Fourth Circuit: No Expert Required on Self-Evident Causation in PI Slip-and-Fall
In Lewis v. Circle K, No. 25-1964, the Fourth Circuit held South Carolina law does not require expert causation testimony where the slip-an…
Category
Case Law & Settlements
Appellate decisions, verdicts, and notable settlements from California courts.
Arizona's Balzan Ruling Reshapes UIM Stacking Strategy
The Arizona Supreme Court held that jointly purchased household policies form a single insured, letting carriers enforce clear written anti…
When a Clean Driving Record Reverses a Defense Verdict
A Missouri appellate reversal in a truck case shows how a defendant's driving record can cross the line from relevant to prejudicial, and w…
Werner v. Blake: Why the Truck's Presence Was Not the Cause
The Texas Supreme Court's reversal of a roughly $89 million trucking judgment is a hard lesson in causation. Here is how plaintiff practiti…
In re State Farm and the Texas UIM Discovery Wall
The Texas Supreme Court's 2025 decision in In re State Farm and Dessart reinforced the wall around UIM bad-faith claims, abating them and c…
Boyer v. City of New York and the Verdict That Survived JNOV
The Second Department reinstates a hit-and-run ambulance verdict, restating the 'utterly irrational' standard and showing how agency GPS an…
Depo-Provera MDL Daubert Ruling and $71M Maryland Verdict Shape PI Practice
Judge M. Casey Rodgers held the July 27, 2026 Daubert hearing in MDL-3140 as scheduled despite a tentative Pfizer settlement covering rough…
Gardner v. Norman and the Shrinking Past-Medical Number
Utah's high court held that the negotiated charge, not the gross bill, measures past medical specials. Here is the holding and how to build…
Drury v. Ryan and the Negligence Per Se Instruction
A California appellate court threw out a defense auto verdict because the jury never heard the negligence per se instruction. Drury v. Ryan…
Illinois $45M Mesothelioma Verdict Tests Reduced Lifespan Damages Theory
On July 10, 2026, the Illinois First District affirmed a $45 million talc-mesothelioma verdict in Garcia v. Johnson & Johnson, including a…
Maywald v. Toyota and Arizona's Two-Element Defect Test
The Arizona Supreme Court now requires proof of defect and unreasonable danger as separate elements, and it rejected a lane-departure omiss…
Georgia Negligent Security After Carmichael and SB 68
Georgia CVS Pharmacy v. Carmichael marked the high-water line of plaintiff-friendly negligent-security law. Then SB 68 snapped the foreseea…