Articles by Mike Spector and Dan Levine

Tesla Faces U.S. Criminal Probe Over Self-Driving Claims

Tesla Inc. is under criminal investigation in the United States over claims that the company’s electric vehicles can drive themselves, three people familiar with the matter said. The U.S. Department of Justice launched the previously undisclosed probe last year following …

How a Bankruptcy ‘Innovation’ Halted Thousands of Lawsuits from Sick Plaintiffs

Attorney Greg Gordon sat before a packed hotel ballroom of bankruptcy lawyers who had come to hear him hold court on his pioneering strategy for companies seeking to dodge billion-dollar lawsuits: the “Texas two-step.” The tactic has made the Jones …

Whistleblower Suing Eli Lilly Alleges Drug Manufacturing Problems

A former human resources officer at Eli Lilly & Co. sued the pharmaceutical company on Monday, alleging she was terminated after pointing out poor manufacturing practices and data falsification involving its blockbuster diabetes drug. The plaintiff, Amrit Mula, alleges violations …

Reuters Special Report: J&J’s Secret Plan to Limit Payouts to Cancer Claimants

Johnson & Johnson created a plan last year to limit the financial bleeding from billions of dollars in jury awards to plaintiffs who alleged the company’s Baby Powder and other talc products caused deadly cancers. The healthcare and consumer-goods giant …

Ruling Against Purdue’s Sacklers Puts Controversial Bankruptcy Tactic in Spotlight

A federal judge’s decision to unravel a settlement shielding members of the Sackler family from future opioid litigation could upend a controversial corner of U.S. bankruptcy law: protecting third parties who have not filed for Chapter 11 themselves. In a …

Johnson & Johnson Places Talcum Liabilities Into Bankruptcy

Johnson & Johnson on Thursday put into bankruptcy tens of thousands of legal claims alleging its Baby Powder and other talc-based products caused cancer, offloading the potential liabilities into a newly created subsidiary. J&J put the talc claims into an …

Congressional Committee Asks J&J For Details on Talcum Liability Bankruptcy Plans

A U.S. congressional panel has asked Johnson & Johnson to provide it all documents related to the company’s plans to put its talc liabilities into bankruptcy, according to a letter sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, …

J&J Considers Placing Talcum Powder Liabilities Into Bankruptcy: Reuters

Johnson & Johnson is exploring a plan to offload liabilities from widespread Baby Powder litigation into a newly created business that would then seek bankruptcy protection, according to seven people familiar with the matter. During settlement discussions, one of the …

Reuters Report: Why Big Business Can Count on Courts to Keep Deadly Secrets

In the dreary archives of a Newark, New Jersey, courthouse, Ronald Motley found a treasure map. It was an evidence log, a detailed inventory of documents and other exhibits that had been used in an injured worker’s lawsuit. And it …

Reuters: How Court Lets Merck Hide Baldness Drug Propecia’s Risks

By the time Kelly Pfaff got home from driving her son to school that morning, it was too late. Her husband, John, was supposed to be taking their 4-year-old daughter to school. But the girl and the nanny were still …