As many trial attorneys will tell you, the most crucial phase in many trials is jury selection. While its significance is known, attorneys are often left with minimal information gathered through juror questionnaires or voir dire from which they are forced to analyze cause challenges and make strike decisions.  However, the growth of social media over the past decade has enabled lawyers to gather additional information about the interests, activities and proclivities of veniremen that allows counsel to make more informed decisions during the jury selection process.

According to Pew Research Center, 74% of online adults use social media sites. The numbers are consistent across gender, education and income levels.  A trial attorney, therefore, has the ability to discover information about three out of every four prospective jurors on the Internet.

In Sikkelee v. Precision Airmotive Corp., 45 F.Supp.3d 431 (M.D. Pa. 2014), a wrongful death suit arising from the crash of a Cessna 172 claiming defects in the carburetor of its Lycoming engine and the related manuals and instructions, the plaintiff alleged that Lycoming violated various design requirements for the engine type certificate, and failed to report failures, malfunctions or defects as required by the Federal Air Regulations. The District Court applied Abdullah v. American Airlines, 181 F.3d 363 (3d Cir. 1999), which held that the Federal Aviation Act preempts the entire field of aviation safety and that federal standards govern the safe operation of aircraft. It dismissed all of Sikkelee’s claims except those based on the alleged reporting failures, concluding that the design-related claims were preempted because the issuance of a type certificate for the engine by the Federal Aviation Administration “denotes the Administrator’s finding that the engine met all applicable requirements.”

Recently the Supreme Court of Missouri held that The Protection of Lawful Commerce and Arms Act (“PLCAA”) preempts a negligence claim but allows a correctly pled negligent entrustment action against a firearm seller. Thus, the PLCAA is not only a hot political topic being discussed by the Presidential Candidates, but also one that is being litigated within the legal system.

In Delana v. Ced Sales, Inc., d/b/a Odessa Gun & Pawn, et al., (2016 WL 1357209 (MO en banc April 6, 2016, not released for publication) defendant Odessa Gun & Pawn (“Odessa) sold a firearm, to a mentally ill child of the plaintiff, Janet Delana, which the child used to kill her own father.  Plaintiff telephoned Odessa and asked the store manager, Derrick Dady, to refrain from selling a gun to her daughter, who was severely mentally ill and should not have a gun.  Plaintiff also told Mr. Dady that her daughter had purchased a gun at Odessa the previous month and attempted to commit suicide, and said, “I’m begging you, I’m begging you as a mother, if she comes in, please don’t sell her a gun. Two days later, Mr. Dady sold her a gun and ammunition which she used within an hour to kill her father.

On April 11, 2016, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed an Executive Order that immediately implemented a “Ban the Box” policy for Missouri state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions. Under this Order, state employers must amend their initial employment applications to remove questions relating to an individual’s criminal history unless a criminal history would render an applicant ineligible for the position. State employers may still request information about an applicant’s criminal past and may still conduct a criminal background check as a condition of employment, but the Order requires that state agencies wait until later in the application process to procure that information. The Order does not specify exactly when in the application process employers may make these criminal history inquiries.

April 1, 2016
New Developments
Second Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Asbestos Defendant for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
By David Dean

In February 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld dismissal of an out-of-state corporate defendant for lack of personal jurisdiction in an asbestos case, Brown v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 14-4083

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Earlier this week the Supreme Court issued its decision in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, No. 14-1146, affirming the Eight Circuit’s decision to not disturb a jury verdict against Tyson where the district court permitted the jury to draw an inference of class-wide liability based on representative or statistical evidence.

On Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) made an affirmative determination in a five-year (sunset) review concerning pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy. The was welcome news to the U.S. tape manufacturers, which made a priority of  the renewal of this order, which is decades old but still effective. Husch Blackwell’s international trade team…

Husch Blackwell announced today its membership to the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, the leading international trade association representing the specialty chemical industry.

The Washington-based group supports chemical manufacturers with commercial and networking opportunities, advocates for the passage of rational laws and regulations, and works to increase public confidence in the industry.

“We welcome Husch Blackwell as our newest affiliate member, and we encourage them to consider SOCMA a resource with the tools to assist them in not only staying abreast of issues impacting the specialty chemical industry, but environmental stewardship and growing their business,” said SOCMA President and CEO Lawrence D. Sloan. “We look forward to their active participation in the organization.”

On March 9, 2016, the Senate introduced the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S. 2658), and it contains the following provisions related to unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) regulation and consumer protection:

  • Directs the FAA to develop an online knowledge and safety test which operators of UAS must pass before flying.
  • Directs the FAA and NASA to develop a pilot program for a UAS traffic management system, with 6 test sites.
  • Directs both the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Comptroller General to develop a report on UAS privacy best-practices.
  • Creates a new commercial and governmental UAS registration database.
  • Creates a civil penalty of up to $20,000 to operate UAS in a way which interferes with firefighting, law enforcement, or emergency response activities.

What is “Ban the Box?” Generally speaking, it is an international campaign seeking to eliminate the question—“Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”—from employment applications.  “Ban the box” laws usually provide that an employer must wait to ask applicants about their criminal histories until after a conditional offer of employment is made AND that an employer must consider how the individual criminal history is job-related for the position in question.

There currently are 21 states and over 100 cities and counties that have a “ban the box” law.  Further, 7 states have statewide “ban the box” laws that apply to private employers—Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island.