Ohio U.S. District Judge Dan Polster initially said only individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 could serve on a trial set for October. Defense counsel said the move would block the court from getting a fair cross-section of the community. The debate comes as courts, in the midst of returning to jury trials at the courthouse, grapple with jurors and the vaccine.

In a recent order, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria significantly scaled back the request, originally estimated to give $800 million to lead counsel in the Roundup multidistrict litigation. He also found the common fund doctrine inapplicable in the cases and called on a federal rules committee to consider new methods to compensate lead counsel in MDLs.

The case against AIG is one of dozens brought over refunds for canceled flights and cruises tied to the pandemic. Unlike most lawsuits, however, the case delved into accusations of "gamesmanship" and acts that were "contrived." An appeal is likely, plaintiffs counsel said in the wake of the dismissal.

After dozens of injury reports, including one death, Peloton CEO John Foley, to the surprise of many lawyers, denied there were safety problems with the company's treadmills then, last, week, abruptly changed course and recalled 125,000 of the Tread+ products. His actions, although unusual and delayed, may have stopped potential lawsuits in their tracks, lawyers said.

The Appeals Court faulted the admission of two plaintiffs' experts and claimed that Middlesex Superior Court Judge Ana Viscomi, who oversaw the 2018 trial, "did not assess the methodology, or the underlying data used by the two experts to form their opinions," according to Wednesday's opinion.

Even as some lawyers barely had their own lights back on, some began filing lawsuits seeking punitive damages. But a law professor pointed out that "utilities historically have not been found liable for discontinuing service when the weather is to blame."

For 2021, lawyers expect to see more lawsuits against insurance firms over business interruption claims, and possibly employment class actions focused on the COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered coordination of about two dozen lawsuits bringing business interruption claims against Erie Insurance to the Western District of Pennsylvania. The panel also sent a dozen cases against Generali, which provided insurance for bookings on vacation rental site Vrbo, to the Southern District of New York.