Amanda Bronstad

Amanda Bronstad is the ALM staff reporter covering class actions and mass torts nationwide. She writes the email dispatch Law.com Class Actions: Critical Mass. She is based in Los Angeles.

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April 01, 2024 | Daily Business Review

Another J&J Talc Trial Opens in Florida: 'This Fundamentally Is a Case About Science'

The second trial since the dismissal of Johnson & Johnson's talc bankruptcy last year opened on Monday, alleging its baby powder caused Patricia Matthey's ovarian cancer.

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

March 29, 2024 | Law.com

Are More Jurors Just Defending Their Beliefs, Not Deliberating? 'As a Trial Lawyer, That Worries You'

Lawyers in high-profile trials have noticed more jurors in the deliberations holding steadfast to their beliefs, regardless of the evidence. That's causing mistrials, like the one this month involving Johnson & Johnson in a Florida talc trial.

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

March 27, 2024 | New Jersey Law Journal

Federal Judge Orders 'Full Refiling' of Daubert Motions in J&J Talc Litigation

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp, overseeing more than 50,000 talc lawsuits in multidistrict litigation, cited recent changes to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and new science since the first Daubert hearing in 2020.

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

March 27, 2024 | Law.com

Critical Mass With Law.com's Amanda Bronstad: What Happened at DQ Hearing in Talc? Dead Plaintiffs and Paraquat Pellets Raised Judge's Red Flags

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

March 26, 2024 | Law.com

'I Was Kind of Dumbfounded': J&J Lawyers Testify in Talc Disqualification Hearing

Johnson & Johnson's worldwide vice president of litigation, Erik Haas, and Jim Murdica, outside counsel at Barnes & Thornburg, testified on Monday that they were shocked to find out a former member of their team had been working with plaintiffs' lawyer Andy Birchfield as early as April 2023.

By Amanda Bronstad

6 minute read

March 25, 2024 | Law.com

MDL Judge: 'Significant Number of Plaintiffs' Can't Allege Paraquat Exposure

Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel, in the Southern District of Illinois, has issued a series of discovery orders after finding many of the 5,200 lawsuits over paraquat are "implausible on their face."

By Amanda Bronstad

8 minute read

March 21, 2024 | Law.com

'There Is No Conspiracy': Lawyer Fires Back Against Sanctions Motion in DuPont Water Settlement

Jeff Kray, of Marten Law in Seattle, accused of holding up DuPont's $1.19 billion water contamination settlement, called class counsel's sanctions motion an "intimidation tactic" based on a "fantastical conspiracy theory."

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

March 20, 2024 | Law.com

Critical Mass With Law.com's Amanda Bronstad: Ozempic Judge Tells Lawyers, 'Life is Way Too Short to be Cranky,' DuPont PFAS Settlement Class Counsel Wants Ex-Objector Lawyers Sanctioned

By Amanda Bronstad

7 minute read

March 19, 2024 | Law.com

DuPont Water Settlement Class Counsel Moves to Sanction Lawyers: 'False, Slanderous, Meritless and Vexatious Conduct'

A March 15 sanctions motion accused the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's lawyers of a "bad-faith course of conduct" that includes libeling class counsel, disseminating the wrong information to class members and filing frivolous objections.

By Amanda Bronstad

6 minute read

March 18, 2024 | Law.com

Opioid Judge Rejects DQ Motion, But Cautions Motley Rice: 'The Court Frowns'

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster on Monday declined to disqualify Motley Rice from dozens of opioid cases, but said he was "very uncomfortable" with its government client arrangements.

By Amanda Bronstad

5 minute read

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