Trial Magazine

Merck v. Albrecht. This decision on preemption dramatically altered the ability of plaintiffs injured by defective prescription drugs to succeed in claims against manufacturers.

Janet Abaray, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, Cincinnati, OH

Bostock v. Clayton County. Although the text of the statute seemed to suggest this result all along, until SCOTUS ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity we faced a hodgepodge of state and local rules on this issue. Bostock solves that problem.

Walt Auvil, The Employment Law Center, Parkersburg, WV

The recent and very bad decision in In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation has had a significant impact on my practice. The court made “an Erie guess” that 35 state supreme courts would not impose liability on original branded manufacturers for a defective label of their generic progeny. This decision has emboldened defendants who now use this single decision as precedent in other drug cases nationwide. The far reaching impact of motion practice in MDL cases has never been more profoundly felt.

M. Elizabeth Graham, Grant & Eisenhofer, San Francisco, CA

In Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems, Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court eliminated the damages cap by holding that the application of a state statute that limits noneconomic damages to $500,000 violates the Oregon Constitution.

Brian C. Dretke, The Dretke Law Firm, Bend, OR

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission changed the concept of corporate speech and opened a Pandora’s box of unlimited dark money that has infiltrated our political system at the local, state, and federal levels.

Steve Waldman, Terry Bryant, Houston, TX