Product Liability & Mass Torts Digest

The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently excluded plaintiffs’ experts who failed to specifically identify the allegedly harmful chemical or allegedly harmful dose of that chemical. As a result, the court granted summary judgment for the defendants, Twin Hill Acquisition et. al., and dismissed class action claims brought on behalf of current and former American Airlines (AA) employees.

On September 30, 2023, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez dismissed a proposed class action accusing McDonald’s Corporation and Wendy’s International, LLC of exaggerating the size of their hamburgers in advertisements, ruling that reasonable customers wouldn’t be misled by the companies’ advertisements.

In August 2018, Robert Franklin bought an iPhone 6 from his local Walmart Supercenter in Sulphur Springs, Texas. A year later, according to Franklin, his phone blew up—but not in the metaphorical sense—injuring his eyes and wrist. Franklin brought design defect, manufacturing defect, failure-to-warn, and unfair practices claims in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of himself and all other iPhone 6 (and 6 Plus, 6S, and 6S Plus) owners who were injured by exploding iPhones. Franklin v. Apple Inc., 2021 WL 4989952 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 27, 2021).

The primary jurisdiction doctrine continues to be a hotly litigated issue in class actions brought against consumer product companies selling products containing cannabidiol (CBD). While many courts have adopted the primary jurisdiction doctrine to stay these cases pending completion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rulemaking for CBD products, some plaintiffs have recently requested that the stay on these cases be lifted.

In just a few short years, products containing cannabidiol (CBD) have become a mainstay of the consumer products market in areas ranging from cosmetics to food and beverage. Growing consumer use of CBD has led to numerous class actions against companies selling CBD products. Typically, the lawsuits allege various claims, including false and misleading marketing and labeling of CBD products in violation of state consumer protection statutes.