A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of May 27-June 2.

 

Judge Allows Suit Over Underfilled Candy Boxes; Hershey’s Says Consumers Alerted By ‘Audible Rattle’

Debra Cassens Weiss | ABA Journal

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man in Columbia, Missouri, who claims the Hershey Co. misled consumers by selling underfilled boxes of Reese’s Pieces and Whoppers.

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US Companies Are Biggest Spenders On Legal Services Globally

Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | Corporate Counsel

Companies in the United States spend 166 percent more on legal services per dollar of revenue compared to companies in other parts of the world, findings from U.K.-based market research company Acritas Research Ltd. show.

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Lawyers Get Lassoed

Wall Street Journal

Trial lawyers get frequent flier miles litigating cases in state courts known for friendly juries and plush verdicts. On Tuesday the Supreme Court made clear that forum shopping has limits and the plaintiffs bar has gone too far.

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Supreme Court Ruling Could Hinder ‘Patent Trolls’

Adam Liptak | New York Times

The Supreme Court [has] placed tight limits on where patent lawsuits may be filed — a unanimous decision that was a blow to so-called patent trolls, or companies that buy patents not to use them but to demand royalties and sue for damages. Such companies have often sued in remote federal courts that have a reputation for friendliness to plaintiffs. More than 40 percent of patent lawsuits, for instance, are filed in a federal court in East Texas. In recent years, a single judge based in Marshall, Tex., oversaw about a quarter of all patent cases nationwide, more than the number handled by all federal judges in California, Florida and New York combined.

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