court to reverse a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling recognizing a cause of action for damages under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics for an inmate who was injured in a prison gang fight but was not sent to a hospital.
-
October 13, 2026
BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a woman's wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the migraine drug Aimovig on federal preemption grounds but ruled that a Massachusetts federal judge erred in denying the woman an opportunity to amend her complaint to allege that newly acquired scientific information permitted the manufacturer to strengthen the drug's warnings.
-
October 13, 2026
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A New York federal judge denied a woman's motion to exclude testimony from two medical experts retained by the United States in a lawsuit arising from a collision involving an electric scooter and a government vehicle, finding that their opinions on the extent of her injuries and necessity of medical treatment are admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
-
October 13, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted Monsanto Co.’s petition for a writ of certiorari in a case brought by a man who says he developed cancer after exposure to the active ingredient in Roundup, vacated the judgment that followed a $28 million combined award for the man and remanded the case to a California appellate court for further consideration in light of the June 25 decision in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell.
-
October 09, 2026
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Holding in part that “prejudice is presumed and plaintiffs need not prove an actual impact on the litigation in order to obtain relief” once a violation is found under Loudon v. Mhyre, the en banc Washington Supreme Courtadopted “a presumed prejudice standard” in a 6-3 ruling addressing privilege issues in a medical personal injury case.
-
October 08, 2026
CARSON CITY, Nev. — On rehearing, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed a $7.9 million attorney fee award to a bicyclist who won a $14.1 million verdict after he was struck by a man driving for his employer, finding that the calculation of the fee award was based on counsel’s work during the entire case, rather than only on work performed after the bicyclist made a $1 million offer of judgment.
-
October 07, 2026
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — An exercise equipment manufacturer is entitled to summary judgment on design defect and failure-to-warn claims after a New York federal judge excluded the injured user's primary expert, finding that his opinions about a leg press's design and warnings are not admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.
-
October 07, 2026
PADUCAH, Ky. — A Kentucky federal magistrate judge declined to exclude the opinions of a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) that a motor vehicle accident caused a woman’s posttraumatic stress disorder and exacerbated her anxiety and depression, finding that the expert’s specialized knowledge will help a jury.
-
October 05, 2026
NEW YORK — The plaintiffs in a New York asbestos case on Oct. 2 entered a notice of ruling in which a New York justice said they presented sufficient evidence of asbestos exposure to cause mesothelioma and that the $10 million award for past pain and suffering, while higher than past awards, was consistent with more recent jury verdicts.
-
October 02, 2026
HAMMOND, Ind. — An Indiana federal judge granted in part and denied in part a motion for class certification filed by 11 minors who are suing manufacturing companies for contaminating the area where they lived and attended elementary school with lead, granting certification of their proposed medical monitoring class but denying certification of the proposed personal injury class because the plaintiffs “suffer from dozens of different conditions.”