Monday, July 13, 2026

Hair Relaxer Leads a Concentrated Week of Product-Liability Intake

A plaintiff-side filing wave centered on consumer-product and drug claims this past week, with Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3060) leading at 69 filings as Dicello Levitt LLP and Singleton Schreiber LLP drove the docket. The same concentration carried into Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Products Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2738), which produced 62 filings led by Wagstaff Law Firm and Levin Papantonio, while Depo-Provera Litigation (MDL 3140) added 49 behind MCH Law PLLC and Hochman Law Firm PLLC. Environmental exposure claims remained equally focused in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2873), where Krentsel & Guzman LLP accounted for all 38 filings. At the drug-device edge, Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Products Liability Litigation (MDL 3163) recorded 20 filings, with Nigh Goldenberg Raso Vaughn PLLC responsible for 17 and Parker Waichman LLP adding two, underscoring a tightly concentrated vision-loss docket. See the full filing feed and firm-level breakdowns here.

EPIC Study Identifies Metabolic Pattern Linked to Ultra-Processed Foods

On July 13, 2026, newly reported EPIC cohort research gave the ultra-processed-food debate a more concrete biomarker record. The analysis associated higher ultra-processed-food intake with 22 circulating metabolites and eight plasma fatty acids, including patterns tied to lipid and energy metabolism. Because it was an observational analysis, the study does not establish causation or identify a defendant-specific product. For Ultra-Processed Food Litigation, the findings may sharpen expert disputes over general causation and biomarker evidence without resolving individual exposure or injury questions.

EPA Collaboration Tests the Limits of PFAS Destruction Claims

On July 13, 2026, Reworld's focus on an EPA collaborative study put the evidentiary record for PFAS destruction in view, a question relevant to cleanup and disposal disputes surrounding Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2873). EPA's public project description says its work with Reworld and Clean Harbors measured PFAS and other fluorinated emissions around pollution-control systems, and its preliminary results found very low PFAS emissions and better-than-expected destruction at the Reworld facility. EPA says final data remain under evaluation for publication, while Reworld states its facility achieved up to 99% destruction of a surrogate compound. That distinction matters because neither account resolves causation or disposal standards, but the developing record may become relevant to disputes over remediation methods and the limits of thermal-destruction evidence.