Photo of John Sullivan

We direct your attention to Coundouris v. Wyeth, et al. No. ATL-L-1940-10, 2012 WL 2401776 (N.J. Super. Jun. 26, 2012).  It’s a Reglan decision (actually a decision that applies to 8 Reglan cases) that Dechert was directly involved in – so we can’t say much.  But we can tell it is worth a read:

  • NJ resident plaintiffs who ingested generic metoclopramide sued the manufacturers of brand name Reglan for failure to warn – what we and others have dubbed, innovator liability.
  • The Court granted the brand manufacturers’ motion to dismiss finding:
    • the claims were governed by New Jersey’s Products Liability Act, slip op. at 4;
    • under which liability is limited to “specific parties – namely the manufacturer or seller of a product,” slip op. at 6 — hence, no brand liability without brand product usage;
    • the Supreme Court’s Mensing decision did not address or impact the issue of innovator liability under NJ law.

Enjoy!