On May 25, 2021, the Superior Court announced that it would resume civil jury trials on September 1, 2021 in New Castle and Kent Counties. This applies to civil jury trials already scheduled for trial on or after September 1, 2021. Civil Jury trials scheduled before September 1, 2021 will be rescheduled by the trial judge.

In a recent decision in the matter of Greene v. Esplanade Venture Partnership, 2021 NY Slip Op. 01092 (Feb. 18, 2021), New York’s Court of Appeals narrowly expanded the category of persons entitled to recovery for witnessing the injury of another while within the “zone of danger.”

New Jersey’s Supreme Court recently affirmed an Appellate Division decision, which required that workers’ compensation insurance carriers reimburse workers who use medical marijuana to treat their work-related injuries and illnesses. The Court fond that exempting workers’ compensation insurance carriers from this responsibility would be contrary to the Legislature’s express findings, made in the New Jersey Compassionate Use Act, as well as contrary to the traditional liberal application of the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act

On March 25, 2021 the Supreme Court issued its decision in the Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, et al., and in doing so affirmed the exercise of personal jurisdiction in products liability cases over out-of-state defendants, when claims are brought by an in-state plaintiff for in-state injuries. In this case, Ford had urged the Supreme Court to extend the Bristol-Myers Squibb doctrine, which had rejected the exercise of personal jurisdiction over claims by out-of-state plaintiffs against out-of-state defendants for out-of-state injuries. Based on the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. decision, Ford maintained that specific jurisdiction should require a causal link between the defendant’s contact with the forum state and the claims in the suit. This standard would not be met in the cases at hand, as the cars involved in accidents were not designed, manufactured, or first sold in the forum states. However, a majority of the court made up of five justices rejected this argument. The majority distinguished the claims in the Ford cases from those in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. by emphasizing that the Ford cases involved in-state plaintiffs with claims for in-state injuries. The majority held that the standard for specific jurisdiction includes suits that sufficiently relate to a defendant’s contact with the forum state, even if that contact does not have a causal link to the claims in the suit. Justice Alito and Justice Gorsuch wrote concurring opinions that also upheld the exercise of personal jurisdiction based on the facts of the matters at hand, but questioned the standard the majority opinion used.

Yesterday the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed and remanded for new trial a $117 million verdict ($37 million in compensatory damages and $80 million in punitive damages) against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Imerys. As a brief background, Plaintiffs alleged in the Stephen Lanzo III and Kendra Lanzo v. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co. matter that Mr. Lanzo developed mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos from use of J&J Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower. On April 23, 2018, a final judgment was entered, reflecting the jury’s allocation of 70% in compensatory damages and $55 million in punitive damages to J&J, and the remaining 30% in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages to Imerys.

In Brown v. Cartwright, 203 Conn.App. 490 (2021), the Connecticut Appellate Court recently issued a decision providing important guidance for litigants considering, or involved in, post-trial motion practice seeking to set aside a jury verdict when alleging the jury didn’t consider all of the evidence.

New York presently has no statute of repose applicable to claims of negligence in the construction industry. Instead, the only time limitation is found in the statutes of limitation for breaches of contract – six years from project completion – and for personal injury or property damage to third parties - three years from the date of such injury.

In the matter of Delanoy v. Township of Ocean, (A-16-19, decided Mar. 9, 2021), New Jersey’s Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Division’s reinstatement of a plaintiff’s lawsuit, filed under the New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA”).

New York’s Child Victims Act (“CVA”) is a historic and wide-reaching law that has revived thousands of previously time-barred civil claims arising from the alleged sexual abuse of minors. Given the volume of the litigation that this enactment has allowed, New York’s court systems have attempted to centralize the management of these cases. All CVA litigation filed in New York City is being managed by Judge George J. Silver.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in many ways over the past year. In the hopes of returning to some sense of normalcy, Philadelphia’s court system has implemented a number of changes to its operations to create a safe environment where the public can once again conduct business. Below, I discuss how this has impacted asbestos and talc litigation pending in Philadelphia.