In Kardos v. Armstrong Pumps Inc. et al., 2019 PA Super 324, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently ruled that where a party is given the opportunity to cross-examine a witness who later becomes unavailable due to his death, such testimony meets the hearsay exception and is admissible evidence.

Decedent Nicholas Kardos was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2016. On March 10, 2016, Mr. Kardos filed a lawsuit against numerous manufacturers, suppliers, and users of asbestos products. In September 2016, Mr. Kardos executed an affidavit related to his work history and exposures to asbestos, after a site visit of a prior worksite. In October 2016, Mr. Kardos was deposed over three days, including cross-examination by defendants regarding his work history and exposures to asbestos containing products. Mr. Kardos passed away on November 3, 2016, before any party re-noticed the deposition.

Continue Reading Toxic Tort Monitor: Consider This When Afforded the Opportunity to Cross-Examine

shipping containers

In a consolidated appeal, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently looked at the proximate cause standard for asbestos cases in Davis v. John Crane. 2019 WL 5558711 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2019). In so doing, the appellate court declined to extend the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. Devries to cases outside of a maritime tort context. While the Davis Court is not the first to analyze the DeVries decision, it is one of the first to hold that the case is exclusively limited to maritime torts.

Continue Reading Toxic Tort Monitor: Georgia Appellate Court Limits <i>DeVries</i> Application to Maritime Tort Cases

GEWKC 2019 See Where you Lead

Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City (GEWKC) runs November 18–22. Founded by the Kauffman Foundation eleven years ago, GEWKC is an opportunity to celebrate the innovators and job creators right here in Kansas City.

Husch Blackwell is proud to sponsor the Wrap-Up Celebration, aptly titled The Most Informative Party You’ll Ever Attend, on November 22 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. In addition to providing a space to network with the attendees of GEWKC, Husch Blackwell attorneys Jenna Brofsky, George Khoukaz, and Liam Reilly will be in attendance to discuss how attendees can go about implementing the topics discussed throughout the week.

Continue Reading GEWKC and Husch Blackwell Celebrate Innovators with Wrap-Up Celebration

Missouri State Law Legal System Concept

Recently, a Missouri Court of Appeals vacated a trial court’s award of $110 million in an ovarian cancer talc case, Slemp v. Johnson & Johnson, ED 106190 (Mo. Ct. App. Oct. 15, 2019). This is the third talc verdict handed down by a St. Louis jury overturned on appeal based on lack of personal jurisdiction in light of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, 137 S. Ct. 1773, 198 L. Ed. 2d 395 (2017) (“BMS”).

Continue Reading Toxic Tort Monitor: Missouri Court of Appeals Vacates $110 Million Ovarian Cancer Talc Verdict

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In August of 2019, following a seven-week bench trial, Judge Thad Balkman of Oklahoma’s Cleveland County District Court found biotech and healthcare company Johnson & Johnson responsible for sparking the state’s opioid epidemic through use of “disingenuous marketing schemes” used to drive the sale of its prescription painkillers. This ruling, which ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay the state of Oklahoma $572 million dollars in damages, resulted in the first ever successful lawsuit brought by the state against a defendant drug manufacturer stemming from a sole cause of action: public nuisance.

Continue Reading Toxic Tort Monitor: The Rising Trend of Public Nuisance in Large Scale Litigation

Missouri State Capitol Building

Recently, the Missouri legislature passed Senate Bill 224 outlining a brand new set of discovery rules for Missouri state-court cases. These new rules represent a comprehensive revision to the existing rules and make the Missouri rules align significantly with those of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under the Missouri constitution, the statute took effect on August 28, 2019 overriding the existing rules. However, the Missouri Supreme Court cannot promulgate a new rule with less than six months’ notice, which means that the new rule would not formally be in effect before March or April of 2020. Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s Rules Committee was recently advised that the Supreme Court has not updated its website to reflect the changes made in SB 224.

Continue Reading Toxic Tort Monitor: New Missouri Discovery Rules

Kansas City’s inaugural FUND Conference buzzed with startups and emerging companies, from social ventures still in the ideation phase to companies having just finished their Series A financing rounds.

Entrepreneurs, investors, and business partners from Kansas City and cities across the Midwest convened to hear Brad Feld deliver a powerful talk on the complexity of entrepreneurship and engage on topics ranging from the mindset behind Midwestern money to the state of early-stage investment in the region. Throw in a sleek networking event among investors, sponsors, founders, and more, and you have two-days that show we don’t coast here in the Midwest. If you missed out, here are three takeaways for every entrepreneur to consider:

Continue Reading Miss FUND Conference Kansas City? Here’s Your Wrap-Up.

Kansas City Missouri Streetcar Downtown Line Provides Public Transportation USA

Silicon Valley has been known as America’s premier innovation capital for decades. Between easy access to funding, a strong entrepreneurial network, and a long line of startups-turned-industry-giants, it is no wonder why so many successful entrepreneurs and investors do business in “the Valley.” Why, then, is a mass exodus of the Bay Area in progress? As the exorbitant cost of living continues to skyrocket and Silicon Valley investors put more money into startups located outside of the Valley, many innovators are looking for a more affordable city to plant their entrepreneurial roots.

Continue Reading Kansas City: Why You Should Start a Business Here Before It Becomes “Cool”

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More than 20,000 entrepreneurs and investors came together last week at Denver Startup Week to attend the world’s largest free entrepreneurial event. One of the most informative sessions I attended was presented by Anna Mason, Partner at Rise of The Rest Seed Fund. According to Anna, 75% of venture capital dollars are funneled into just three markets (Silicon Valley, NYC and Boston). Here’s a summary of Anna’s top ten tips for increasing your shot at securing elusive venture capital investment in the rest of the country:

 

Continue Reading Top Ten Seed-Stage Startup Tips for Landing Venture Capital

social media

For startups, social media can offer cheap and effective publicity. Startups must also be mindful that any advertising, including on social media, will require you to comply with federal regulations. While sponsored content regulations once went largely unenforced against social media based advertising, times are changing. Advertising on social media is increasingly drawing the eye of regulators. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations demand honesty and transparency in advertising, and fortunately, honesty and transparency will keep your company compliant.

In 2016, the FTC sued retailer Lord & Taylor alleging the company paid online influencers to post pictures of themselves wearing a specific Lord & Taylor article of clothing. The posts failed to disclose Lord & Taylor provided the clothing for free and paid each influencer thousands of dollars.  Lord & Taylor also paid for a positive review in the online publication Nylon that appeared without notice it was a paid promotion. The product sold out quickly, but the FTC sued Lord & Taylor. The case ultimately settled, and the settlement will affect Lord & Taylor for up to twenty years.  Lord & Taylor did not make the posts that got them into trouble; they only failed to require the influencers to disclose their relationship with Lord & Taylor. Your company is responsible for others’ posts if you pay for the posts—tracking paid posts to ensure regulatory compliance is obligatory. Continue Reading Watch Out for the FTC with your #SponCon