Massachusetts state and federal courts issued a number of important product liability decisions in 2015. The Product Liability and Toxic Tort Litigation Group at Nutter recently reviewed these cases. Highlighted below are some of the key cases and issues decided in the past year.

Reckis v. Johnson & Johnson, 471 Mass. 272 (April 17, 2015): Interpreting Wyeth v. Levine to hold rejection of a Citizen's Petition to change an FDA-approved warning label was not "clear evidence" that the FDA had in fact rejected a warning about potentially life-threatening diseases. (Botsford, J.)

In re Celexa and Lexapro Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, 779 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. Feb. 20, 2015): Interpreting PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing to hold impossibility preemption extends to brand name drugs when a proposed label change is not based on new information. (Kayatta, J.)

Hochendoner et al. v. Genzyme Corp., 95 F.Supp.3d 15 (D. Mass. March 25, 2015): Interpreting federal research funding law to confer no private right of action and holding that no duty exists under state law requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply a scarce drug to all eligible patients. (Woodlock, J.)

Rosbeck v. Corin Group, PLC, 2015 WL 6472249 (D. Mass. Oct. 27, 2015): A cause of action can exist under Massachusetts state law against a hospital for distribution of an allegedly defective medical device, thus preventing removal to federal court. (Sorokin, J.)

Dwyer v. Boston Scientific Corp., 2015 WL 3384894 (Mass. Sup. Ct. April 2, 2015).: Interpreting Riegel v. Medtronic to hold allegations that defendant violated general, non-specific Current Good Manufacturing Practices in manufacturing a PMA-approved medical device were sufficient "parallel claims" to avoid federal preemption. (Miller, J.)