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Highlights of the latest product liability cases from around the country.
If you're looking for articles pertaining to product liability litigation, the Rand Institute for Civil Justice ("ICJ") has a Web site that lists and summarizes a variety of articles that are available for purchase or for free. Go to <i>www.rand.org/icj/pubs</i> and click on "Product Liability."
Until 1997, when the Supreme Court decided <i>General Electric v. Joiner</i>, 522 U.S. 136, (1997), I had never heard of the term <i>ipse dixit</i>. Now, almost every month I read a decision in which that phrase appears. <i>Ipse</i>, in Latin, is "he himself"; <i>dixit</i>, "to say." Its dictionary meaning is "an unsupported assertion, usually by a person of standing."
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This month's installment discusses the final three habits of highly effective risk management programs.
Among the myriad acquisitions, mergers, assets sales and other transactions that are consummated every day by companies engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing or selling products, there is hardly a transaction imaginable that does not somehow implicate a precedent corporate entity. A corporation that "succeeds" to another company's operations may be deemed responsible for the latter's liabilities, including claims with respect to products manufactured, sold or distributed before the acquisition. The resulting liability, if visited upon a successor, may subject it to exposure far beyond anything ever contemplated at the time of the transaction ' and in amounts that far exceed the value of the deal or the worth of the entire company.
When a patient files a lawsuit against a drug or medical device company, it is typically based on product liability allegations that the pharmaceutical product caused physical injury. In recent years, however, patients are asserting violations of state consumer fraud or unfair trade practices acts in addition to product liability claims. The benefit of doing so is clear. These claims, if successful, allow enhanced recovery of treble damages, attorneys' fees, court costs and fees.
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On April 27, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-to-2 decision, handed supporters of federal pre-emption a narrow victory in <i>Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC</i>, __U.S.__, 125 S.Ct. 1788, __L.Ed.2d__ (2005). In <i>Bates</i>, the majority's decision endorsed the principal that state law fraud and failure-to-warn claims may be pre-empted in appropriate circumstances under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA" or "Act"), 7 U.S.C. §136 <i>et seq</i>. The <i>Bates</i> majority held that where such state law claims impose requirements on an insecticide manufacturer that are "in addition to or different from" labeling or packaging requirements under FIFRA, the claims will be barred by FIFRA's pre-emption provision, 7 U.S.C. §136v(b).
Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.
Financing deals have become increasingly complicated as parties attempt to raise capital and take advantage of accounting and tax incentives. These transactions often face scrutiny when one party files for bankruptcy. During a Chapter 11 reorganization, a debtor must use all tools at its disposal to best restructure its obligations. In contrast, a creditor must work to ensure it receives the best possible return. The term "lease" is not defined in the Bankruptcy Code. Due to this lack of a clear definition, creditors and debtors will often attempt to recharacterize agreements between the parties. In this context, a secured creditor or debtor may argue that a "lease" is actually a disguised secured financing. In the converse, a party could also argue a secured financing is actually a "true lease." This is due to the Bankruptcy Code's different treatment of secured debt and leases. Depending on the factual scenario, this differing treatment could significantly change the parties' obligations.
Chapter 4 of Revised Article 9, titled "Rights of Third Parties," deals with several issues affecting the assignment of accounts, leases, and other contract rights. See, in particular, Sections 9-403 to 9-409. These sections replace former Sections 9-206 and 9-318 and part of Section 2A-303. This article summarizes some of the key provisions of Chapter 4 of Revised Article 9, compares these provisions to former Article 9, and describes a few recent cases under this Chapter. Note that different rules apply in a consumer transaction or if the account debtor is an individual who incurred the obligation primarily for personal, family or household purposes; this article does not address these issues. In addition, this article does not address the assignment of a health care insurance receivable.
