Federal preemption can be a very powerful defense. For example, claims concerning Class III medical devices requiring pre-market approval are generally preempted by the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, 21 U.S.C. § 360c, et...more
Foley Hoag LLP publishes this quarterly Update primarily concerning developments in product liability and related law from federal and state courts applicable to Massachusetts, but also featuring selected developments for New...more
MASSACHUSETTS - Massachusetts Federal Court Holds State Law Claims Alleging Misleading “Rapid Release” Labeling Of OTC Acetaminophen Tablets Preempted By Federal Food, Drug, And Cosmetic Act, As Tablets’ Dissolution Rate...more
A recent Second Circuit preemption decision illustrates the importance of a clear-eyed approach to medical device preemption issues. In Glover v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc., 6 F.4th 229 (2d Cir. 2021), the district court...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - ASA Upholds Complaints Against Ads Targeting Children - The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld the Obesity Health Alliance’s complaints against advertisements...more
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held in Rafferty v. Merck & Co., No. SJC-12347 (Mar. 16, 2018), that the manufacturer of a brand-name prescription drug can be liable for...more
On March 16, 2018, in a matter of first impression in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) joined a minority of states in recognizing a tort theory of “Innovator Liability” – namely, that brand-name drug...more
Massachusetts state and federal courts issued a number of important product liability decisions in 2017. The Product Liability and Toxic Tort Litigation Group at Nutter recently reviewed these cases. Highlighted below are...more
Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses Putative Class Action Because Defendant’s Unconditional Checks for Named Plaintiff’s Maximum Damages, Even Though Uncashed, Mooted Suit - In Demmler v. ACH Food Companies, Civil No....more
Welcome to California! California is a great place to live and work, and we are fortunate to call it home. But there is no sugarcoating the fact that California presents unique and daunting challenges to product...more
Earlier this year Olympus Corp. (“Olympus”) announced that it would recall and redesign its TJF-Q180V duodenoscope following its link to deadly patient infections in the United States and abroad. This situation presents an...more
In 2009, the United States Supreme Court in Wyeth v. Levine affirmed a judgment rejecting a prescription drug manufacturer’s contention that plaintiff’s claim that the manufacturer should have strengthened its U.S. Food and...more
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Failure-to-Warn Claim Against Drug Manufacturer Not Preempted Because There Was No “Clear Evidence” FDA Would Not Have Approved Plaintiffs’ Suggested Warning; Also Holds...more
Mesh products have been regularly used to repair abdominal hernias since the 1950s. In the 1970s, gynecologists used surgical mesh products designed for abdominal hernia repair to repair prolapsed organs....more
The Sixth Circuit recently held that a failure-to-warn claim could proceed against a generic manufacturer that had failed to timely follow the brand-name label. Fulgenzi v. Pliva Inc., Case No. 12-3504 (6th Cir. March 13,...more
Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Fulgenzi v. PLIVA, Inc., a case involving a state law claim for failure to warn against a generic drug manufacturer. Case No. 12-3504 (6th Cir. March 13, 2013). The court...more