USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Trevor Keenan, Michelle Byers Graham and Curtis Berglund, Campbell Conroy & O’Neil, P.C.
v Meta Platforms Inc et al , a state court jury awarded a verdict in favour of the State of New Mexico against certain social media platforms, based on claims that the social media apps at issue failed to adequately protect underage users from harmful content and failed to effectively limit access of younger users. In addition to the damages awarded by the jury, the court has yet to rule on requests for various injunc - tions that seek the implementation of changes to the social media platform to address the alleged harms. The rulings on these injunctions may have significant implications because the desired relief seeks chang - es to the design of the product, with implementation costs beyond the jury’s verdict. The court will need to consider the appropriate scope of this type of injunc - tive relief, including because it will implicate First Amendment and free speech issues. Notably, any court order(s) made in this matter are limited to the State of New Mexico, where the deciding court has jurisdiction. The ruling is likely to be appealed. Other bellwether trials are expected this year, includ - ing in MDL in federal court, In re : Social Media Ado- lescent Addiction / Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation , MDL No 3047, as well as numerous lawsuits that have been initiated nationwide by school districts and state attorneys general. 3. Recent Policy Changes and Outlook 3.1 Trends in Product Liability and Product Safety Policy Nuclear and Thermonuclear Verdicts Nuclear verdicts (verdicts that exceed USD10 million) and thermonuclear verdicts (verdicts that exceed USD100 million) have seen a marked increase over the past five years. Shifting juror attitudes and demo - graphics, litigation tactics that inflate case values and seek high punitive damages, and social inflation have exposed product manufacturers to greater risk of sig - nificant adverse verdicts. Nuclear and thermonuclear verdicts are typically driv - en by a jury’s determination on the value of non-eco - nomic and punitive damages. Non-economic dam - ages can be distinguished from damages that can be verified or reasonably calculated, such as past and
future medical costs or lost earnings. Some jurisdic - tions in the USA have laws that cap punitive damages, but the amount and the circumstances under which these damages may be limited vary by state. These significant verdicts are becoming more prevalent in all jurisdictions. The nuclear and thermonuclear verdict potential can impact a product manufacturer’s viabil - ity and the development of new products. Product manufacturers should be aware of the risk of a nuclear verdict in almost any personal injury case and plan to mitigate that potential with well-developed defences for trial. Public Health-Related Litigation Lawsuits relating to public health issues continue to be a significant source of litigation across the USA. Litigation against the US government focused on con - taminated water at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune military base encompasses approximately 1,500 law - suits by veterans and families claiming cancer and other diseases from exposure to excess levels of chlorinated solvents and other contaminants in water between 1953 and 1987. Lawsuits in an MDL against the manufacturer of birth control shot Depo-Provera have increased to over 2,000, alleging that ingestion of synthetic progestin could contribute to the development of meningioma tumours. Claims relating to GLP-1 weight loss drugs are cur - rently the subject of MDLs. Plaintiffs claim gastrointes - tinal issues and other risks associated with the drugs. 3.2 Future Policy in Product Liability and Product Safety Artificial Intelligence (AI) Recent years have seen a significant increase in the use of generative AI globally and across industries, which has raised numerous legal and ethical consid - erations. Law firms and businesses continue to navi - gate how to utilise the enormous potential of AI while appropriately implementing it to address concerns, including professional ethics compliance and the ade - quate safeguarding of private client data.
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