TikTok settles 2nd social media bellwether case weeks before trial

Plaintiffs' counsel in the Los Angeles social media addiction litigation confirmed on Tuesday that TikTok confidentially settled claims of the second bellwether plaintiff, whose trial was scheduled to begin July 27.

Kiesel Law LLP partner Mariana A. McConnell, who co-leads the plaintiffs, said the agreement was reached last Thursday, days after YouTube also settled its claims in the second bellwether case.

Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap. Inc. are still scheduled to stand trial against the minor plaintiff, identified as R.K.C., who is also represented by Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, The Lanier Law Firm and Beasley Allen Law Firm.

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, remains a defendant in thousands of other cases pending in the coordinated litigation and is represented by King & Spalding LLP.

TikTok also settled claims brought by the first bellwether plaintiff to go to trial, Kaley G.M., hours before jury selection began in late January.

Snap. Inc., represented by Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, settled Kaley's claims about a week before jury selection.

Kaley's case, led by Lanier Law Firm founder Mark Lanier, ended in March with a landmark $6 million jury verdict against Meta and Google for allegedly negligently designing Instagram and YouTube in ways that fostered addictive use when she was a minor and contributed to her mental health injuries.

Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl later upheld Kaley's verdict despite post-trial challenges, clearing the way for additional bellwether trials scheduled throughout the remainder of this year and into 2027. Social Media Cases, JCCP5255 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 24, 2022).

The social media companies collectively deny the plaintiffs' novel design defect theory, arguing the alleged harms stem from factors unrelated to their platforms and that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields online platforms from liability for third-party content, precludes the claims.