In 2024, juries awarded substantial verdicts against Abbott and Mead Johnson over infant formula. Several of the first Zantac trials failed to reach verdicts, or juries sided with defendants Boehringer Ingelheim and GlaxoSmithKline. Juries also sided with Bayer’s Monsanto in several Roundup trials, and judges struck plaintiffs’ experts over decongestants and the herbicide paraquat.
Multimillion-dollar settlements came down involving Philips CPAP devices, 23andMe’s data breach, Zantac cases against GlaxoSmithKline and Norfolk Southern’s 2023 train derailment.
For 2025, plastics, PFAS, Ozempic and social media could be among the biggest mass torts. Here’s a look at what lawyers on both sides are watching:
Plastics: Plaintiffs’ firms are preparing to get retained as outside counsel to governments in lawsuits over plastic pollution, alleging both misrepresentations about recycling and public nuisance claims. In 2024, Motley Rice, for instance, brought a case on behalf of Los Angeles County against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. And Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s action, brought a lawsuit on behalf of four environmental groups against Exxon Mobil Corp. over its use of non-recyclable plastics. But a judge also threw out New York Attorney General Letitia James’ public nuisance case against PepsiCo involving plastic pollution of the Buffalo River.
PFAS: DuPont, 3M, Tyco and BASF, the biggest defendants in the multidistrict litigation in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina over perfluoralkyl and polyfluoralkyl substances, or PFAS, a “forever chemical,” have reached more than $14 billion in settlements with cities, counties and others alleging firefighting foams have contaminated the public’s drinking water. Lawsuits are expected to continue over PFAS and related chemicals in everyday items, with new cases filed over bubble gum, baby wipes and Prime hydration drinks. Questions remain whether President Donald Trump will reverse the Biden Administration’s sweeping regulatory efforts on PFAS.
Social media. Social media sites like Facebook and YouTube failed to knock out various claims that their sites addict America’s youth, causing depression and other mental illnesses. More substantive decisions could be down the line in 2025, including a potential first trial in California later in the year. “I think it’s still out as to whether or not they’ll be able to get those over the goal line,” said Matt Webb, senior vice president of legal reform policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. But plaintiffs’ attorneys are already looking closely at another target in 2025, said Jennifer Hoekstra, of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz in Pensacola, Florida. “We’re keeping an eye on video game addiction a lot right now,” she told Law.com. A motion to coordinate those cases in multidistrict litigation, which failed this year, could crop back up in 2025, she said.
Infant formula. After juries awarded verdicts of $60 million and $495 million this year, a third trial in Missouri alleging cow’s milk-based infant formula provided to premature babies in hospitals caused a gastrointestinal illness called necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, ended in a defense win for both Abbott and Mead Johnson. But the judge sanctioned Abbott’s lead counsel, Kirkland & Ellis partner Jim Hurst, barring him from giving the closing argument, after alleged violations of his court orders. Webb said broadcast TV advertising over infant formula by plaintiffs’ firms has jumped from $950,000 in 2023 to $3.9 million this year through Dec. 1. “We’re seeing a big plus up in the amount of advertising seeking plaintiffs in that space,” he said.
Diet Drugs. After the death of U.S. District Judge Gene Pratter, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the multidistrict litigation over Ozempic and related drugs has moved ahead against Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. On Dec. 12, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation allowed the cases to add another drug, Saxenda, but some new cases are focused on a different injury. While the multidistrict litigation alleges the drugs cause stomach paralysis, new lawsuits focus on optic nerve injuries. “There’s another round of cases out there that litigators are looking at,” Hoekstra said.
Depo-Provera. The injectable birth control is the focus of dozens of lawsuits against Pfizer alleging a link to a brain tumor called intracranial meningioma. A motion to coordinate the cases into multidistrict litigation is scheduled for the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s Jan. 30 hearing. “It’s going to be a large women’s health issue litigation,” Hoekstra said.
Litigation financing. A federal rulemaking committee on Oct. 10 agreed to consider possible action on the disclosure of litigation financing, which also is the subject of bills expected to be reintroduced in 2025 in Congress. “There’s an expectation there’s going to be quite a bit of activity on the litigation funding at the federal level,” Webb said about 2025. Hoekstra cast more doubt on developments on the legislative front, but she agreed the rules committee could take some actions in the next year. “Quite frankly, it will be a hot-button topic,” she said.
