Attorneys asked to research economic loss issues across multiple states may have just hit the jackpot. The court presiding over the General Motors Ignition Switch Multidistrict Litigation recently authored an opinion providing a multistate survey of the law concerning product defect manifestation, incidental damages, and unjust enrichment in the economic loss context. See In re GM LLC Ignition Switch Litig., No. 14-MD-2543 (JFM), 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155576 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2018).
The GM Ignition Switch MDL arose from the recall in February 2014 by General Motors LLC (“New GM”) of vehicles manufactured with a defective ignition switch that could move too easily from the “run” position to the “accessory” and “off” positions. Plaintiffs in the MDL seek recovery on behalf of broad putative class of GM car owners and lessors whose vehicles were subject to recalls for the ignition switch issue as well as other defects. Plaintiffs argue that they have b
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It’s been over 8 years since we launched the Product Liability Monitor. Over that time we’ve written quite a few posts that we hope our readers have found informative, useful, and sometimes amusing. It’s no secret lawyers are slow to change, but we’ve decided it was time for a newRead the full article →
Also contributed by William Schoof* Should an e-commerce firm be held liable for the defects of every item it sells on its global internet marketplace? In Fox v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 3:16-cv-03013, 2018 BL 191355 (M.D. Tenn. May 30, 2018), plaintiffs argued exactly that, and the district court answered with aRead the full article →
also contributed to by Kelsey Watkins* Consumers are interacting with technology to accomplish an increasingly wide variety of daily tasks, whether finding a date with the swipe of a finger or learning the weather from a voice-controlled assistant. These technological advances present potential legal risks for their creators. Indeed, inRead the full article →
The Seventh Circuit recently upheld the grant of summary judgment against a plaintiff asserting products liability claims against the manufacturer of an intrauterine device (IUD). See Dalton v. Teva N. Am., No. 17-1990, 2018 WL 2470634 (7th Cir. June 4, 2018). Because the plaintiff failed to produce expert testimony regardingRead the full article →
