Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Depo-Provera Settlement Leads 113-Filing Day as Uber and Hair Relaxer Dockets Add Volume

We tracked 113 new filings yesterday, led by a 37-case wave in the Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate) Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3140) as Pfizer reached a tentative global settlement of meningioma claims, with Vogelzang Law and McSweeney Langevin LLC driving the day’s heaviest intake. The Uber Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation (MDL 3084) added 27 filings behind Cutter Law, while plaintiffs also pressed 10 more cases into the Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3060) behind Douglas & London and Wallace Miller. See the full filing feed and firm-level breakdowns here.

Missouri Appeals Court Upholds $495 Million Preterm Baby Formula Verdict Against Abbott

On June 22, 2026, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District denied Abbott Laboratories' application to transfer its appeal of a landmark $495 million verdict to the state supreme court, keeping the massive award intact. The underlying case, Gill v. Abbott Laboratories, resulted in a July 2024 jury award of $95 million in compensatory damages and $400 million in punitive damages after a premature infant developed necrotizing enterocolitis from the manufacturer's cow's milk-based formula, Similac Special Care 24. In upholding the verdict, the appellate court rejected Abbott’s learned intermediary defense, ruling that the specialized infant formula is a food product rather than a prescription medical product. This appellate victory provides significant momentum for plaintiffs in the parallel federal Abbott Laboratories, et al., Preterm Infant Nutrition Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3026), where manufacturers face hundreds similar claims alleging failures to warn about necrotizing enterocolitis risks.

Arkansas Sues Discord Over Child Safety and Exploitation Design Failures

On June 23, 2026, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a civil lawsuit against messaging service Discord Inc., alleging that the platform's design facilitates the grooming and exploitation of children by online predators. The lawsuit, filed in state court under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, claims that Discord intentionally built features that override parental monitoring and allow anonymous adult access to minors. Arkansas seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, and the forfeiture of profits derived from deceptive marketing of the service as safe for children. The litigation highlights mounting pressure on consumer technology platforms over child safety safeguards, moving beyond the coordinated federal multidistrict proceedings targeting social media giants.