As insightful and modest as the Blog can be, we are not infallible. Every once in a while, two posts get written on the same decision, sometimes because we try to make sure a new post goes up every non-holiday weekday of the year. Because of the aforementioned modesty, however, we are hesitant to deprive
Manufacturing Defect
W.D. Louisiana Dismisses Antiperspirant Benzene Case
We’ve noticed a recent uptick in product liability lawsuits brought against over the counter (OTC) and other consumer products. (Shameless plug: we will be on a panel discussing such litigation at ACI in NYC on January 23-24.). These are products that do not require a prescription. Maybe plaintiff lawyers prefer cases without any pesky learned intermediary who…
E.D. Louisiana Tells Plaintiff a Warning Letter and a Recall are Not Enough
The Fifth Circuit gave the plaintiff in Bruno v. Biomet, Inc., 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 213826 (E.D. La. Dec. 1, 2023) a second chance, but it was short lived. This case had been dismissed on statute of limitations grounds. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit reversed that holding and remanded the case for the district…
SDNY Dismisses Generic Prednisone Claims
Kulkarni v. Generics, 2023 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 160730 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2023), is an interesting generic preemption (mostly) dismissal involving an “old” (pre-1962) drug. A pro se plaintiff sued five affiliated pharmaceutical companies alleging that a course of generic prednisone caused her to develop functional myoclonus. The plaintiff’s theory of the case was that the drug label failed…
D.S.C. Dismisses Most Claims Against Blood Temperature Regulator Device
South Carolina is a lovely state with mostly lovely weather, though this time of year its appearance on the map looks like the country’s jutted chin daring a hurricane to sock it. South Carolina courts have been known to sock it to defendants, particularly in asbestos cases.
Luckily, asbestos has nothing to do with today’s…
New York Federal Court Dismisses Medical Device Design Defect, Manufacturing Defect, and Warning Claims
By the time of a Fourth Amended Complaint, a plaintiff is bound to get things right, right? Wrong. In Greenwood v. Arthrex, Inc. et al., 2023 WL 3570436,(W.D.N.Y. May 19, 2023), the plaintiff claimed that a medical device burned her during surgery. She filed one, two, three, four, and, ultimately, five complaints under New…
Montana Enacts Product Liability Tort Reform (And Bans TikTok)
Montana became the first state to ban TikTok this month. You no doubt have seen the press and have read the spirited discussion condemning foreign spies on the one hand and championing First Amendment rights on the other. Litigation has already commenced. But, while all that was developing, you may have overlooked that Montana…
C.D. Cal. Dismisses Pacemaker Case
Last week we saw an article on a baseball website about batters who, through umpire forgetfulness or whatever, were not called out until strike four. Then we read Comatov v. Medtronic, Inc., 2023 WL 2922830 (C.D. Cal. March 16, 2023), in which the court did not call a complete and final stop (like what the teenagers…
D.N.J. Dismisses Antiperspirant Benzene Case without Breaking a Sweat
More than once have we taken note of the current plaintiff lawyer infatuation with enlisting “independent” (ha ha ha) laboratories that will manage to detect contaminants in any drug, cosmetic, or puddle of unicorn tears. For example, see our coverage of the Zantac MDL magnum opus ruling where the court was less than impressed by…
Pacemaker Claims Melt Away in Arizona Desert
We made our annual pilgrimage to the Arizona Cactus League last week. As we’ve done for the past 20-plus years, we rendered homage to our favorite sport, baseball, and, more importantly, to our sisters, one of whom lives quite close to the San Diego Padres Spring Training field in Peoria, AZ, and the other of…