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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. The cause of the cyclospora outbreak remains a mystery but the courtroom battle is already underway. Plus, the 6th Circuit will consider the constitutionality of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act; a federal judge in D.C. will consider the Trump administration’s construction of a border wall in Texas; and President Trump called for a review of the scientific manual used by judges. “The Odyssey” had an epic haul at the box office. ⛵ Odysseus had Athena to guide him. You have me. Let’s take a journey into the news.

As food poisoning cases mount, lawsuits follow

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Federal health officials have linked lettuce served at Taco Bell to a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands, and plaintiffs' lawyers moved quickly, filing multiple lawsuits within hours. The cases highlight the power of strict liability laws, which generally allow consumers to recover damages for foodborne illnesses without proving negligence. While investigators have yet to pinpoint the contamination source, history suggests that uncertainty is unlikely to slow litigation. As lawyers target Taco Bell and potentially others in the food supply chain, the key legal question may not be how the parasite got there, but who will ultimately pay for the harm.

Columnist Jenna Greene has more in On the Case.

Coming up today

Constitutional: The 6th Circuit will hear appeals in three challenges to the constitutionality of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act.
Immigration: U.S. District Judge Tevor McFadden in D.C. will hold a motion hearing in an APA lawsuit challenging the State Department's indefinite pause on visa issuances for nationals from 75 countries.
Border wall: U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in D.C. will hold a motion hearing in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s construction of a border wall in the Big Bend region of West Texas. The lawsuit claims the government's plans to build on the Presidio Flood Control Project levee without necessary interagency approvals violate the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
Criminal: Prosecutors are expected to present evidence in their murder case against indie pop singer D4vd, accused of fatally stabbing and dismembering his 14-year-old girlfriend after she threatened to go public with their relationship. The preliminary hearing, which may run several days, is intended to persuade a judge that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
Criminal: An Illinois man is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty to phishing the Snapchat access codes of nearly 600 women in order to hack their accounts and steal nude photos, which he kept, sold or traded on the internet. Kyle Svara pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges including computer fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that spilled out of an earlier prosecution of a former Northeastern University track-and-field coach who paid him to hack the accounts of student athletes and other women.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

More top news

Industry insight

President Trump called for a review related to the Federal Judicial Center's scientific reference manual in cases involving climate change, writing ‌in a Truth Social post that the work contains "discredited" information that led to "huge losses" for the country.
The Trump administration asked a federal judge to disqualify Susman Godfrey from representing the ABA in its lawsuit against the White House, arguing that the firm's work creates a conflict because its lawyers could be called as key witnesses. Read the filing.
Short seller Muddy Waters Capital has asked a federal judge in Texas to disqualify Quinn Emanuel from representing power tool maker Techtronic Industries in its lawsuit accusing Muddy Waters of participating in a scheme to publish false reports about the company. Read the filing.

$58.5 million

That’s how much JetBlue will pay for Spirit’s takeoff and landing slots at LaGuardia Airport. JetBlue won the spots at auction and the sale will allow the airline to make 11 additional round-trip flights to the airport. Read more here.