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
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (“Second Circuit”) addressed in an August 24th Opinion whether the federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (“HMTA”) preempted certain state tort law claims in...more
Can a company be found liable for failure to warn about hazards of another company’s product used in packaging for its own product? What about when the company wasn’t warned that packaging could contain anything potentially...more
Key Takeaway: In Superior Oil Company, Inc. v. Labno-Fritchley, 207 N.E.3d 456 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023), the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s denial of summary judgment in a product liability case. The court...more
Zofran (ondansetron) has often been used to combat nausea during pregnancy. It has never been approved by the FDA for that indication, but clinical experience has not supported an association with pregnancy-related risks –...more
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - Plaintiff Linda Crossland alleged take-home exposure to asbestos from her husband’s clothing while he was employed at the Avondale Shipyards, where he...more
A developing line of cases across the nation may have large implications for medical device manufacturers defending against failure-to-warn claims. While a treating physician’s failure to read or rely on the manufacturer’s...more
It is axiomatic that a plaintiff must offer evidentiary support for each element of her claim in order to survive summary judgment. And a ubiquitous feature of product liability actions is the use of expert witnesses by both...more
Early last year, the In re: Incretin-Based Therapies MDL court held that the plaintiffs’ warnings claims were preempted, excluded plaintiffs’ general causation experts, and granted summary judgment to all defendants on dual...more
For over two decades, dating back to Daubert and the ensuing amendments to Rule 702, federal district courts have been charged to act “as gatekeepers to exclude unreliable expert testimony.” Fed. R. Evid. 702 advisory...more
A series of recent rulings out of the Southern District of Texas in an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter case reflect how well-planned discovery can lead to a successful multipronged summary judgment motion and can effectively...more
Does the learned intermediary doctrine apply in the context of a clinical trial? According to the Southern District of Texas, it does. The case in question is Butler et al. v. Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a tragic case...more
In Kenney v. Watts Regulator Co, No. 20-2995, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4539 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2021), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania considered whether to exclude the plaintiff’s...more
The Ninth Circuit has confirmed that a lack of summary judgment evidence linking a product to concrete injury may properly halt a would-be class action in its tracks if a defendant preemptively moves for summary judgment...more
In a decision reinforcing the importance of expert testimony in design defect and failure to warn cases, the Eastern District of New York recently dismissed claims against the makers of PAM cooking spray. In Urena v....more
Applying basic scientific principles to exclude an expert’s unfounded and unsupported opinions, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has granted summary judgment to the maker of the antipsychotic...more
Massachusetts state and federal courts issued a number of important product liability decisions in 2019. The Product Liability practice group at Nutter recently reviewed these cases. Highlighted below are some of the key...more
In a trio of recent decisions arising out of cases alleging that an antipsychotic medication, Risperdal, and its generic, risperidone, had caused gynecomastia (breast tissue growth) in men, the United States District Court...more
Harris Beach attorneys Judi Abbott Curry, Victoria A. Graffeo and Marina Plotkin prevailed on plaintiffs’ appeal to the Second Circuit of product liability failure to warn claims against Pioneer Surgical Technology, Inc. and...more
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently upheld the Mass Litigation Panel’s grant of summary judgment against a class of Plaintiffs alleging birth defects resulting from the use of prescription medicine in...more
A U.S. Court of Appeals has held that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denial of a citizen petition can be “clear evidence” of conflict preemption under the test set forth by the Supreme Court in Wyeth v. Levine, 555 U.S....more
In re: Fosamax (Alendronate Sodium) Products Liability Litigation, Nos. 14-1900 et al. (3d Cir. March 22, 2017). In a precedential decision issued on March 22, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third...more
In March 2014, Jenna Thurmond sued Bayer in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging that her use of the Mirena contraception system caused her to develop pseudotumor cerebri. Her symptoms...more
Last week, a federal court in Utah granted Aventis Inc.’s motion for summary judgment based on federal preemption of failure-to-warn claims. Cerveny v. Aventis, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34182 (D. Utah Mar. 16, 2016). The...more