Last week, the United States Supreme Court also heard argument in the “other” litigation tourist personal jurisdiction case pending before it – BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrell, No. 16-405 (U.S. argued April 25, 2017) (“BNSF”) (link to transcript). While BNSF mostly concerned statutory issues under the Federal Employees Liability
Shameless Plug – Free CLE Webinar on 3D Printing and Product Liability
As our loyal readers know, the Reed Smith side of the blog has been very interested in 3D printing, and particularly in its product liability implications. We recently shared with you the most comprehensive law review article to date on this subject (here) – authored by Bexis and Reed Smith associate (and sometimes guest
Supreme Court 4/25 Personal Jurisdiction Argument
The other day, the United States Supreme Court heard argument in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, No. 16-466 (U.S. argued April 25, 2017) (“BMS”) (link to transcript). We’ve blogged many times about the issues in Bristol-Myers-Squibb. In BMS, the United States government, as amicus curiae,
Smoke Screens & Side Shows
We confess, we can’t think of any good reason for admitting evidence concerning product risks that the plaintiff in a particular case never actually encountered – yet plaintiffs try it with a straight face all the time. It’s another example of plaintiffs throwing mud against the wall to see if it will stick; anything to
Guest Post – Eighth Circuit FINALLY Hears Litigation Tourism Issue
Today’s guest post is from friend-of-the-blog Sarah Bunce, a partner at Tucker Ellis. It’s about the 8th Circuit finally having before it aspects of the effects of the current, bizarrely applied Missouri joinder and venue rules (see here) on federal jurisdiction. Not only is it about time, though, it may be
Vast – Or at Least Half-Vast – Conspiracy Claim Dismissed
Imagine a conspiracy so vast that it includes not only your usual plaintiff-side fantasy of the FDA conspiring with a drug company, but also high FDA officials, President Obama, Robert Mercer (noted Trump supporter and reputed Breitbart financier), a number of other investors, and just for good measure President and Hillary Clinton.
Larry Klaman
Shameless Plug for DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar (New Orleans, 5/10-12)
I hope to see many of you at the 2017 DRI Drug and Medical Device Seminar on May 10-12th in New Orleans. The meeting will feature its usual stellar lineup of presentations by in-house and outside counsel, a federal judge, deans of the drug and device defense bar, and – this is new – the
When Precedents Collide
We read Michelle Yeary’s recent post about In re Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, ___ F.3d ___, 2017 WL 1075047 (3d Cir. March 22, 2017), with particular interest. We were especially intrigued with the research demonstrating that the Fosamax court had departed from numerous prior Third Circuit precedents (including an en banc decision) on the
Guest Post – Come Together: Is UK Product Liability Law Getting More Like the U.S.?
This guest post — only our second post ever on European issues — is brought to you by Reed Smith partner Marilyn Moberg and (in the UK) associate Bond, Kathryn Bond (sorry, couldn’t resist). Our previous (and only) foray into European product liability was not a happy one. This post, however, discusses a much more
Parallel Claims in PMA Medical Device Complaint Warrant Federal Question Removal
We were wondering when the courts would catch on to this Catch 22. In order to survive preemption, plaintiffs suing the manufacturers of pre-market approved (“PMA”) medical devices have to allege “parallel claims” in which all “common-law” claims must be genuinely equivalent to violations of FDA regulations. But under Grable & Sons Metal Products, Inc.