USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Trevor Keenan, Michelle Byers and Curtis Berglund, Campbell Conroy & O’Neil, P.C.
Bondi v VanDerStok, 145 S Ct 857 (2025) In March 2025, the US Supreme Court upheld a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule interpreting the Gun Con - trol Act of 1968 to cover “ghost guns” , firearms without serial numbers that are unregulated and untraceable. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the ATF is authorised to regulate weapons parts and unfinished components that can be “readily converted” into functional firearms. This case is expected to assist federal, state and local governments in combating gun violence, and may result in future rule-making or legisla - tion addressing gun safety and regulation. 3. Recent Policy Changes and Outlook 3.1 Trends in Product Liability and Product Safety Policy Nuclear Verdicts Nuclear verdicts, or jury verdicts that exceed USD10 million, have seen a marked increase over the past decade. Shifting juror attitudes and demographics, litigation tactics that inflate case values and seek high punitive damages, and social inflation have exposed product manu - facturers to greater risk of significant adverse verdicts. Nuclear verdicts are typically driven by a jury’s determination on the value of non-economic 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 earn - ings. Some jurisdictions in the USA have laws that cap punitive damages, but amount and the circumstances under which these damages may be limited vary by state. Nuclear verdicts have tended to be more prevalent in certain jurisdic -
tions, which has made them target forums for plaintiffs to initiate litigation. The nuclear verdict potential can impact a product manufacturer’s viability 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 and Settlements Lawsuits relating to public health issues contin - ue to be a significant source of litigation across the USA. Ultra-processed foods are being targeted in litigation as addictive to children and allegedly causing chronic disease. In December 2024, a lawsuit was filed in state court against 11 manu - facturers accusing the manufacturers of using aggressive marketing to sell addictive substanc - es. Scientific support for the legal theories and causation are expected to be significant issues in the prosecution and defence of the claims. Claims relating to PFAS (so-called forever chem - icals) typically involve claims relating to water supply contamination, environmental harm, or exposure to PFAS through the use of certain products. PFAS litigation also involves state actors, and billions of dollars in settlements have been paid through the end of 2024. The scope of these settlements and role of state actors reflect the trend of litigation directed against product makers associated with public health issues impacting significant populations. Other examples of public health-related litiga - tion include tobacco control, gun violence and lead paint.
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