Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.

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On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court decided <i>Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker</i>, a ruling likely to fortify the view that an award of punitive damages should not exceed the amount of the compensatory award. To be sure, some will argue that there are, may be, or ought to be, exceptions; some will argue that the Court was only deciding federal common law in a maritime case and not the limits of state common law; and some may say there is still support for accepting punitive awards that exceed a 1:1 ratio.

Part One of this article discussed the types of vehicle-related accidents to which children fall prey and described some ways technology has developed to avoid such accidents. The conclusion addresses the role of parents and caregivers in vehicle-related accidents and the new type of litigation spawned by new technology.

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Product liability litigation is waged through battles of the experts. Hotly contested disputes over expert testimony arise early and often, from discovery through trial and even appeal. Disputes intensify when parties use their own employees as experts because the law governing employee expert disclosure remains undeveloped.

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Last month, the author said that heightened awareness is necessary after the Supreme Court ruling in <i>CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries</i> increased the stakes. The discussion concludes herein with a look at the mechanics of an investigation.

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Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel remain icons in the lore of baseball. As attorneys, little did the authros realize that Yogi and Casey, in making their baseball remarks, were actually intending to guide us through the due diligence process that counsel deals with on a regular basis.

From the attorney's perspective, the RFP is a tool for collecting the information that becomes the heart and soul of the final contract and serves as a basis for the vendor's liability. This article spells out a "best-practices" RFP process, step by step.

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Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in affirming convictions for securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud, ruled in <i>U.S. v. Leonard</i>, that interests in various limited liability companies ("LLCs") onstituted "securities" for purposes of the federal securities laws. The Leonard analysis is instructive of the process that a court will follow in considering the status of non-traditional securities, such as LLC interests, under the federal securities laws.