Headlines

Frameworks for nationwide settlement agreements to resolve litigation regarding the nation’s opioid crisis were announced. The two proposed agreements are with the United States’ largest pharmaceutical distributors, or the “Big Three,” McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., and AmerisourceBergen, and with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson.

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.

ALM and The National Trial Lawyers selected Motley Rice as a finalist in seven categories for their 2021 Elite Trial Lawyers award. Environmental attorney Esther Berezofsky is one of 11 winners of the Elite Women of the Plaintiffs’ Bar award.

Medical manufacturer Royal Philips voluntarily recalled multiple sleep apnea machines this week amid reports that degradation may cause the devices to release dangerous gasses and other toxins that may cause cancer.

Motley Rice attorneys Lance Oliver, Serena Hallowell and Erin Williams explore the potential impact a SCOTUS ruling in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v. Arkansas Teachers Retirement System may have on investors in environmental, social and governance (ESG) litigation in a new article published by Law360.

Four infant deaths prompted Fisher-Price to recall its 4-in-1 Rock ‘n Glide Soother, the popular toy company announced June 3. The company also recalled its 2-in-1 Soothe ‘n Play Glider, though no deaths are currently linked to that product Fisher-Price says.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in 2001 that found 8 out of 10 drugs withdrawn from the market between 1997 and 2000 posed a greater risk to women than men. While that report was released two decades ago, it exposed a troubling trend in the United States.

Law360 named Motley Rice attorney Fidelma Fitzpatrick as a 2021 Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar, calling her “a sought-after trial attorney who has gone toe-to-toe with major corporations time after time and won.”