We tend to favor a “glass half full” outlook. We are preternaturally sunshiny during our daily “how was your day” calls from the 86-year-old Drug and Device Law Dowager Countess. (We have not mentioned, for example, that our aging dog has begun sleeping most of the day and barking most of the night, resulting in

Rachel B. Weil
No Heeding Presumption (and No Warnings Causation) in Eastern District of Wisconsin Mesh Case
We understand the value of branching out and trying new things. Recently, a close companion prevailed upon us to try calamari (thumbs down). We signed up for a Zoom acting class during the pandemic. And we are seriously considering a “new” hair color, to take advantage of the natural phenomenon that has occurred during the…
District of Oregon Explores Choice-of-Law Issues in IVC Filter Case
It may be tempting to dismiss as boilerplate the “choice of law” discussion that precedes the “standard of review” in a typical brief. But while choice of law may not always be challenging or pivotal, just as often it is both. Today’s case, Peterson v. C.R. Bard Incorporated, 2021 WL 799305 (D. Or. Mar.…
The Southern District of Mississippi Gets It Right in Mesh Summary Judgment Decision
It’s a good day in suburban Philadelphia. The sun is shining, the snow is melting, Covid-19 cases are down nationwide, and we just got a text from the Drug and Device Law Rock Climber heralding a weekend visit (with the Irascible Rescue Pomeranian in tow). We are enjoying a welcome (if cautious) flash of optimism. …
Failure to Read Means No “Warnings Causation” in Hip Implant Case: Summary Judgment on Warnings Claims
We begin with a cautionary tale (with a happy ending) about life with an aging dog. Our vet estimates that one of our treasured Drug and Device Law Little Rescue Dogs is approaching 14. (We can’t know for sure, because she was found as a stray and dumped in a shelter.) She remains happy and…
For Auld Lang Syne, Another Good Decision from the Taxotere MDL
Bye-bye, Mirena IIH MDL: Second Circuit Affirms District Court’s Daubert and Summary Judgment Decisions
We have a confession: we leave the TV on for the Drug and Device Law Little Rescue Dogs when we leave the house. A couple of days ago, they were watching Love It or List It when we left for the grocery store. When we returned, the screen was black. We are told that something…
We’re Not in the MDL Anymore: Mesh Complaint Fails to Satisfy Twiqbal in the District of Arizona
Like many of you, we spend a large portion of our professional life litigating cases consolidated in MDLs. MDLs serve a purpose in this “mass tort” world, but they also breed laziness and complacency among plaintiff lawyers who amass “inventories” of clients they’ve never met and about whose claims they know nothing in the hope…
Eastern District of Kentucky: “Voluntary Recall” Doesn’t Equal “Defect”
The issue of product recalls rears its head a lot in our medical device practice. Or non-recalls, to be more precise. In the unsavory world of plaintiff solicitation, we have seen, over and over again, that plaintiff firms and their “phone banks” recruit potential plaintiffs by telling them that devices that remain in their bodies…
Illinois Supreme Court: Need for Medical Monitoring Is Not an “Injury” that Supports a Negligence Claim
A couple of weeks ago, we walked around the Drug and Device Law Suburban Abode with a critical eye. The Abode was built the same year we were built, and we were struck by its similar cries for invasive cosmetic help. As a stopgap, we arranged to have the exterior painted, a finger in the…