Effective January 1, 2012, the Florida Supreme Court amended the civil rule regulating mediation procedures in Florida. See In re Amends. to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.720, 75 So. 3d 264 (Fla. 2011). Significantly, the Court added subparagraph c which defines the phrase “party representative having full authority to settle” found in subparagraph b. (Subparagraph b considers … Continue Reading
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that on the morning of Thursday, May 24, it will file opinions in two civil cases [pdf]: Bonhomme v. James, No. 112393 et al. — (1) Should the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation be extended to a largely personal setting on the facts pleaded? (2) Did the plaintiff plead justifiable … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently shrank universe of state law claims pertaining to Class III medical devices that remain untouched by Riegel express preemption or Buckman implied preemption. In Stengel v. Medtronic, Inc., the Court ruled that a state law failure-to-warn claim premised on FDA regulations was impliedly preempted by the Supreme Court’s decision … Continue Reading
It is not uncommon for a deposition witness testifying regarding critical events to make somewhat inconsistent statements under direct- and cross-examination. For decades California trial courts have denied summary judgment motions on the ground that such inconsistencies create triable issues of fact that must be resolved by juries. The lower courts cite two California Supreme … Continue Reading
Last August, the California Supreme Court issued one of those once-in-a-generation opinions that cut a wide swath across many areas of tort law. A 6-1 opinion, Howell v. Hamilton Meats held that personal injury plaintiffs are limited to recovering, as medical special damages, the amount plaintiff’s private health insurer actually paid plaintiff’s medical provider in full satisfaction of … Continue Reading
