This year has seen a lot – and most of it would not fall into the positive category. The pandemic; severe wildfires in the U.S. and Australia; record setting tropical storms in the Atlantic; social unrest over police brutality; explosion in Beirut. Unfortunately, we could go on. Even more unfortunate is the fact that all
Don’t Mess With the Doctor-Patient Relationship
It’s a unique relationship based largely on knowledge and trust. Doctor’s not only have to rely on their medical knowledge, but they need to apply that to their knowledge of the patient. Knowledge that often develops overtime through trust. Patients want and need to be able to trust their doctors. Sometimes patients share information with
Can’t Use Sales Representatives to Bypass Preemption in Illinois
The heat waves of summer haven’t been gone long enough for those of us in the North East to be longing for 90° days anytime soon. But we have no problem reaching back to the dog days of summer for today’s decision. Which got us thinking, what are the dog days of summer? Days that
Maryland Court Leaves Design Defect as Sole Surviving Claim
This blogger took last week off – from everything except some sand, the ocean, and drinks with little umbrellas. And books! Books set in the post-Civil War era (The Book of Lost Friends), in post-World War I (The Last Train to Key West), during World War II (The Only Woman
Plaintiff Fails to Carry Burden for Discovery of Trade Secrets
This is from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog.
Sometimes a protective order just isn’t enough. As product liability defense attorneys, we are often faced with discovery requests for highly sensitive trade secret information. Plaintiffs’ counsel tend to think that a confidentiality or protective order is a cure-all that should allow companies to throw
California Court Finds Not Enough To Survive . . .For Now
In what’s a bit of a mixed bag decision, the ultimate takeaway from Bird v. Globus Medical, Inc., 2020 WL 5366300 (E.D. Calif. Sep. 8, 2020) is that the complaint was generally lacking. So, plaintiff is going to get a second chance. Meanwhile, we can take a look at just what wasn’t up to
Maryland Drifts Into Daubert
That’s how Maryland’s highest court chose to characterize its gradual move from Frye to Daubert – a drifting process. Like the way the ocean drifts ashore as the tide is rising. Creeping a little higher, each wave covering and absorbing a little more of the beach. As it slowly inches toward your chair where you’re
A Simple and Straightforward PMA Preemption Win
We love to read opinions that reach conclusions in a direct and precise manner (more so when we agree with the conclusion). There is a certain skill in using simple language to convey complex ideas. In this blogger’s opinion, nobody does it better than Hemingway. That’s not really going out on a limb; using a
What Happens When You Peel an Onion (or a Complaint) — It Gets Smaller
About two months ago we wrote the post Complaints Are Like Onions, They Have Layers about the need for courts to “address the viability of each claim” on a motion to dismiss. Bayer Corporation v. Leach, 2020 WL 3118509 at *1 (Ind. S. Ct. Jun. 12, 2020). Complaints need to be pulled apart and
No Reasonable Basis for Remand in Texas
There is no reasonable basis to remand Cazares v. Ortho El Paso, P.A., 2020 WL 4562231 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 7, 2020) because there is no reasonable basis for plaintiff’s strict liability claims against a hospital. And that is sufficient.
That, however, is not what the magistrate who first ruled on plaintiff’s motion to remand