Administrative Law, Civil Procedure, Products Liability

Product Liability Law Medical Device Law Update: December 2012 - “A State of Profound Uncertainty”: The Crisis in Pennsylvania

by S. Vance Wittie | Sedgwick LLP on 12/24/2012

Since the mid-1960s, Pennsylvania has adhered to the strict liability tenets of section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Its version of strict liability had a number of unique features, including the determination...more

Generic Drug Law Update -- November 2012: Expanding Liability for Ineffective Product Recalls

by Kelly Savage Day | Sedgwick LLP on 11/14/2012

FDA-regulated companies may face civil liability if they fail to provide adequate notice of product recalls to their customers via information gathered in company customer databases. A group of California plaintiffs sued a...more

Pharmaceutical Law Update -- October 2012: New Jersey Court Grants Summary Judgment Based on Lack of Warning Causation

by Sedgwick LLP on 10/4/2012

A New Jersey federal court granted summary judgment to Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Baxter) last month based on a familiar legal concept rarely applied in the Garden State – warning causation. In Baker et al. v. APP...more

9th Circuit’s POM Wonderful Ruling Could Influence Food Class Actions

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 8/8/2012

Originally published in Washington Legal Foundation on August 3, 2012. Class action lawyers looking for a shakedown have gone on a food binge. They have focused on the food industry and the ever-obliging federal court...more

Product Liability Update -- July 2012

by Foley Hoag LLP on 7/27/2012

In This Issue: *First Circuit Affirms Judgment Against Generic Drug Manufacturer on Plaintiff’s Design Defect Claim, Holding: (i) Product May Be Found “Defective” on Proof It Is “Unreasonably Dangerous”; (ii) Design...more

Sacred Exclusivity: The Ninth Circuit Steers (Well) Clear of the FDA

by Sedgwick LLP on 7/16/2012

The Supreme Court’s opinion in Buckman Co. v. Plaintiffs’ Legal Committee, 531 U.S. 341, 349-50 (2001), recognizes that any attempt by a plaintiff to enforce the FDCA is preempted by federal law, because Congress entrusted...more

Stengel v. Medtronic, Inc.: The Riegel/Buckman Gap Narrows in the Ninth Circuit

by Sedgwick LLP on 6/5/2012

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has further curtailed the universe of state law claims pertaining to Class III medical devices that are neither expressly preempted by Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 552 U.S. 312, 315 (2008) nor...more

The Gap Between Express and Implied Preemption Narrows In The Ninth Circuit

by Sedgwick LLP on 5/14/2012

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently shrank universe of state law claims pertaining to Class III medical devices that remain untouched by Riegel express preemption or Buckman implied preemption. In Stengel v....more

More Thoughts On Bartlett

by Dechert LLP on 5/7/2012

Our initial post about Bartlett v. Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., ___ F.3d ___, 2012 WL 1522004 (1st Cir. May 2, 2012), was more or less a crie de coeur over what we saw as an essentially absurd result: that while a simple...more

An Agency "Warning Letter" Does Not a Lawsuit Make: Sometimes a "Warning Letter" Is Really Just a Warning

by Sedgwick LLP on 5/2/2012

Unfortunately, the number of consumer class action complaints brought against consumer product manufacturers under state consumer protection and/or false advertising law statutes continues to rise. This increase can be traced...more

If At First You Don't Succeed....

by Dechert LLP on 4/24/2012

Sometimes good ideas don’t prevail the first time – or even the first few times – they make their appearance. With that in mind we bring to your attention Windle v. Synthes USA Products, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. Lexis 52397...more

N.J. Determines to What Extent the Product Liability Act's Presumption of Adequacy Applies to Toll the Statute of Limitations

by Sedgwick LLP on 4/3/2012

Statutes of limitations have traditionally served a critical function in the judicial system. Not only do they compel a person to file an action within reasonable time so that the opposing party has fair opportunity to...more

"Fraud-on-the-FDA" Failure to Warn Claims Are Preempted by Federal Law

by Sedgwick LLP on 4/3/2012

The extent to which federal law preempts state law claims is an issue that has been in the forefront of drug and medical device litigation throughout the past few years. In the context of medical device litigation, the U.S....more

The Circuit Court Split On 'Fraud On The FDA' Continues

by Duane Morris LLP on 3/16/2012

On Feb. 22, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas' granting of a defendant drug manufacturer's motion for summary judgment on all...more

U.S. Supreme Court: State Law Claims Against Locomotive Manufacturers Are Preempted by Federal Law

by Sedgwick LLP on 3/13/2012

In a decision published on February 29, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held that all personal injury and wrongful death claims based on state law causes of action, including defective design and failure to warn, involving...more

Removal Prior to Service Still Viable Under the New Removal Statutes

by Sedgwick LLP on 3/8/2012

The recent enactment of the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 (Act) will require form removal petitions be dusted off and updated. The Act became effective on January 6, 2012, and in addition to...more

Fifth Circuit Concludes That U.S. Supreme Court's "Fraud-on-the-FDA" Federal Preemption Precedent Has Broad Application

by Duane Morris LLP on 3/5/2012

The Lofton decision deepens the split among the U.S. circuit courts on whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court's "fraud-on-the-FDA" preemption decision in Buckman applies broadly and forcefully to all claims...more

New Jersey Supreme Court Confirms “Super Presumption” of FDA Label

by Dechert LLP on 2/28/2012

Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case of Kendall v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc., A-73-2010 (066802), in which it held that plaintiff’s case was not barred by New Jersey’s two-year statute of...more

Fifth Circuit Breaks Buckman Tie

by Dechert LLP on 2/24/2012

Does Buckman v. Plaintiff's Legal Commmittee, 531 U.S. 341 (2001), apply any time that a plaintiff raises a fraud on the FDA allegation in litigation, or is it limited to causes of action denominated "fraud on...more

Why Agency Fraud Is Like Fraud On The FDA

by Dechert LLP on 2/20/2012

In our rather terse (due to firm involvement) post on Monday concerning Merck & Co. v. Ratliff, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2012 WL 413522 (Ky. App. Feb. 10, 2012) – beating both BNA and 360 by two days, BTW – we...more

To Linsanity and Beyond (to the Tierney case)

by Dechert LLP on 2/16/2012

Some of us on this blog have rooting interests that lie far from where The Schuylkill and The Delaware meet. They’re up past the New Jersey Turnpike, all the way to New York City. For us, ever since the...more

Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of FEMA Trailer Claims

by Dechert LLP on 1/30/2012

The Fifth Circuit last week upheld the dismissal of putative class actions filed by Mississippi and Alabama residents against the federal government alleging trailers provided to Hurricane Katrina-impacted citizens contained...more

Ear Candle Suit Snuffed

by Dechert LLP on 1/6/2012

Not quite a year ago we had a little fun commenting on the Daubert dismissal of a suit involving something called an “ear candle.” As we said back then: “[W]e never thought about lighting a candle in our ear. That...more

Fruit Juice MDL Court Dismisses Claims

by Dechert LLP on 12/30/2011

The Massachusetts federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation against 11 beverage companies, including Coca-Cola Co. and Del Monte Corp., alleging that their fruit juices contained trace amounts of lead, dismissed the...more

A Short PSA on Knowledge

by Dechert LLP on 12/21/2011

Before Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, cartoons were reserved for Saturday mornings. And, if you were a pre-teen boy in the mid-1980s (or are now married to someone who was), you are probably familiar...more

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Administrative Law › Civil Procedure › Products Liability