Thursday, August 6, 2026

Social Media Intake Leads a Firm-Concentrated Docket

Social-media claims drove the day’s mass-tort intake as Social Media Adolescent Addiction Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation (3047) added 22 filings, with Levin Papantonio lodging seven and Weitz & Luxenberg PC four. Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (3060) followed closely with 20 complaints, half from Morgan & Morgan PA and four from Peiffer Wolf, tightening the day’s concentration in two plaintiff-side pipelines. Uber Technologies, Inc., Passenger Sexual Assault Litigation (3084) drew nine cases led by Peiffer Wolf’s five and Chaffin Luhana LLP’s two, while Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation (2873) added five through Keefe Law Firm LLC and Attolles Law S.C. Depo-Provera Litigation (3140) rounded out the top tier with four filings, including two associated with Messerli Kramer and Storms Dworak LLC and one from Anapol Weiss. See the full filing feed and firm-level breakdowns here.

Covidien Bellwether Delivers $88 Million Plaintiff Verdict

A federal jury returned an $88 million verdict on August 4 in the first federal bellwether trial in Covidien Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation (No. II) (3029), finding Medtronic’s Covidien unit liable on a failure-to-warn theory over Symbotex mesh. The award allocated $77 million to Larry Patterson and $11 million to his wife, Tammy Patterson, for loss of consortium. The jury did not award punitive damages and did not find fraud, but the compensatory result gives plaintiffs a concrete valuation marker at the litigation’s first federal trial. Medtronic has said it will challenge the verdict through post-trial motions and appeal, putting the ruling’s durability and its settlement leverage at the center of the next phase.

Bayer Seeks to Move Roundup Settlement Hearing

Bayer and plaintiffs’ counsel have asked to move the hearing on the proposed $7.25 billion Roundup settlement from August 19 to September 10, extending the approval fight in Roundup Products Liability Litigation (2741). The request follows earlier hearing disruptions tied to disputes over the proper Missouri forum and administration of opt-out requests. The delay keeps the settlement’s release mechanics and objector challenges unresolved rather than allowing the deal to become a near-term endpoint for current and future claims. That procedural uncertainty preserves leverage for parties contesting compensation and scope while Bayer seeks a court-approved resolution that would run for years.