A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of Feb. 21-27.

 

Exxon Mobil Settles With New Jersey Over Environmental Damage

Benjamin Weiser | New York Times

A long-fought legal battle to recover $8.9 billion in damages from Exxon Mobil Corporation for the contamination and loss of use of more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in New Jersey has been quietly settled by the state for around $250 million.

Full story.

 

A Gluten-Free Lawsuit So Ridiculous the Gluten-Free Community Rejects It

Faces of Lawsuit Abuse

A California woman seems to want to have her gluten-free lo mein and eat it, too. Anna Marie Phillips is attempting to file a class action against the popular Asian-American restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s for charging more for items on a gluten-free menu — a practice that Phillips claims is a discriminatory violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Full story.

 

Risperdal, Pelvic Mesh Suits Cause Spike in Filings at Philadelphia’s Mass Torts Program

John O’Brien | Legal Newsline

Mass tort filings in Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center jumped more than 150 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Full story.

 

Lawsuits’ Lurid Details Draw an Online Crowd

Jodi Kantor | New York Times

Intimate, often painful allegations in lawsuits — intended for the scrutiny of judges and juries — are increasingly drawing in mass online audiences far from the courthouses where they are filed.

Full story.

 

Judge Says Medical Device Maker Immune From State Law Claims

Charles Toutant | New Jersey Law Journal

State law claims against Medtronic Inc. for products liability and negligence concerning its Activa deep brain stimulation system are preempted by federal law because the device received premarket approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a federal judge in Camden, New Jersey, has ruled.

Full story.

 

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