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We’ve all heard that “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Some of us describe it as “the rule of poultry equivalents.” However you phrase it, we’ve always thought that if a defendant’s insurance is routinely discoverable, a plaintiff’s litigation financing agreement should be as well. Today’s decision from Delaware, Burkhart v. Genworth Financial, Inc., 2024 WL 3888109 (Del. Ch. Aug. 21, 2024), isn’t a pharmaceutical or medical device case, but it is the fourth decision out of the Delaware state courts holding that a plaintiff’s litigation funding agreement is discoverable.  The decision adds to some of the positive case law and local rules related to litigation funding that we’ve addressed here, here and here.  Continue Reading Litigation Funding Agreements Discoverable in Delaware

Although today’s decision involves a medical product, it focuses on an online marketplace rather than a drug or device manufacturer. And by online marketplace we mean the delivery service that has become ubiquitous in almost all of our lives—Amazon.  The decision is significant because it finds Amazon, as a shipper rather than a seller, does not have an independent duty to investigate risks of the products it ships.Continue Reading Pennsylvania Federal Court Holds Online Marketplace Has No Duty to Inspect Goods

This post is not from the Reed Smith, Dechert, or Holland & Knight side of the blog.

We’re pretty sure no one teaches about MDL census registries in law school. They’re a relatively new creation, and we previously blogged about them here. Essentially, registries create a mechanism where plaintiffs’ counsel can park potential claims without paying a filing fee while records are collected to determine if the claimant can establish Rule 11 basics like product use and injury.  Records are typically collected by a vendor—for which the MDL defendants pay half the costs. The benefit defendants receive is a commitment that, if the claim is ultimately filed, it has to be filed in the MDL or other federal court.Continue Reading More from the Zantac MDL – Census Registries and Enforcement of Forum Selection Certifications

We like decisions applying Fed. R. Evid. 702 that recognize the recent amendment’s impact on judicial gatekeeping. A status update on post-amendment decisions is here, and there’s a lot to like.  We don’t like post-amendment decisions that barely recognize the amendments to Rule 702 and instead parrot pre-amendment case law. As key proponents of the recent rule amendments continue to emphasize, “Don’t Say Daubert.”  Hunt v. Covidien, 2024 WL 2724144 (D. Mass. May 28, 2024) says a lot about Daubert and pre-amendment case law, but very little about the recent rule amendments. Nonetheless, the decision excludes entirely the opinions of an expert regularly disclosed by plaintiffs on FDA regulatory issues—Dr. Laura Plunkett. Continue Reading Mixed Bag Rule 702 Ruling from D. Mass.

Last year Bexis was lead author on a law review article in the Food and Drug Law Journal titled Federal Preemption and the Post-Dobbs Reproductive Freedom Frontier.  The article expands on themes previously raised in this blog, including here, here and here.  It discusses the application of federal preemption under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to state-law medication abortion restrictions after Dobbs. The article recognized that, following Dobbs, it was inevitable that FDCA preemption would become embroiled in the abortion controversy. That prediction was accurate.  Today’s decision addresses the impact of preemption on a North Carolina law that imposed significant restrictions on an FDA approved medication taken to terminate a pregnancy.Continue Reading North Carolina and Post-Dobbs Regulation of Mifepristone

Released in 1965 by the Miracles, “The Tracks of My Tears” is ranked by Rolling Stone as the “Greatest Motown Song of All Time.” Smokey Robinson’s lead vocals are pure silk, the harmonies ooze soul, and  the guitar licks and strings tie it all together.  The song and the Miracles helped spread Motown around the globe.  Today’s decision about an artificial tears product won’t stack up against Smokey and the Miracles, but it hits a few chords worth sharing.Continue Reading Tracks of My Tears – Narrowing of Economic Loss Class Claims in Kentucky

The Dearinger case in the Western District of Washington provided a lot of defense friendly blog fodder. It made its way to the Washington Supreme Court for a certified question whether Washington would recognize a direct to consumer exception to the learned intermediary rule. The Washington Supreme Court answered that question with a resounding no.  Following that decision, the district court dismissed some of plaintiffs’ claims on an initial motion for summary judgement.  We blogged about that decision here.  The latest decision in Dearinger v. Eli Lilly & Co., 2024 WL 416848 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 5, 2024) serves up some nice defense nuggets applying the Washington Product Liability Act (WPLA) and refusing to let a sham affidavit create a fact issue.Continue Reading Last Nail in the Coffin for Dearinger

We’ve been posting about decisions from In re Smith & Nephew Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2775, since 2018.  Its preemption ruling on defendant’s motion to dismiss made the list of ten worst decisions from 2018, and a subsequent preemption decision reflected more MDL madness.   Things improved when the court began addressing causation at summary judgment, and pretty soon cases were falling like dominoes.  Today’s decision from the MDL, Williams v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 2024 WL 99542 (D. Md. Jan. 8, 2024), continues that positive trend.Continue Reading Another Dismissal in the Birmingham Hip MDL

Drug & Device Resources

Bexis’ Book

FDA-regulated products now account for an estimated one-fifth of overall economic activity in the U.S. They have also been the focus of a litigation explosion. This timely guide covers all aspects of litigation involving drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other FDA-regulated prescription products.
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