We usually represent manufacturers, not pharmacies, in personal injury cases, so why should we care whether pharmacies can be on the hook? Well, if the pharmacy’s presence in the case prevents federal diversity jurisdiction, then solid case law shielding the pharmacy from liability will be crucial to our argument that the pharmacy was fraudulently/improperly joined.
The Defense Strikes Back – with a RICO Suit
What a virile week we’re having. Tomorrow the blog will discuss a viagra product liability lawsuit. Today we reach back to a case from last March involving a battle between sellers of other male, um, performance products. Put all that together with last week’s post on cannabis and we are reminded of the scene from
Court Rolls Up CBD Class Action (at least for now)
We keep reading in Law360 and other publications about defense law firms that are ramping up cannabis practice groups. Our own firm is one of them. These developments sparked an interest. After all, won’t many of the principles we’ve worked with over the years for prescription and OTC medications apply to pot and its
Constitutional Limitations on Product Liability?
How many of us entered law school dreaming of following the paths of Brandeis, Marshall, etc. in the field of constitutional law? How many of us now can go weeks, or even months, without reading a Supreme Court case? Paying off student loans led many of us to work for law firms where there was
S.D. Cal. Dismisses Negligent Misrepresentation Claim for Lack of Rule 9(b) Specificity
There is an exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC showing a warrior with eyes on the back of his head and a blank, eyeless face on the front. That odd image reflects the profound truth that we have seen what has already happened but are blind to the future.
Alternate Pleading Dooms Res Ipsa Claim
Early on in law school we were taught the virtues of alternate pleading. Different theories against the same defendant, or different theories against different defendants, were perfectly acceptable even if inconsistent.
There is something counterintuitive about that. It seems to lift the veil in front of the law, revealing it to be an opportunistic enterprise
Court Rejects Aiding/Abetting and Conspiracy Claims Against Breast Implant Manufacturer
From our days as a prosecutor, we built up a healthy respect for the power of conspiracy claims. They can be a splendid tool for dragging in more defendants, beating the rule against hearsay (coconspirator statement exception), beating the statute of limitations (a continuing conspiracy can bring even old statements up to date), and telling
Michigan Court Rules Vaccination in Best Interest of Child
The Holiday season is also the cinema season. We’re giddy about movies right now. Today sees the release of the trailer for No Time to Die, the 25th Bond film (counting only the “official” EON productions – sorry about that, Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983)). No Time to Die (hereinafter
Illinois Refuses to Impose Duty on Pharmacy to Warn Patient Orally
When we discuss the learned intermediary rule, it is typically in the context of protecting our drug and device manufacturer clients. If a manufacturer warned the doctor, it discharged its duties, and a plaintiff should not be able to claim that he or she was not directly warned. We do not often represent pharmacies, but
The Age of Reptiles
We are rounding the final curve of the Fall academic calendar, so now come the sessions in the litigation class we teach at Penn Law when we discuss story-telling. It is not as if we have anything novel to say. The best (most attention-getting, understandable, memorable, and persuasive) stories are ones we have already heard