Is Juul the new big tobacco? Wave of lawsuits signal familiar problems.

Vapes were once seen as safe alternatives to smoking, but now the biggest US vape-maker faces similar issues to cigarette companies

In an example of how large the litigation could become, a federal judge in California is now hearing whether the suits should be grouped into one court, like lawsuits filed against opioid manufacturers. The tactic, called multi-district litigation, allows one court to hear cases from around the country, companies to settle cases with thousands of plaintiffs simultaneously, and plaintiffs’ cases to move quicker. read more »

Whistleblower lawsuit against device maker revived a second time

A federal appears court has revived a whistleblower lawsuit by a former employee of medical device maker Kinetic Concepts Inc accusing the company of fraudulently billing Medicare for devices without required doctors’ orders. read more »

Sacklers Reject Demand That They Surrender Personal Wealth To Settle Opioid Claims

The family that owns Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, has rejected a demand that they give up $4.5 billion of their personal wealth to settle opioid claims against the company, according to state attorneys general negotiating with the company.

As a consequence, talks toward a national settlement with members of the Sackler family reached an impasse over the weekend, according to an email obtained by NPR.

Over two decades, opioid sales generated billions of dollars in profits for the company, making the Sacklers one of the richest families in the U.S. read more »

Facebook Users Gain Leverage in Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

Ruling gives users foothold to dig into data-sharing practices

Social networking company argued users can’t expect privacy

Facebook Inc. users suing over the social network’s worst-ever privacy scandal won leverage to pry into its internal records to back up their claims that the company failed to safeguard their personal data.

A federal judge in San Francisco rejected Facebook’s bid to throw out a lawsuit claiming the company deceived users into allowing their data to be harvested and sold to a U.K. political consulting firm that then mined the information to help Donald Trump win the 2016 U.S. presidential election. read more »