John Sammon News
Ninth Circuit hears jurisdiction arguments in landmark global warming lawsuits against Big Oil
PASADENA, Calif. – A potentially precedent-setting hearing on Wednesday saw Northern California communities seeking relief against oil companies whose fossil fuel emissions plaintiff attorneys contend are damaging residents with rising sea levels and environmental degradation.
Los Angeles court affirms lower court decision denying opposition to housing project's environmental impact report
The State of California Second Appellate District Division Three Court affirmed a judgment issued by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, deciding against an environmentalist activist group that challenged an environmental impact report for a housing project.
Johnson & Johnson vows to appeal $344 million judgment in Ethicon vaginal mesh verdict
SAN DIEGO – A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Ethicon vowed to reverse on appeal the decision levying $344 million against the company for allegedly marketing and selling pelvic mesh devices company officials knew were dangerous.
Having lost climate change lawsuits, Oakland and San Francisco will plead cases to Ninth Circuit this week
PASADENA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Two potentially precedent-setting hearings Wednesday, Feb. 5 involving Bay Area communities will seek to decide who has jurisdiction, federal or state courts, in appealed lawsuits over allegations that oil companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. injured plaintiffs by promoting fossil fuel emissions.
Big Oil to urge Ninth Circuit this week to let federal courts hear cities' climate change lawsuits
PASADENA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is set on Feb. 5 to hear an appeal by oil companies asking it to overturn a ruling in favor of San Mateo and other California cities and counties that let them pursue their climate change lawsuits in state court.
Farmers and pork producer organizations sue over law increasing space for hogs passed by California voters
SAN DIEGO – Organizations representing farmers and pork producers have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California over a ballot measure passed by state voters that would mandate bigger holding pens for hogs and cages for egg-laying chickens.
Jury decides woman’s mesothelioma not a result of J&J baby powder
LOS ANGELES – A 12-member jury on Monday decided Johnson & Johnson was not responsible for Amy Fong’s mesothelioma, rejecting a lawsuit in which it was alleged baby powder Fong had breathed in Hong Kong during the 1970’s caused her to contract the deadly lung disease.
Closing arguments heard in woman’s mesothelioma lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson
LOS ANGELES – Closing remarks in a trial to determine if Amy Fong developed mesothelioma as a result of breathing allegedly asbestos-tainted Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder mined in Korea took place on Thursday with Fong’s attorneys accusing the company of negligence and fraud.
Johnson & Johnson witness says Fong’s mesothelioma likely from Hong Kong or natural occurrence
LOS ANGELES – Attorneys representing Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday sought to spread the possible causes of mesothelioma in plaintiff Amy Fong from an incinerator in Hong Kong to include possibly faulty genetics or inheritance and not from baby powder use.
Johnson & Johnson witness says Hong Kong pollution likely source of woman’s mesothelioma, not baby powder
LOS ANGELES – An expert witness called by attorneys defending Johnson & Johnson said on Monday airborne asbestos particles from a landfill and incinerator in Hong Kong was the likely cause of Amy Fong’s mesothelioma and not baby powder.
Research pathologist says talc powder doesn’t cause mesothelioma in Johnson & Johnson trial
LOS ANGELES – A pathologist called by attorneys for Johnson & Johnson in a trial to decide if alleged asbestos in baby powder caused Amy Fong to contract the deadly disease said the product does not cause mesothelioma.
Plaintiff attorneys target witness over lab deficiencies in talc trial against Johnson & Johnson
LOS ANGELES – On Thursday in a trial over allegations that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson Baby Power caused a woman to develop mesothelioma, attorneys for plaintiff Amy Fong focused on the deficiencies in the testing lab of the defendant's witness.
Plaintiff lawyers go after key defense witness in Johnson & Johnson mesothelioma trial
LOS ANGELES – Lawyers for plaintiff Amy Fong on Wednesday attempted to undercut the testimony of a key defense witness, challenging his presentations and using documents they said showed that officials at Johnson & Johnson were concerned about the possibility of asbestos in its baby powder.
Defense witness debunks liquid separation testing in Johnson & Johnson mesothelioma trial
LOS ANGELES – An expert witness for Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday attacked the testing techniques of an expert witness for plaintiff Amy Fong in a trial to decide if the company’s baby powder allegedly caused Fong to develop mesothelioma.
Star defense witness says no asbestos found in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder
LOS ANGELES – An expert witness for Johnson & Johnson said on Monday in a trial to determine if asbestos allegedly caused a woman to develop mesothelioma that the mineral had not been detected in the company's baby powder.
Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson attack concentration testing method in woman’s mesothelioma trial
LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson on Thursday attempted to blunt a central premise advanced by plaintiff Amy Fong’s lawyers that a form of testing known as concentration not used by Johnson & Johnson could have spotted asbestos in the baby powder she alleges caused her mesothelioma.
Fong testifies about ordeal of mesothelioma in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder case
LOS ANGELES – Attorneys for Amy Fong had the woman recount the hell of undergoing treatments for mesothelioma on Wednesday and showed a jury family photos to demonstrate what she could lose in a trial over allegations asbestos in Johnson & Johnson baby powder caused the disease.
Fong’s husband recounts mesothelioma ordeal in Johnson & Johnson trial
LOS ANGELES – The husband of Amy Fong on Tuesday recounted the suffering his wife goes through battling mesothelioma in a trial over allegations her disease was caused by asbestos in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder.
Statistician says almost certain plaintiff was exposed to asbestos in baby powder in mesothelioma trial with Johnson & Johnson; Defense says findings relied on flawed data
LOS ANGELES – In a trial to decide if Amy Fong contracted mesothelioma from asbestos allegedly in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, a statistician brought in as an expert witness by her lawyer said on Monday it’s almost a certainty Fong was exposed.
Johnson & Johnson attorneys say tested talc powder bottles questionable in mesothelioma trial
LOS ANGELES – In a trial over allegations asbestos in baby powder caused Amy Fong’s mesothelioma, attorneys for Johnson & Johnson on Friday continued to question if the baby powder she used was the same that a key plaintiff witness contends tested positive for the deadly mineral.