The growing movement in state laws about whether consumers can repair their own products is catching attorneys' eyes, as well as recent changes in rules that govern multidistrict litigation, which often involve pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Here is Law360's list of areas of litigation and regulation to watch in 2024.
State Laws on What Consumers Can Repair
The trend in states introducing or passing right-to-repair legislation allowing consumers to fix their own products from several industries has continued to grow over the past year.
The movement started growing in 2021, when the Biden administration issued an executive order urging the Federal Trade Commission to consider the issue.
At this point, at least 40 states have either passed or introduced such laws, an increase of about 10 from earlier this year.
More than 30 states have introduced right-to-repair legislation in the past three years, according to the White House, which held a round table discussion on the subject in October.
Five states have passed right-to-repair laws, namely California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota and New York.
The most recent law to be passed was Oregon's, which was approved by residents in May. It applies to electronic devices like cell phones and other products, but excludes medical devices, farm equipment, products that run on internal combustion engines and video game consoles, according to Repair.org, a nonprofit that advocates for these laws.
"I think eventually all or nearly all of the states are going to have some kind of a right-to-repair law," said Paul Benson of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. "What's going to be interesting then is what are the products that [the laws] ultimately cover."
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PFAS Regulations Continue
For the first time this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set limits on what are commonly called "forever chemicals" in drinking water.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are called that because they last for years in both the environment and the human body. They are widely used for their water-resistant properties.
The agency has said exposure to those chemicals has been linked to forms of cancer as well as damage to infant and children's development.
This year, the agency finalized two major rules that aim to control pollution from PFAS, which have also spurred litigation across the country.
"It answers the question that I've been asked for all 34 years of my career: 'What's the next asbestos?" Benson said. "Now I think it's PFAS."
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