Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's new briefing on class actions and mass torts. I'm Amanda Bronstad in Los Angeles. Talc plaintiffs are turning to an appeals court to revive a class action against Johnson & Johnson – while also prepping for a second trial tying baby powder to mesothelioma. Also, find out why this objector lawyer thinks a $130 million class action settlement with Citibank is too low. And the MDL panel's hearing this week in Miami includes dockets over diabetes and dicamba.

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Take 2 for Plaintiffs Linking Talc, Cancer

Plaintiffs have asked the 3rd Circuit to reverse dismissal of the only class action in federal court brought over alleged links between Johnson & Johnson's baby powder and ovarian cancer. Here's my story.

The background: Double-digit verdicts over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder products have so far involved injuries and deaths. The class action, spearheaded by Timothy Blood of San Diego's Blood, Hurst & O'Reardon, is for consumers asserting economic damages. In July, U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson in New Jersey dismissed the class action for lack of standing.

Why eye drops matter: Plaintiffs are relying on the 3rd Circuit's October ruling in Cottrell v. Alcon, which reversed dismissal of a consumer class action brought over eye drops. Cottrell reversed a decision on standing, and not just by any judge – it was Wolfson herself.

And in other talc news: The second trial alleging Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused mesothelioma begins on Jan. 29 in New Jersey. The first, in California, ended with a defense verdict.

The trial was supposed to begin on Jan. 22, but Law.com's Charles Toutant told me that an evidentiary dispute arose: “The plaintiff's side maintains that this guy got mesothelioma from J&J baby powder and was not exposed to anything else. The defense says they have tissue samples from the plaintiff, showing he was exposed to some other type of asbestos. But that was contained in an expert report that was served on the plaintiff almost on the eve of trial, and the judge doesn't want to let it in.”

$130M Not Enough: Objector to Citigroup Accord

On Tuesday, an objector's lawyer plans to argue why a proposed $130 million settlement between Citigroup and a class of over-the-counter interest rate swaps purchasers is way too low. My colleague Colby Hamilton had this story about Arent Fox partner Les Jacobowitz, who represents objector Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority. Jacobowitz said Citibank should be on the hook for closer to $23.9 billion.

Colby told me that Jacobowitz is “leading a kind of one-man wrecking operation.” He made similar objections in a proposed $120 million class action settlement with Barclays.

“His concern is that no one has looked at the damages associated with the banks' actions to see if the proposed settlement amounts are fair,” Colby said. “Plaintiffs' co-lead counsel in the Citi matter have made clear they're not interested in blowing up the agreement they worked so hard to get to. The question now is whether U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, who's had the Herculean task of managing the massive multidistrict litigation that kicked off more than six years ago, will buy Jacobowitz's argument.”

Diabetes, Dicamba Debut at MDL Hearing

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is set to meet on Thursday in Miami. Here are some of the cases on the agenda:

➤ Diabetes: Sanders Phillips Grossman (recently merged with Milberg LLP) has moved to coordinate about 90 cases brought over diabetes drugs Onglyza and Kombiglyze before U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in the Northern District of California.

Defendants AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb and McKesson Corp. have argued against an MDL but, as an alternative, suggested the Southern District of California's Anthony Battaglia. That could be because he tossed a related MDL over incretin-based diabetes drugs – but the 9th Circuit has since reversed him.

➤ Heart surgery: Defendants want 40 cases coordinated over a medical device in heart surgeries called a Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler. Here's what's interesting: The defendants opposed an MDL last year, when the panel rejected the plaintiffs' request. “Circumstances have changed,” defense attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels wrote. For one thing, the number of cases has nearly tripled.

➤ Herbicides: Morgan & Morgan wants 10 lawsuits filed by farmers over dicamba herbicides coordinated. Defendants BASF, Monsanto, and DuPont opposed an MDL. Agricultural MDLs are being closely watched after Syngenta settled an MDL last year for $1.4 billion.

Here's what else you need to know today:

Litigation on the Cheap?: Plaintiffs' firms in the $115 million data breach settlement with Anthem have fired back at objector Ted Frank's criticisms that their fee request of $38 million “was outrageous on its face” and necessitated a special master to investigate potential over-billing. Here's my story on Frank's objection and here's the court filing from plaintiffs firms Altshuler Berzon, Cohen Milstein, Lieff Cabraser and Girard Gibbs. “In effect, objector contends that counsel should have litigated this case on the cheap,” they wrote.

Fake Bank Accounts, Real Fees: Keller Rohrback has sought final approval of a $142 million class action settlement over Wells Fargo's “fake accounts” scandal. Partner Derek Loeser, calling the bank's misconduct “a moving target,” said his Seattle firm is seeking $21.3 million in fees. “On its own, the firm invested thousands of hours of time and significant out-of-pocket costs in a risky case,” he wrote in a motion for fees. But at least one other firm wants some of the credit. San Francisco's Audet & Partners, which objected to the settlement last year, is seeking up to $4.26 million in fees for “significant improvements” it obtained for class members.

The Shape of Water Litigation: Law.com's Monika Mesa had this profile on Ted Leopold, lead plaintiffs attorney in the Flint water case and a partner at Cohen Milstein. Leopold also is heading up another water contamination class action against DuPont. “These are two important landmark cases in my view—especially today when we have an administration that is deregulating the EPA,” he told Monika.