The Kansas City Star triggered a wave of class actions across the country when it estimated that expanding gas volumes in hot weather were costing consumers billions in hidden costs at the pump. Now jurors in Kansas City, Kan., have delivered the first jury verdict in the resulting federal litigation, absolving three retailers at the center of the "hot fuel" mess.

An asbestos cigarette filter may sound like a product liability jackpot for plaintiffs lawyers. But as it turns out, plaintiffs have had a hard time recovering damages against Lorillard Tobacco Company, whose Kent brand was made with asbestos filters from 1952 to 1956.