Lawsuits

Shift in Litigation Landscape: Canadian Businesses Confront Surge in Public Nuisance Lawsuits Across Diverse Industries

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Across Canada, a rising trend in litigation over public nuisances is posing new challenges and liability risks to businesses. In a departure from traditional environmental issues like pollution, claims based on the broad doctrine of public nuisance are now encompassing product liability, class actions, and mass torts. These litigations assert that industries’ operations harm various public rights, such as health and safety, straying into territories like manufactured goods, cosmetics, and digital services. Legal definitions typically outline public nuisance as an act negatively impacting public rights, demanding that complainants demonstrate an unreasonable interference with these rights. … Read more

Unveiling the Texas Two-Step: A Controversial Legal Tactic Used by Major Corporations to Handle Lawsuits

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Austin, Texas — A legal maneuver known as the “Texas Two-Step” has recently come under scrutiny for its role in helping major corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Georgia-Pacific manage their mass tort liabilities through strategic bankruptcy filings. Crafted by the law firm Jones Day, this technique splits a company into two separate entities under Texan law. One of these entities assumes all the mass tort liabilities and then files for bankruptcy, potentially streamlining numerous lawsuits while shielding the parent company’s main assets and operations from related legal claims. This approach allows the financially healthier … Read more

Trump Clears Criminal Hurdles, But an Array of Civil Lawsuits Await on the Horizon

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Despite navigating through numerous criminal investigations relatively unscathed, former President Donald Trump remains beset by an array of pending civil lawsuits. These legal battles pose significant implications not just for Trump personally but may also influence his political pursuits. Among the forefront of his legal challenges is a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The incident, which Trump vehemently denies, is part of a broader pattern of accusations from several women, elevating the stakes of this litigation. Carroll initially … Read more

Skyrocketing Jury Awards in Employment Lawsuits Reflect Shifting Generational Perspectives and Deepening Corporate Distrust

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San Diego, CA — A noticeable surge in “nuclear verdicts,” where jury awards exceed $10 million, has been linked to a growing distrust of corporations and a changing demographic within juries, particularly with the increasing presence of Generation Z jurors. This shift is not just reshaping courtroom battles but also causing a sharp rise in insurance premiums, challenging longstanding legal practices and corporate accountability. In a notable recent legal battle, a San Diego jury awarded $11.2 million to a 74-year-old former employee of Octapharma Plasma Inc., who filed a lawsuit for age discrimination and failure … Read more