Welcome to Critical Mass, Law.com's weekly briefing for class action and mass tort attorneys. What does the jury's verdict in the Harvey Weinstein criminal trial mean for a related class action against the ex-Hollywood producer? How the lawsuit over Kobe Bryant's death could hinge on a "loss of love" claim. Two lead lawyers who won a $265 million verdict over Monsanto's dicamba herbicide share a lot more than the same office.

Feel free to reach out to me with your input. You can email me at [email protected], or follow me on Twitter: @abronstadlaw.

Harvey Weinstein, the former co-chairman of the Weinstein Co., center, arrives with his attorney Donna Rotunno, left, at state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Feb. 24. Photo: Peter Foley/Bloomberg

Weinstein Verdict Mirrors Conundrum in Civil Cases

Monday's jury verdict finding Harvey Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape and criminal sexual assault comes as the former Hollywood producer is in negotiations to settle nearly all the civil suits against him, including a class action.

In December, Variety reported that Weinstein had reached a tentative settlement worth $25 million—although, there are some critics of the deal.

I reached out to Elizabeth Fegan (Fegan Scott), who is handling the class action. She would not discuss details of the settlement, including its potential value, but confirmed that both sides could reach a final agreement next month.

She also issued a statement on the Weinstein verdict. Fegan told me the jury's acquittal of two charges that included predatory sexual assault, which involved the same woman, "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorria, might have had less to do with her testimony that Weinstein raped her and more to do with it happening in the 1990s:

"It takes women of trauma who've been traumatized a long time to have the power to use their voice to speak up. We see that issue in civil suits, too, where counts that are older, outside the statute of limitations, were dismissed without any recognition of how rape affects women or how trauma helps them cover up their shame. In my mind, the two not guilty verdicts were not a reflection of the fact the rapes occurred, but more the reflection of our society's and the law's reluctance to recognize that justice should still be served when these acts occurred a long time ago."

Brad Brian of Munger Tolles and Vanessa Bryant

What's in the Lawsuit by Kobe Bryant's Widow?

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of L.A. Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Monday, the same day of a public memorial following his death in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash.

It took some digging, but here's the lawsuit, filed in LA Superior Court by attorneys Brad Brian and Luis Li (Munger Tolles & Olson) and Gary Robb and Anita Porte Robb (Robb & Robb). The 72-page complaint, brought on behalf of Bryant's estate and his other three children, named two defendants: the estate of the pilot and Island Express Helicopters Inc., which owned the 1991 Sikorsky S-76B helicopter. The suit alleges that Island Express should have known that the Federal Aviation Administration had previously cited the pilot for flying in weather with reduced visibility. It also claims Island Express failed to train its pilots for flying in unsafe weather or install a terrain imaging system in its helicopters.

The crash, which occurred in foggy weather, also killed the pilot and six other passengers, including three children, one of whom was Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant.

Victor George (Victor L. George Law Offices), who won a $46 million verdict in 2016, the largest wrongful death verdict involving a minor, called the Bryant lawsuit a simple negligence case. But there could be an "arguably huge loss" because a minor is involved, he said. In such cases, juries must determine how much to award parents for their "loss of love."

"So the jury is asked to determine what is the monetary amount that would compensate the parents for the loss of that child for the rest of the parents' life. You look at how long the parents live, not how long the child would have lived…The jury has to decide what is the reasonable value regarding that loss of love to that parent or parents to never have that child again."

Bev and Bill Randles, Randles & Splittgerber

Duo in Dicamba Verdict Aren't Just Partners in Law

This week, I took a closer look at whether a Missouri jury's $265 million verdict against Monsanto over its dicamba herbicide could sprout another legal problem for Bayer, which already is appealing $2.4 billion in Roundup verdicts.

Don Downing (Gray, Ritter & Graham), lead counsel in the multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's dicamba herbicide, said the verdict, which includes $250 million in punitive damages, could help grow the litigation beyond the 100 farmers who have sued so far. Bayer counsel Chris Hohn (Thompson Coburn) called the trial an anomaly because it involved a peach orchard, not soybean fields, which are the focus of most of the lawsuits.

But here's another anomaly: Turns out, the lead plaintiff's lawyer and another top member of the trial team who won the verdict are married to each other. Bev Randles and Bill Randles got married in 2008, then formed their St. Louis firm, Randles & Splittgerber in 2013. Bev said she and her husband are "one of those disgusting couples people get annoyed by because we want to be together all the time."

So how do they make both unions work? Bev told me:

"The way we make it work is everyone respects the other partner's authority—their decision making authority. If it's someone else's arena, we respect that, and we don't blur the lines of personal and professional. Bill and I do a fantastic job of that, because we're both very kind to each other, so it's just something that's easy."

Here's what else is happening:

Opioid Settlement: Generic opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt reached a potential $1.6 billion deal to settle all the lawsuits against it. The deal, announced on Tuesday, involves thousands of plaintiffs, such as cities and counties, whose claims are pending in the multidistrict litigation over the opioid crisis. The proposal also has the support of 47 attorneys general from states and U.S. territories and is contingent on Mallinckrodt's "specialty generics" subsidiaries emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Where There's Smoke: The legal troubles surrounding electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs magnified on Tuesday after 39 states announced an investigation. Connecticut, Texas, Florida, Nevada and Oregon are spearheading the investigation. Pennsylvania sued Juul earlier this month, as did Massachusetts, and New York, Illinois, Minnesota, California and North Carolina have filed lawsuits.

Railroad Ties: Two rail equipment makers agreed to settle class actions brought over "no poach" agreements for nearly $49 million. On Monday, Lieff Cabraser and Fine, Kaplan and Black filed a motion for preliminary approval of the deal, in which Knorr would pay $12 million and Wabtec, $36.95 million. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with the same two companies that barred them from continuing the no-poach practices.

Thanks for reading Critical Mass! I'll be back next week.