USA – FLORIDA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stuart Davidson and Nicolle Brito, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
deliver higher doses of nicotine to smokers, all the while making cigarettes milder and more inhalable, and therefore more addictive.” 953 F.3d 1196, 1209 (11th Cir. 2020); see also United States v Philip Morris USA Inc ., 566 F.3d 1095, 1120- 21 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (recognising the “volumes of evi - dence” demonstrating that tobacco company execu - tives “knew about the negative health consequences of smoking, the addictiveness and manipulation of nic - otine, [and] the harmfulness of secondhand smoke”). In fact, Meta employees often made the analogy com - paring social media and tobacco products in internal company documents. School districts now argue that internal company research ‒ most notably the “Face - book Files,” released by whistleblower Frances Hau - gen ‒ demonstrates internal company knowledge of youth harm coupled with continued optimisation for engagement metrics (and thus, advertising dollars). The Breathitt County Bellwether Trial In June 2026, the first federal school district bellwether case in the MDL, Breathitt County Board of Education v Meta Platforms , Inc ., No. 4:22-cv-03047 (N.D. Cal.), is scheduled for trial before Judge Gonzalez Rogers. The school district seeks approximately USD3 mil - lion from the defendants. Bellwether trials serve as valuation proxies in MDL practice. As the Manual for Complex Litigation (Fourth) §22.315 (2025) explains, bellwether trials are intended to “produce a sufficient number of representative verdicts and settlements” that provide guidance for the resolution of the remain - ing cases. Thus, a significant verdict in favour of the school district could produce enormous settlement pressure on the social media platforms. Parallel Proceedings: New Mexico and California The New Mexico attorney general trial On 24 March 2026, in a Santa Fe, New Mexico court - room, a jury rendered the first verdict in a “social media addiction” lawsuit, New Mexico v Meta Plat- forms , Inc ., No. D-101-CV-2023-02838 (N.M. 1st Jud. Dist. Ct.), ordering Meta to pay USD375 million in a case brought by the New Mexico Attorney General alleging unfair and unconscionable business practices by the social media giant under New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act (UPA), N.M. Stat. Ann. §57-12-1, et seq. According to the state, Meta made a conscious deci -
sion in 2016 to allow its algorithm to control Facebook and Instagram’s feeds to ensure maximum engage - ment, leading to what Meta termed “problematic use,” but the state countered was actually classic addiction. Meta has vowed to appeal. Of interest, the New Mex - ico trial saw introduction of content-driven evidence, including that related to child sexual abuse material, ultimately bypassing Section 230 restrictions. This verdict marked the first jury evaluation of the “algorithmic addiction” claims, awarding the maxi - mum USD5,000 penalty allowable under the UPA per New Mexico youth user under the age of 18. See N . M . Stat . Ann . §57-12-11. The outcome provides impor - tant information to attorneys and their clients in these cases about the ability of a jury to conceptualise algo - rithmic reinforcement systems as analogous to addic - tive product design ‒ a theory initially recognised in tobacco jurisprudence. Importantly, this trial only resolved New Mexico’s UPA claims against Meta; its public nuisance theory ‒ based on allegations that Meta’s platform architec - ture created what the state characterises as a “mar - ketplace for predators” ‒ will be tried separately by the judge, under a bench trial, at a later date. The public nuisance doctrine historically applies to con - ditions that interfere with public rights (Restatement (Second) of Torts §821 (B)), and many courts have held that conduct that interferes with public health can constitute a public nuisance. See City of Hun- tington , W . Va . v AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp ., 157 F.4th 547, 574-75 (4th Cir. 2025); In re JUUL Labs , Inc ., Mktg ., Sales Pracs ., & Prods . Liab . Litig ., 497 F. Supp. 3d 552, 647 (N.D. Cal. 2020); In re Nat ’ l Prescription Opiate Litig ., 2021 WL 4952468, at *4 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 25, 2021). Under its theory of public nuisance and remedies available under this claim, New Mexico will likely focus more so on injunctive and equitable relief, including seeking changes to Meta’s algorithms and Meta’s payment of funds for programs to abate exist - ing and potential harms to its youth users. See, eg, City of Huntington , 157 F.4th at 574 (“conclud[ing] that West Virginia law permits abatement of a public nui - sance to include a requirement that a defendant pay money to fund efforts to eliminate the resulting harm to the public”); In re Peabody Energy Corp ., 958 F.3d 717, 724 (8th Cir. 2020) (“In California, a party who
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