LG suffered another loss in its suit against Whirlpool for falsely advertising that its steam dryers produced steam. After a trial last year in which it won just one count under Illinois's Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a federal judge has thrown out that result, too.

Contrasting verdicts in two trials over Pfizer's drug Prempro prove the importance of a judge willing to block damaging evidence from the jury. On Wednesday a federal jury in Bridgeport found that a Pfizer subsidiary wasn't liable for the 2006 death from breast cancer of a 62-year old nurse who used Prempro. In contrast, a jury in nearby New Haven returned a $4 million verdict against Wyeth in a different Prempro trial a month ago.