Insights & Events

Hollingsworth LLP continues to stand at the forefront of complex product liability defense, continuing our efforts to promote courts’ proper application of the 2023 amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence. Firm partners Eric G. Lasker and Shannon N. Proctor submitted an amicus brief with Atlantic Legal Foundation in support of Tylenol^® maker Kenvue’s petition for rehearing urging the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to affirm the lower court’s sound exercise of its gatekeeping authority. The case is Rutledge v. Walgreen Co., 182 F.4th 168 (2d Cir. 2026).

The underlying litigation involves high-stakes multidistrict litigation where plaintiffs allege that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol^®) causes autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote previously acted with analytical rigor by excluding plaintiffs’ expert testimony, finding that the experts’ methodologies lacked scientific reliability. The Second Circuit panel reversed and, in doing so, misapplied amended Rule 702 and repeatedly concluded—incorrectly—that an expert’s causation methodology is reliable simply because scientists use the same methods outside the courtroom.

Hollingsworth LLP remains dedicated to emphasizing the crucial role federal courts play in screening out speculative science and ensuring that junk science does not reach a jury.

Read the Atlantic Legal Foundation news release.