In case you missed it

Some items of interest this week:

• Howard Erichson reports on the jury awards of compensatory and punitive damages in the NJ Vioxx case, which was the second trial on this matter following the trial judge's decision to vacate a previous verdict for Merck based on newly discovered evidence.

• The Loyola Law Review publishes a volume dedicated to the CAFA.  Benjamin Spencer lists the contents here.

• The Texas Supreme Court held that exercising jurisdiction over an out-of state rafting company violated due process although the company's promotional activities in Texas constituted purposeful contacts.  Noting that the US Supreme Court has "given relatively little guidance as to how closely related a cause of action must be to the defendant's forum activities," the Texas Supreme Court adopted a "substantial connection" test and held that the rafting company's contacts were "simply too attenuated to satisfy specific jurisdiction's due-process concerns." Would our Thursday interviewee approve?

--RR