Apologies for the groan-worthy pun in the title, but what did you expect in a case involving sugar beets? Sugar beets, in case you don’t know (we didn’t), are responsible for 44% of the domestic refined sugar supply. In the past few years, Monsanto and others have developed genetically engineered sugar beets that can tolerate
Another TPP RICO Class Cert Denial
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You may have heard Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, if that’s right, then squirrels must be looking for TPP plaintiffs, because they’re nuts at this point if they think they’re going to get a RICO class certified (in the Second Circuit, at least).
We’ve previously reported on the Second Circuit blowing out a putative class in Zyprexa; in fact, it came in number one on our 2010 Top Ten Opinions list. Now we have more good news to report: a Magistrate Judge Report & Recommendation finding class certification inappropriate in a RICO/consumer fraud class action involving Ketek. See Sergeants Benevolent Assn. Health & Welfare Fund v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLP, Case No. 1:08-cv-00179-SLT-RER (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 16, 2011) (we’re just going to call it Ketek). Hat-tip to Gary Spahn for sending along the opinion.
Ketek is a prescription antibiotic; plaintiffs were third-party payors (TPPs) who alleged the defendant fraudulently marketed Ketek by misrepresenting its safety and efficacy, and when the “truth” came out, prescriptions of Ketek plummeted. Plaintiffs sued on behalf of a nationwide class of TPPs, alleging claims under RICO, the consumer protection laws of forty-four states, and “unjust enrichment.”
The magistrate’s report and recommendation addressed only the RICO claims and deferred the pendent state claims, as plaintiffs suggested. Slip op. at 8 and n.7. The magistrate, following Zyprexa, found that individual issues predominated and doomed class certification.Continue Reading Another TPP RICO Class Cert Denial
New (Bad) Hormone Therapy Decision From Pennsylvania
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We can’t say much about it because of our involvement in the Hormone Therapy litigation, but the Pennsylvania Superior Court has issued its decision in Daniel v. Wyeth Pharms., 2011 Pa. Super. Lexis 27 (Pa. Super. Feb. 7, 2011). The Superior Court reversed the trial court’s decision granting Wyeth’s motion for a new trial…
Cheeseheads Enact Sweeping Tort Reform
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We confess, between the unrest in Egypt and the unremitting hype leading up to the Super Bowl, we’ve let Wisconsin’s new tort reform law sit for a few days. But it is a potentially significant development – certainly far more significant than what Packers QB Aaron Rodgers had for breakfast this week (although Packer fans may disagree) – and the plaintiffs’ bar is unhappy with the result.
The Wisconsin legislature packed a lot into this bill, but here are the highlights that we found particularly relevant in the drug/device context:
(1) Punitive damages – capped at the greater of 2x compensatories or $200,000. (There’s a specific exception to the cap that won’t apply in drug and device cases – it involves a defendant whose tortious actions included the operation of a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant).
(2) Product liability cases – The legislature enacted a number of rules specific to products cases:
Product identification – in most cases against manufacturers, plaintiffs must prove that the defendant actually manufactured the injury-causing product. This is intended to limit the effect of Thomas v. Mallett, 701 N.W. 2d 523 (Wis. 2005) (a case Bexis unsuccessfully briefed for PLAC), where the court permitted a lead-paint case to proceed against seven manufacturers even though the plaintiff could not identify the manufacturer of the paint that caused the alleged harm.Continue Reading Cheeseheads Enact Sweeping Tort Reform
While We Wait On Mensing, Another Circuit Shoots Down Generic Preemption
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We’re all curious to see what the Supreme Court does with the generic prescription drug manufacturers’ preemption defense in Actavis Elizabeth, LLC v. Mensing, which is scheduled for argument on March 30. In the meantime, the Ninth Circuit has weighed in on the issue, aligning with the Fifth Circuit and the Eighth Circuit and rejecting the generics’ preemption defense.
The case was filed by the guardians of a child who developed liver complications after taking OTC ibuprofen. See Gaeta v. Perrigo Pharms. Co., __ F.3d __, 2011 WL 198420, at *1 (9th Cir. Jan. 24, 2011). The Gaetas claimed that Perrigo should have warned of the increased risk of liver injury and renal failure when ibuprofen is taken concurrently with other hepatotoxic drugs. Id. The district court held, pre-Wyeth v. Levine, that the conflict preemption doctrine barred failure to warn claims against Perrigo. Id. at *2. Even after Levine, the district court stuck to its guns and denied the plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration. Id.Continue Reading While We Wait On Mensing, Another Circuit Shoots Down Generic Preemption
Caronia Update: What Went Down At The Oral Argument
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We’ve blogged about United States v. Caronia before. In fact, some might say we’re a bit obsessed by it, and with good reason; the First Amendment’s a big deal to us, and Caronia represents an opportunity for a Court of Appeals to pass on the constitutionality of FDA’s draconian and convoluted off-label promotion rules.…
Move Along Here, Nothing To See…Yet
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Last Friday, FDA finally released its long-awaited Transparency Initiative (now called the Phase III Transparency Report), and luckily, the troubling proposals we previously blogged about didn’t make it into the final version. In fact, our first-blush reaction to the Initiative is that this is a “baby steps” document. FDA is beefing up its website with…
Failure To Test Claims? Not In Virginia
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We’re sticking to a plain-vanilla report on a recent Virginia case because of our involvement in the Hormone Therapy litigation, but it is a good decision worth noting. In Torkie-Tork v. Wyeth, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133179 (E.D. Va. Dec. 15, 2010), the plaintiff nominally asserted inadequate warning and design defect claims. At the…
New Fentanyl Decision A Mixed Bag (But Good Where It Matters Most)
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A few weeks ago, a judge for the Southern District of Ohio, applying Ohio law, granted in part the defendants’ summary judgment motion in a fentanyl patch case. Importantly, the court killed the plaintiff’s core failure to warn claim, as well as smacking down a “fraud on the FDA” claim in cursory fashion. Miller v.
Should Drug And Device Lawyers Care About Global Warming?
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We’ve posted about one of the big certiorari grants from yesterday – Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes – so today, we’re taking a look at the other one – American Elec. Power Co. v. Connecticut, aka the “global warming” case. Here’s the link to the SCOTUSblog collection of case resources. Just as with Dukes,…