In the News

Behind the surge in lawsuits is a little-known, sophisticated legal ecosystem that includes marketing firms that find potential clients, financiers who bankroll law firms, doctors who review medical records, scientists who analyze medical literature and the lawyers who bring the cases to court. Individual plaintiffs can become commodities that are bought and sold by marketers, with prices based on demand. The more lawsuits that get filed, the more pressure companies face to settle.

In a critically worded 55-page decision that wasn’t exactly a surprise and at one point referred to the case as “an ill-conceived initiative of the Office of the Attorney General,” Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager said New York failed to prove ExxonMobil misled investors about the impact of climate change even under the state’s extraordinarily loose Martin Act, which doesn’t require proof a company acted with bad intent or that investors relied on what the company said.

More than 500 cities and counties opted out of the unprecedented “negotiation class” proposed by plaintiff lawyers to settle sprawling opioid litigation, leaving 98% of the 34,458 U.S. cities and counties technically still in the class.

When a fellow former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia claims that our client, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, betrays conservative legal ideals through its unyielding opposition to abuse of class-action suits by the plaintiffs’ bar, we take it seriously. But the argument that Professor Brian Fitzpatrick raised in his November 13 National Review piece does not stand up to scrutiny.

Trial lawyer ads are everywhere: television, the radio, even on social media. Many ads use blaring headlines, dire warnings, and even government agency logos to claim doctor-prescribed medications could be deadly… These ads promise big money if consumers sign up to sue.

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan has won Commissioners Court approval to opt out of a group that includes all cities and counties in the U.S. that have been impacted by the opioid crisis. The group is a first-of-its-kind “negotiating class,” established to promote settlements in cases brought by 2,800 local governments nationwide against opioid manufacturers, distributors and sellers.

The real debate on climate change is happening in the courtrooms. Lawsuits are one key piece of the puzzle to getting big change on energy and climate policy. Even if advocates don’t win in court, they still draw media attention and put pressure on their targets.

New York’s surprising decision to drop half its case against ExxonMobil in the closing arguments of a closely watched trial over climate-fraud claims was unusual and probably indicates the state never had the evidence it needed, said an experienced litigator who has handled environmental lawsuits for government clients.

A proposed “negotiation class” to settle all opioid litigation by U.S. cities and counties could be in deep trouble, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit considers an appeal of the order creating the controversial class and lawyers in two states with big claims urge their clients to opt out before a Nov. 22 deadline.

Kassab Law Firm, a Houston firm focused on suing lawyers, has filed a fourth Texas suit alleging San Antonio lawyer Cesar Ornelas II is involved in a conspiracy to engage in civil barratry by working with a funeral home owner to solicit potential law firm clients.