Plaintiff's Motion For New Trial Denied In Bair Hugger MDL

Back in May, 3M won the first MDL bellwether trial in In re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warning Devices Prods. Liab. Litig. (D. Minn.). The case was Gareis v. 3M Company and at the time of trial, the only claim remaining in the case was for strict liability design defect under South Carolina law. 2018 WL 5307824 at *1 (D. Minn. Oct. 26, 2018). Plaintiff's negligence, failure to warn, unfair and deceptive trade practices, misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment claims had all been dismissed on summary judgment. Following the defense verdict, plaintiff moved for a new trial based on dangerously thin grounds. The kind of grounds that simply crumble when even the slightest force is brought to bear. And that's pretty much what happened. Plaintiff's arguments just fell apart.