Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's new briefing on class actions and mass torts. I'm Amanda Bronstad in Los Angeles. This week, I'm taking a look at new lawsuits filed over mass shootings in Texas and Las Vegas, plus a ruling upholding a $110 million talc verdict in Missouri and legal actions arising from Uber's latest data breach.

Want to subscribe? This briefing—and others written by my Law.com colleagues—are now available. You can sign up for a complimentary trial here. In the meantime, please send your feedback to [email protected] or find me on Twitter: @abronstadlaw

A Volley of Lawsuits

Lawsuits over mass shootings are notoriously difficult to pursue for two reasons: immunity defenses of gun manufacturers and the unpredictable nature of the persons who carry out such atrocities.

In fact, no two mass shootings – or lawsuits – are alike.

Law.com's Brenda Sapino Jeffreys has this report about claims filed this week against the U.S. Air Force on behalf of nine victims of the Nov. 5 shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Ammons Law Firm of Houston filed the claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging that the Air Force failed to report shooter Devin Patrick Kelley's criminal background to federal databases – a lapse that allowed him to purchase firearms legally.

“That's potentially a great case,” attorney Marc Bern told me. Bern, of New York's Bern Ripka, unsuccessfully sued Cinemark over the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado. “Here, it's the government. They had a clear duty under the law which they failed to do.”

Then, in Las Vegas: Five more lawsuits have been filed by a trio of law firms over the Oct. 1 shooting at a concert in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and injured hundreds. One suit was filed on behalf of 450 people. (The firms are Gipson Hoffman & Pancione in Los Angeles and two Houston firms, Abraham Watkins Nichols Sorrels Agosto Aziz and The Pinkerton Law Firm) The suits named concert promoter Live Nation and MGM, owner of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where shooter Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor.

But, as in other suits, they also named Paddock's estate. But it's not always a good idea to sue the shooter. “Pretty soon the estate is going to be bankrupt,” Bern said. “Then the whole case goes into bankruptcy.”

Beating the Bristol-Myers Blues

Plaintiffs suing Johnson & Johnson over ovarian cancer won a ruling on Wednesdaythat upheld a $110 million verdict in Missouri. Here's my story.

Why it's significant: St. Louis Judge Rex Burlison addressed new evidence that plaintiffs attorneys introduced to overcome the jurisdictional hurdles from the U.S. Supreme Court's Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court decision earlier this year. In his ruling, Burlison called the new evidence “substantial.”

But there's a catch. Johnson & Johnson, of course, plans to appeal. And in October, the Missouri Court of Appeals didn't even allow plaintiffs attorneys to introduce the new evidence, then vacated a $72 million verdict because of Bristol-Myers.

Suing Uber? Read This First

Uber's got more than enough legal problems (they even made ALM's top stories of 2017). But class actions brought over last week's disclosure of a data breach could be in for a bumpy ride. Here's my story. Not only do they have the typical standing problems (how were consumers actually harmed?) but the breach involved names and emails – not quite as lucrative to hackers as, say, Social Security numbers or – as Fenwick & West's Hanley Chew highlights – biometric data like employee fingerprints.

But wait, you say: There's that glaring admission that Uber tried to cover up the breach for a year! Turns out, data breach cover-ups are more common than you think, according to this article from Law.com's Gabrielle Hernández.

Here are a few more things to follow:

➤ Flint for Flint: Class actions over Flint's water crisis have barely moved forward. But on Wednesday, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law professor Jeannie Woods filed a first-of-its kind petition to the Inter-American Commission on Humans Rights in Washington D.C., alleging government officials in Michigan violated the rights of Flint residents to democracy, life and health. “People continue to suffer,” Woods told me, “and eventually, without further intervention, it'll just be completely off the map.”

➤ Mesh Trial in NJ: Opening statements began this week in the first pelvic mesh to go to trial in New Jersey state court since 2013, when plaintiffs attorney Adam Slaterscored an $11.1 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon unit. This time, Slater, of New Jersey's Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman is up against Ethicon attorney Judith Wahrenberger of New Jersey's Ruprecht Hart Weeks & Ricciardulli. Ethicon also has counsel from Riker Danzig and Butler Snow.

➤ Putting on the Ritz?: Florida sounds nice this time of year, doesn't it? But a New York man brought a $5 million class action against Ritz-Carlton, claiming the chain's Florida hotels tack on gratuities and other charges without notifying guests beforehand.

➤ 'Glorified Box Shufflers' Unite: All those online orders during the holiday season make Amazon.com's warehouse workers feeling a bit…well, overworked. Now, a former shift manager in California is seeking certification under the Fair Labor Standards Act of a class of warehouse managers who should be classified as employees – or, as the complaint says, “glorified box shufflers.”

Hey, Santa's elves: Are you listening?