Dechert Re:Torts

Key Developments in Product Liability and Mass Torts

In this monthly newsletter you'll find insights and analysis covering significant legal trends, landmark cases, and strategic considerations for businesses facing complex litigation. It serves as a valuable tool for staying informed about the evolving landscape of tort law and its implications for various industries.

INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE

Expanded Product Liability in Europe: A New EU Directive

As EU Member States, including Germany, begin implementing the EU PLD, companies operating in these markets should consider compliance strategies that reflect the broader scope of liability for defective products, including software and technology, sold in the EU.

HOT TOPICS

Advisory Committee Advances Litigation Funding Review

While the Committee continues to assess the feasibility and framework of a new federal rule governing TPLF, some courts have begun addressing the issue in their decisions and requiring disclosure of these types of arrangements.

CLASS NOTES

Colorado Rejects No-Injury Medical Monitoring

The Colorado appellate decision in Smith joins a growing contingent of cases that reject causes of action for medical monitoring absent physical injury. 

HOT TOPICS

EPA Proposes Shift in TSCA PFAS Reporting

While the Agency’s broader PFAS agenda and stringent state regulations will continue to drive compliance and enforcement, EPA’s proposed exemptions to the one-time TSCA reporting rule are a welcome development for impacted stakeholders.

PUBLICATION

Snap! Crackle! Remove!: The Clock is Your Friend if You Know Which Clock is Running

Our colleague recently published a piece explaining how snap removal hinges on a circuit split over when removal is “effected”—some circuits say upon filing in federal court, others require the three steps in § 1446(d)—and how MDL transfers can change which circuit’s rule governs. Defendants should be careful to identify which circuit’s timing rule applies, as it may determine whether a case stays in federal court or is remanded.