By now, we have all heard about the $289 million verdict against Monsanto in the Roundup litigation. A California jury awarded the sum to Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a school groundskeeper who claimed that exposure to Roundup contributed to his lymphoma. Johnson claimed that Monsanto’s product was defectively designed and that Monsanto failed to warn consumers
Environment
Climate Change Nuisance Lawsuit Dismissed
By Megan Baroni on
Posted in Environment, Litigation
This week, a California federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by two cities against a number of large oil companies seeking to force the companies to fund the cities’ climate change adaptation efforts. The Court held that, while the science behind global warming is real, the problem must be solved by the legislative and executive…
EPA to Rethink Cost-Benefit Analyses During Rulemaking Process
By Megan Baroni on
Posted in Environment, Environmental Rulemaking
This week, EPA announced that it is considering developing regulations to optimize the use of cost-benefit analyses when it is taking regulatory action. Many environmental statutes require the consideration of costs and benefits to evaluate the impacts of policy choices. EPA is seeking public comment on whether and how these analyses can be made more…
EPA Considering Ban On The Use Of Private Scientific Data
By Megan Baroni on
Posted in Environment, Environmental Compliance & Permitting
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is considering a plan to restrict the agency’s use of scientific data to only that data which is publicly available. The move would prevent EPA from using private studies, dubbed “secret science,” to justify actions such as passing new regulations. It is not yet clear whether Pruitt will attempt to use…
2018 Corporation Compliance & Litigation Outlook for Manufacturers
By Jeffrey White on
Posted in Best Practices, Chemical Regulation, Contracts, Crisis Management Counseling, Discrimination/Harassment, Employment Decisions, Environment, Environmental Compliance & Permitting, Health & Safety, Industry Outlook, Intellectual Property, Labor Relations, Litigation, Supply Chain, Uncategorized
As we mark the Manufacturing Law Blog’s 5th anniversary, I am also pleased to announce the launch of our new manufacturing law website. To access it, please click here.
Last week, Megan provided our thoughts and predictions for environmental, health & safety. This week, I am providing our outlook for corporate compliance and litigation.…
2018 Environmental, Health, and Safety Outlook for Manufacturers
I want to begin by celebrating the fifth anniversary of our Manufacturing Law Blog. We are passionate about providing you with legal updates that are relevant to your manufacturing business and are honored that you are here. With over 20,000 visits over the course of our blog’s relatively short life, we are proud of the…
The Rise of Vapor Intrusion
Thank you to my colleague Jim Ray for his contributions to this post. Jim is a partner in our Environmental & Energy Practice Group.
We have all been involved in investigating and remediating sites with soil and groundwater contamination. But another form of contamination has been recently gaining attention—vapor intrusion.
Vapor intrusion is the migration…
Lawsuit Proceeds Against Monsanto for Manufacture of PCBs
By Megan Baroni on
Posted in Environment, Litigation
Last year, we told you about a lawsuit brought by three California cities against Monsanto Company, alleging that Monsanto is liable for PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) contamination in San Francisco Bay. The cities—San Jose, Berkeley, and Oakland—sued Monsanto for allegedly creating a public nuisance not by discharging PCBs, but just by manufacturing them.
In September 2016,…
What Will 2017 Bring For Manufacturers: Environmental, Health & Safety Edition
This post is the last in our three-part series about what manufacturers can expect in 2017. In my humble opinion, we saved the best for last – Environmental, Health & Safety.
Citizen Science
With increasing awareness of environmental issues and advancing monitoring technologies comes a rise in citizen science. Citizens—be it a single person or…
EPA Turns Up the Heat on Refrigerant Regulation
By Megan Baroni on
Posted in Environment, Environmental Compliance & Permitting
Special thanks to my colleague, Brian C. Freeman, for this post. Brian is an attorney in our Environmental & Utilities group with a particular focus on air quality.
Refrigeration and cooling systems face expanded and tighter regulation under a final rule recently signed by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The rule revises and expands EPA’s…