Venture Debt Update: Will the Recent Rise in Venture Lending Turn to Bust?
Although venture debt financing is in the midst of a strong rebound, there are signs that the recovery might not last. Some of the conditions that caused a swift decline in venture lending earlier in the decade have resurfaced, threatening the growth of this form of financing.
Movers & Shakers
News about lawyers and law firms in the product liability field.
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Case Notes
Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
'Mass Actions': Eleventh Circuit Attempts to Find a Method to the Madness
Although the Eleventh Circuit in <i>Lowery v. Alabama Power Co.</i>, attempted to grapple with some of the thorny issues presented by CAFA's 'mass action' provisions (and removal generally), many questions remain unanswered.
Features
Extra-Judicial Opinions: The Argument Against a Fifth Daubert Factor
Although the Ninth Circuit did not rule that extra-judicial circumstances should be added to the four Supreme Court Daubert 'factors,' there is, nevertheless, superficial support by some courts in dicta that <i>Daubert II</i> held that an extra-judicial opinion is more reliable than one born out of the litigation. A closer look at this idea will reveal it is not one that should be adopted as a factor.
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Consumer Fraud Actions: The Applicability of the Learned Intermediary Doctrine
There is much uncertainty surrounding if and how well-established defenses to traditional product liability claims will translate in non-personal injury consumer fraud actions. At the forefront of this uncertainty is the applicability of the learned intermediary doctrine in consumer fraud actions involving pharmaceuticals or medical devices.
Practice Tip: Rule 34's Direct Access Provision
Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a party to 'inspect, copy, test, or sample any designated documents or electronically stored information.' However, what exactly does that mean for corporate litigants? Can a plaintiff demand to show up at a client's offices and expect a seat in front of a keyboard? Will a client be forced to hire a third party to copy its hard drives — online shopping Web history and all — and hand them over to the opponent?
Nanotechnology: Law and Business at One-Billionth of a Meter
Nanotechnology represents a vast frontier for science, business, and law. Already governments and corporations are sinking an estimated $10 billion annually into nanotechnology R&D, and economic forecasters are predicting that nanotechnology will account for some 15% of all global manufacturing output by 2014 ' commerce valued at some $2.6 trillion. The plaintiff's bar, mass torts, and class actions cannot be too far behind such words.
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