The Second and Fifth Circuits recently held that Hurricane Katrina victims have standing to sue coal, oil, and chemical companies over global warming... and this is just the beginning…
Recent societal, regulatory and legal developments are ushering in a new era in chemical products litigation. Products that were originally seen as benefi ts to society are now being vilifi ed because they affect a sensitive subpopulation, and a fl oodgate of litigation has been opened. Chemical companies and consumer products manufacturers are facing increasingly diffi cult challenges as causes of action are shifting away from traditional personal injury claims and focusing now on no-injury claims such as nuisance and consumer fraud. It is clear that chemical and consumer products manufacturers are now facing an uphill battle in defending against these claims, for example:
- Consumer fraud actions are increasing in abundance, wherein no injury needs to be proven.
- Chemicals are being banned rather than responsibly regulated.
- Courts are awarding medical monitoring damages that could be generational and therefore endless in nature.
- Certain cases are no longer preempted from being filed in state courts.
- Plaintiffs are prevailing despite offering a minimal causal nexus between the injury and the source.
- Advances in science, medicine, and technology have opened the door for plaintiffs to proffer new theories of liability.
Do you know what motion to file when a plaintiff offers an over-generalized pleading? Do you have different defense strategies for class action, MDL, Bellwether, and one-off cases? Are you prepared for the changing face of chemical products liability litigation?
Only one conference will provide even the most seasoned chemical products liability litigators with critical insights and practical strategies needed to protect and prepare their clients in this complex arena, keep them up to date on the emerging trends in law and science, and prepare them to roll out the most strategic defenses.
In response, ACI has developed the Chemical Products Liability and Environmental Litigation conference as an essential defense forum that will educate both in-house and outside counsel on the leading trends in chemical products litigation and emerging developments in science and technology to keep them ahead of the curve in the chemical and consumer products industries. You cannot afford to miss this event, which will inform you about pitfalls to avoid in chemical products cases, as well as provide you with defense strategies to put you in the best possible position when going to trial. There is no other conference that will afford you the opportunity to network with top outside counsel, 11 federal and state court judges, as well as experts from ConocoPhillips, Dow AgroSciences, Dow Chemical Co., DuPont, ExxonMobil, Georgia Gulf Corporation, LyondellBasell Industries, PPG, Praxair, Shell Oil, Solvay North America, and many more.
In addition, this advanced forum will provide you with the knowledge necessary to “check” your experts, and coherently explain the underlying science of chemical products cases to juries. Not only will you gain valuable insights into motion practice (i.e., successfully using Iqbal-Twombly motions), but you will also get the most up to date information on changes in chemical regulations (i.e. TSCA and California’s Proposition 65), new rules regarding preemption, and outright chemical bans. Your defense strategy relies not only on understanding these new challenges, but also overcoming their limitations and using them to your advantage.
This must-attend event will fi ll up quickly so register today to ensure your place. Register now by calling 888-224-2480, faxing your registration form to 877-927-1563 or registering online at www.AmericanConference.com/ChemProd
Conference Details
