Category Archives: Product Liability Law News

Jury Verdict In Favor Of Truck Manufacturer Reversed.

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Mark Mellor

A 15-year-old boy threw a 2.5 pound of concrete rock from a freeway overpass, penetrating the windshield of a truck driven by plaintiff, striking plaintiff on the head and causing great bodily injuries. The boy pled guilty and was sentenced to … Continue reading →

No Cause Of Action Against Doctors Or LASIK Manufacturer.

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Two plaintiffs received laser eye surgery, LASIK. They brought an action against the machine manufacturer and various doctors because the laser machine used had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, even though they suffered no injuries during … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care Law News, Legal News, Negligence Law News, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Law News, Personal Injury Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 10-55577, action, affirmed, approved, benefiting, California Legal Remedies Act, claim, claims, class members, clinical trials, common law, conduct, consent, corrections, disclosure, Dismissal, district court’s, Doctor, doctors, Drug and Cosmetic Act, effectiveness, elective, enforce, escape, experiment, experimentation, expressly preempted, eye, farsightedness, FDCA, federal act, Federal Food, federal requirements, Food and Drug Administration, Fraud, Health and Safety Code, Health and Safety Code section 24271, Health and Safety Code § 24271, Human Subjects, Human Subjects Act, hyperopic, impliedly, informed, informed consent, Injunction, investigational, laser, Laser Eye Center, laser machine, LASIK, machine manufacturer, meaning, medical device, medical experiment, narrow gap, Ninth Circuit, No Cause Of Action Against Doctors Or Lasik Manufacturer, No Cause Of Action Against Doctors Or Lasik Manufacturer Requiring Informed Consent., no injuries, off-label, omission, Patient, Perez, preempted, preemption, premarket, privately, received, requires, section 24271, standing to sue, state law, subjected, subjects, suffered, suing, surgeries, surgery, therapeutic, violates, violation, § 24271 | Leave a comment

Judgment On The Pleadings Against Manufacturer Reversed.

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Mark Mellor

A few months ago, the California Supreme Court limited the liability of manufacturers resulting from asbestos manufactured by third parties in O’Neil v. Crane Co.(2012) 53 Cal.4th 335, [266 P.3d 987; 135 Cal.Rptr.3d 288]. In this case, the Court of Appeal … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Law News, Legal News, Personal Injury Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 135 Cal.Rptr.3d 288, 140 Cal.Rptr.3d 268, 205 Cal.App.4th 782, 266 P.3d 987, 53 Cal.4th 335, air, airborne, allegedly, articulated, asbestos, asbestos fibers, asbestos-containing, brake linings, brake shoe, california supreme court, carrier's, causes of action, component, component parts, Court of Appeal, Crane Co., decedent, defective, dust, exception, exposure, failure to warn, fibers, finished product, gaskets, grinding, harmful, Hazard, Hennessy Industries Inc., intended, italics, judgment, Judgment On The Pleadings Against Manufacturer Reversed, liability, limited, machine, manufactured, manufacturers, necessarily, operation, own product, O’Neil, packing, pleadings, pumps, released, Resulting, reversed, Shields, strict liability, strictly liable, supplied, third parties, use, valves, warn, wheel | Leave a comment

Manufacturing Defect Summary Judgment In Favor Of Medical Device Manufacturer Reversed.

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Plaintiff had a prosthesis implanted in his femur, and reported pain in his thigh 18 months later. A fatigue fracture was discovered. Defendant manufacturers filed a motion for summary judgment, which included a declaration from an engineer stating the prosthesis was … Continue reading →

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The Holder Rule Permits Action Against A Lender To The Same Extent An Action Could Be Brought Against The Seller Of A Mobile Home.

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Plaintiffs bought a motor home that was financed with an installment contract. Shortly after the sale, the contract was assigned by the dealership to a bank. Plaintiffs assert the motor home was defective from the start. After months passed without the … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Law News, Banking Law News, Business Law News, Legal News, Lender Law News, Procedural Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 10-point, actually paid, appellate court, assert, assert all claims, assert claims, assigned, assignee, attorney fees, awarded, bank, bold, bought, breach of warranty, buyer, C067812, causes of action, claims, Code of Federal Regulations, consumer, consumer credit, consumer protection, contract, credit rating, dealer, dealership, declaratory, defamation, defective, demanded, demurrer, disclaimed, financed, holder, Holder Rule, injunctive relief, installment, installment contract, judgment, Lafferty, Lender, motor home, notice, NOTICE: ANY HOLDER OF THIS CONSUMER CREDIT CONTRACT IS SUBJECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES WHICH THE DEBTOR COULD ASSERT AGAINST THE SELLER OF GOODS OR SERVICES OBTAINED PURSUANT HERETO OR WITH THE PRO, ownership, plain meaning, preempted, recover, repair, repairs, reporting, Reporting Act, reversed, Sale, section 433.2, seller, Song-Beverly Act, sued, summary adjudication, the Holder Rule, The Holder Rule Permits Action Against A Lender To The Same Extent An Action Could Be Brought Against The Seller Of A Mobile Home, title 16, trial court, typeface, unfair, vehicle, warranty, Wells Fargo Bank | Leave a comment

Plaintiff’s State Law Failure To Warn Claim About A Medical Device Is Not Preempted.

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Plaintiff had a pump and catheter surgically implanted in his abdomen to deliver pain relief medication directly to his spine, and he ended up a paraplegic. The opinion states defendant’s device caused the paralysis. The district court concluded plaintiff’s action was … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal News, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal Law News, Personal Injury Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 10-17755, abdomen, action, adverse events, amend, amended complaint, approval process, catheter, Caused, citations omitted, claim, common law, concluded, contained, deliver, device, directly, dismissed, district court, doctors, Duty To Warn, failure to warn, FDCA, federal law, federal requirements, Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, implanted, impliedly, manufacturers, MDA, medical device, Medical Device Amendment, medication, Medtronic Incorporated, negligence claim, Ninth Circuit, opinion, pain, paralysis, paraplegic, Plaintiff’s State Law Failure To Warn Claim About A Medical Device Is Not Preempted, police powers, pre-market, preempt, preempted, preemption, proposed, pump, reasonable care, relief, reversed, serious injury, spine, state law, state requirement, state tort, Stengel, surgically, warning | Leave a comment

No Bystander Claim For Emotional Distress When There Is No Contemporaneous Perception That Defective Product Caused Injury.

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Plaintiff brought an action after she suffered emotional distress upon witnessing the death of her brother while they were scuba diving off the coast of Catalina Island. At the time of the accident, plaintiff thought her brother had a heart attack, … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Law News, Legal News, Negligence Law News, Personal Injury Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 212 Cal.App.4th 830, Accident, action, affirmed, air, appellate court, awareness, breathe, brother, bystander, bystander theory, Catalina Island, causal connection', causing injury, close relative, coast, company’s, comprehend, contemporaneous, contemporaneous awareness, contemporaneously, Death, decedent's, defective, defective product, diving, emotional, Emotional Distress, explosion, flow-restriction insert, Fortman, Forvaltningsbolaget Insulan AB, granted, guidelines, heart attack, infliction, injury, injury-producing, insert, learned, lodged, machine, mandatory, manufacturer, meaningfully, medical malpractice, No Bystander Claim For Emotional Distress When There Is No Contemporaneous Perception That Defective Product Caused Injury., noting, observe, perceive, plastic, preventing, product, radiation, regulator, resulting injury, scene, scuba, second stage, suffered, Summary judgment, trial court, underwater, witness, witnessed, witnessing | Leave a comment

Second Judge’s Order Dismissing Action On Ground Of Forum Non Conveniens Affirmed After First Judge Denied Same Motion.

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Just prior to retiring, the first judge denied a motion to stay or dismiss an action on the ground of forum non conveniens in a product liability case. A second judge granted the same motion when it was renewed. Plaintiffs appealed, … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Law News, Legal News, Procedural Law News, Product Liability Law News | Tagged 153 Cal.App.4th 127, 212 Cal.App.4th 449, abused, affirmed, appealed, appellate court, authority, Britton, California, Case, causation, change of circumstances, Civ.Proc. section 410.30 (a), Civ.Proc. §410.30 (a), Code of Civil Procedure, Code of Civil Procedure section 410.30 subdivision (a), conveniens, convenient forum, crash, Dallas Airmotive Inc., denied, discovery, dismiss an action, earlier order, erred, erroneous, first judge, forum non conveniens, fully developed, granted, ground, judge, judicial discretion, lawsuit, legislative intent, manufacture, Mazda Motor of America Inc., minivan's, motion to stay, order, ordinary meanings, outset, overrule, own motion, plain language, plain meaning, predecessor, primary objective, prior order, prior ruling, product liability, reconsider, reconsideration, reconsidering, renewed, residents, retiring, same motion, seat, second judge, Second Judge’s Order Dismissing Action On Ground Of Forum Non Conveniens Affirmed After First Judge Denied Same Motion, section 410.30, significant change, statutory authority, statutory language, subdivision (a), successor, unavailable, Williamson, without finding | Leave a comment

$13.8 Million Punitive Damages Not Unconstitutionally Excessive.

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Mark Mellor

Betty Bullock smoked cigarettes for 45 years. The jury awarded $850,000 in compensatory damages and later awarded $28 billion in punitive damages. The trial court granted a new trial on the issue of excessive damages with the condition it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Appellate Law News, Damages Law News, Legal News, Negligence Law News, Personal Injury Law News, Product Liability Law News, Trial Law News | Tagged $13.8 Million Punitive Damages Not Unconstitutionally Excessive, 131 Cal.Rptr.3d 382, 16 times the compensatory damages, 198 Cal.App.4th 543, 45 years, accepted, affirmed, amount, appellate court, awarded, Betty Bullock, Bullock, cause of action, cigarette, cigarette manufacturer's, cigarettes, compensatory, compensatory award, compensatory damages, concluded, Condition, conduct toward, consented, Court of Appeal, damages, damages award, deny, deterrence, disease, excessive, excessive damages, extremely, financial condition, first appeal, granted, guidepost, issue, judgment, judicata, jury, limited, lung cancer, misconduct, Motion, new trial, Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris’s, prejudgment interest, primary right, profitability, punitive, punitive damages, punitive damages only, ratio, reasonableness, Reduce, reduction, remanded, reprehensibility”, reprehensible, res, reversed, scientist, second appeal, second jury, single-digit, smoked, smoking, tobacco, trial court, two to one decision, unconstitutionally excessive | Leave a comment

Judge Properly Excluded Expert Testimony After Concluding Claimed Damages Were Speculative.

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Mark Mellor

A dental implant company sued a university for breach of contract involving clinical tests for a new implant the company patented. The implant company sought damages ranging from $200 million to over $1 billion. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial … Continue reading →

Posted in California Supreme Court Law News, Damages Law News, Evidentiary Law News, Legal News, Product Liability Law News, Summary Judgment Law News | Tagged 55 Cal.4th 747, Abuse Of Discretion, Act, appellate court, big, breach of contract, california supreme court, Claimed Damages, clinical, clinical tests, company, comparable, conclusion of law, de novo, decision, deference, dental, dental implant, driver, Duty, estimate, Evidentiary, evidentiary hearing, exclude, excluded, excluding, expert, expert opinion, Expert Testimony, gatekeeper, gatekeeping, implant, implant company, innovation, innovative, innovativeness, judge, jury’s assessment, leader, lost profits, market share, new implant, occurrence, patented, plaintiff’s expert’s, practitioner, proffered testimony, projections, properly, prospective profits, reasonable basis, reasonably certain, recoverable, reliability, Reviewed, Sargon Enterprises Inc., smaller, speculation, speculative, speculative expert testimony, supreme court, testimony, trial court, trial court’s, trial judge, university, University of Southern California | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Product Liability Law News

Jury Verdict In Favor Of Truck Manufacturer Reversed.

Judgment On The Pleadings Against Manufacturer Reversed.

Manufacturing Defect Summary Judgment In Favor Of Medical Device Manufacturer Reversed.

The Holder Rule Permits Action Against A Lender To The Same Extent An Action Could Be Brought Against The Seller Of A Mobile Home.

Plaintiff’s State Law Failure To Warn Claim About A Medical Device Is Not Preempted.

No Bystander Claim For Emotional Distress When There Is No Contemporaneous Perception That Defective Product Caused Injury.

Second Judge’s Order Dismissing Action On Ground Of Forum Non Conveniens Affirmed After First Judge Denied Same Motion.

$13.8 Million Punitive Damages Not Unconstitutionally Excessive.

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