Bare metal cannot cause asbestos-related diseases
Ronald Dummitt worked aboard Navy ships in the boiler rooms for two decades, during which time he was exposed to asbestos dust during the maintenance of valves and gaskets, some of which were...
View ArticleSeeking Supreme Court review of anti-arbitration decision
In September, we reported on a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that undermines the freedom of contract and treats the state’s consumers like children, unable to choose how to resolve disputes without...
View ArticleRescuing teachers from the grasp of forced unionism
California law forces all public school teachers to pay chargeable dues to the labor union that represents them, regardless of whether they are union members. California law also forces all public...
View ArticleWill the California Supreme Court expand asbestos take-home liability?
Johnny Kesner was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2011. Because this is an asbestos-related illness, he cast a wide net and sued 19 companies, most of whom were Kesner’s former employers where Kesner...
View ArticleHow far does “premises liability” extend off the premises?
Lynne Haver claimed that she contracted mesothelioma as a result of coming into contact with her husband Mike’s clothing (when she did the laundry), tools, vehicles and general surroundings in the...
View ArticleWorkers’ comp, bulk suppliers, and expanded tort liability
Flavio Ramos worked as a mold maker, machine operator, and laborer for Supreme Casting & Pattern, Inc., which manufactured metal parts through “a foundry and fabrication process,” from 1972 to...
View ArticleSupreme Court grants important “standing” case
Thomas Robins, an unemployed man, sued Spokeo Inc., which runs a website that collects and publishes consumer “credit estimates,” for willful violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), because...
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court: No tort liability for intentional misuse of a Genie lift
Today, the Texas Supreme Court held in Genie Industries v. Matak that when people intentionally misuse a product in a way that is obviously dangerous, the manufacturer is not liable for the injuries...
View ArticlePutting the “Supreme” in Supremacy Clause
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion that California’s Discover Bank rule, which essentially forbade class-action waivers in consumer arbitration contracts, was...
View ArticleSupreme Court rejects New Jersey arbitration case
New Jersey courts, along with those of California and Massachusetts, continually exhibit hostility to the freedom of contract, when that freedom is expressed in a contract to arbitrate consumer or...
View ArticleSupreme Court victory for free speech: Reed v. Town of Gilbert
The Supreme Court today unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, holding that the town’s Sign Code contained content-based regulations of speech that do not survive strict...
View ArticleFighting at a hockey game? No way!
At a youth hockey game in Rome, New York, families of the 13-year-old players rooted for their teams with increasing intensity. Some spectators turned belligerent, and after the game ended, one...
View ArticleSupreme Court to review public employee unions’ ability to garnish wages
The California Teachers Association—one of the most politically powerful groups in the state—may have to start funding its political campaigns with the money of only those teachers who actually support...
View ArticleCan Congress deem someone injured?
Article III of the United States Constitution allows federal courts to hear only “cases or controversies,” defined as cases brought by plaintiffs who have suffered actual (not speculative) harm that...
View ArticleTell me if you’ve heard this one…
Because the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear so few cases every year, cases raising important issues frequently are denied, and denied, and denied, until finally the Court says yes. And so, we have...
View ArticleArizona constitution prohibits cities from forcing taxpayers to pay the...
The City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), the police officers’ union, negotiated a contract whereby the city pays full salary and overtime for six full-time and 35...
View ArticleWill the Supreme Court value individual rights over public employee unions?
One of the big cases of this Supreme Court term is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which will decide if public employee unions can garnish non-union workers’ wages to pay for activities...
View ArticleExtending tort liability on the basis of indirect economic benefit
In Sherman v. Hennessy Industries, the California Court of Appeal held that the manufacturer of an “arcing machine”—essentially a highly calibrated saw used to customize brake linings—is liable for...
View ArticleOpening salvos in the teacher union dues case
The briefing in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association is underway. You’ll recall that this Supreme Court case presents the issue of whether public employee unions can garnish the wages of...
View ArticleMissed opportunity: California Supreme Court refuses to hear “adjacent...
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court denied the petition for review in Sherman v. Hennessy Industries, in which the California Court of Appeal held that the manufacturer of a safe product can be...
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