Headlines

The Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ antitrust claims, which allege that JUUL schemed with global cigarette manufacturer Altria Group, Inc. to tighten its grip on the e-cigarette industry, withstood a motion to dismiss on Aug. 19, 2021.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer appointed Joe Rice as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for multidistrict litigation filed in the Northern District of California against global consulting firm McKinsey & Co., over its alleged role in creating the opioid crisis.

AmLaw Litigation Daily featured Joe Rice and other members of the National Prescription Opiate MDL’s PEC in its Litigators of the Week column July 23, 2021 following the proposed $26 billion settlements that, if approved, would resolve claims against Johnson & Johnson and opioid distributors, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.

Three more lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by former priest, Father Arthur Fernando, have been filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, Our Lady Help of Christians School, and the Catholic School Region of Staten Island are defendants in the suits.

Allegations in the suits filed span several decades, ranging from 1969 to 1998. In addition to Senzer, Greenlawn, N.Y.’s Oldfield Middle School, Harborfields Central School District, and the district’s Board of Education are named in the suits and are accused of fostering an environment that allowed the abuse to occur.

This summer, a 7-year-old boy died from a tragic residential elevator accident at a beach rental home in Outer Banks, N.C. The boy suffered fatal injuries after getting caught between the inner and outer accordion doors of the moving elevator, trapping him between the bottom of the car and the upper door frame.

A preliminary $26 billion settlement was announced today with Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s “Big Three” opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.

Claimants alleging software company Blackbaud Inc. neglected to protect the private information of tens-of-thousands of its clients and millions of people across the globe defeated a motion to dismiss on July 1, 2021.

The Boy Scouts of America agreed to one of the largest settlements for sexual abuse survivors in U.S. history to compensate more than 60,000 men who allege they were abused as children.

At about 1 a.m. on June 24, a wing of the Champlain Tower South Condo Complex in Surfside, Fla., collapsed. As of June 25, four people died in the collapse and more than 159 people who were in the building at the time of collapse remain missing as rescue crews continue to work the scene. Fifty-five units were affected by the collapse.