http://productliability.law360.com/ The Newswire for Legal Professionals Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://productliability.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://productliability.law360.com/ http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132791 The Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Ill., has been hit with a whistleblower action from a former employee alleging she was fired in retaliation for her repeated warnings that the Carle Hospital and the Carle Clinic had violated federal regulations intended to protect cancer patients enrolled as subjects in clinical trials. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132791 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132956 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said Friday it had voluntarily pulled about 43,000 over-the-range microwave ovens from shelves due to a defect in some models that can potentially create a shock hazard. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132956 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132933 Plaintiffs have dropped their putative class action accusing Pfizer Inc. of fraudulently marketing Lipitor by covering up certain side effects and misrepresenting the cholesterol drug's efficacy in some patient groups. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132933 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132934 Victims of a deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007 have come to terms with the contracting company working on the bridge when it fell. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132934 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132778 Boston Scientific Corp. subsidiary Guidant Corp. will plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges and pay $296 million to end a U.S. Department of Justice probe into cardiac defibrillator product advisories it issued. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132778 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132915 The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the way Abbott Laboratories has sold and marketed the anti-seizure drug Depakote, the company said Friday. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132915 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132796 A video gamer in Canada has launched a putative class action against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. and Sony of Canada Ltd., seeking up to $35 million for alleged damage to PlayStation 3 consoles following the installation of a firmware update. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132796 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132820 Advertising by Sony Electronics Inc. significantly overstates how long the batteries last in its Vaio series of laptop computers, according to a proposed class action alleging breach of contract and violations of Missouri and California consumer protection laws. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132820 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132713 A federal appeals court has vacated a judgment finding that General Star National Insurance Co. was bound by the terms of an excess insurance policy it had issued related to the settlement of a state court personal injury lawsuit. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132713 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132537 Procter & Gamble Co. has been hit with a putative class action suit that could include more than 1 million consumers who purchased Vicks vitamin C-containing cold and flu drugs, following an Oct. 29 warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the company has been illegally marketing the products. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132537 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132668 The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has stopped the sale of more than 8,000 pounds of catfish from five Asian countries following a positive test for fluoroquinolone, an antibiotic not approved for use in seafood by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132668 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132491 Two product liability attorneys formerly of Dechert LLP have joined the Philadelphia office of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132491 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132673 A federal judge on Thursday denied several major tobacco companies' request to freeze implementation of a newly enacted measure that would ban the sale of any “modified risk tobacco product” — including cigarettes labeled “light” or “low-tar” — without prior U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132673 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132600 A federal judge has tossed counts of unjust enrichment and certain breach of implied warranty claims against appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. in a products liability multidistrict litigation related to the company's front-loading washers. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132600 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132588 Centurion Medical Products has issued a recall, listed as a Class 1 by federal authorities, of kits containing defective pediatric tracheal tubes by Smiths Medical that could cause ventilation problems. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132588 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132611 A federal judge has tossed the majority of claims in a consolidated class action against Sears Roebuck & Co. in which customers accused the retail giant of selling defective washing machines. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132611 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132442 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chastised Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday for publicizing “inaccurate and misleading” information concerning a defect in the floor mats of roughly 3.8 million vehicles that can cause accelerator pedals to stick. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132442 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132342 Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. will have to produce records related to potential side effects of sulindac and four other drugs for withholding a decade's worth of regulatory reports in a suit alleging its prescription anti-inflammatory drug caused a potentially fatal skin disease. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132342 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132268 AtriCure Inc. said Wednesday it had reached a tentative $3.8 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to lay to rest allegations over marketing practices related to the medical device maker's surgical ablation devices. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132268 http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132433 While the verdict officially remains under wraps, word is spreading that a Pennsylvania jury has ordered Pfizer Inc. to fork over $75 million in punitive damages to a woman who developed invasive breast cancer after she began taking the popular menopause drug Prempro. http://productliability.law360.com/articles/132433