So says the Fifth Circuit in Torrey v. Infectious Diseases Society of America, — F.4th –, 2023 WL 7890067 (5th Cir. Nov. 16, 2023). Which joins the Second and Third Circuits in protecting scientific free speech. Cases we discussed here and here and which support our firm belief that scientific articles are “core”
We hope our loyal readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As you reflect on what you’re thankful for this year, we would like to suggest one more item for your list: Discounted registration to ACI’s Drug and Medical Device Litigation Conference, coming up on December 5-6. As we mentioned, the good people at ACI asked
Several of your Reed Smith bloggers are making plans to be in New York on December 5 – 6 to attend ACI’s annual Drug and Medical Device Litigation conference. We’re looking forward to great content and numerous networking opportunities – and maybe even the chance to catch up with some of our loyal readers.
The legal doctrine we discuss today, the reporter’s privilege, lies outside our traditional bailiwick but is worth a quick visit. Recognized in most states, the reporter’s privilege—also known as the journalist’s or newsman’s privilege—is an absolute or conditional “protection, under constitutional or statutory law, from being compelled to testify about confidential information or sources.” Black’s
If any of our loyal readers are looking for some CLE before the end of the year, Reed Smith is offering a virtual (live webcast) Life Sciences Litigation CLE Day on November 16, running from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Bexis and Steve McConnell will be among your Reed Smith presenters. Here is a
Our immediate reaction to In re Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation, ___ F.4th ___, 2023 WL 5441793 (9th Cir. Aug. 24, 2023) (hereafter, “Jones” (the plaintiff’s name)), was “popcorn time” – pull up a chair and watch the other side fight like drunken pirates over the MDL spoils. But there’s more to Jones than that. The MDL-related “participation agreements” that Jones enforced are something like third-party litigation funding, in that they introduce another party to the settlement mix, even in non-MDL cases. Defendants thus have a need to know about those agreements when settlement is raised in those cases.Continue Reading Of MDLs, Settlements, and Common Benefit Contracts
Thelen v. Somatics, LLC, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165819 (Mag. M.D. Fla. Sept. 18, 2023), is the latest chapter in a saga we have covered before. (We discussed decisions on expert admissibility here, invalid claims here, confidentiality of medical records here, and the plaintiff’s highly unusual demand for a plant inspection
It is fair to say that Bexis co-founded this blog (in 2006!) in part to aid the cause of medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers, targets in our lawsuit-obsessed country. Over the years, this blog has come to serve as an important resource for our drug and defense bar colleagues, and Bexis regularly identifies—if not
Patora v. Vi-Jon, LLC, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153421 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 30, 2023), is a typical express preemption decision resulting in dismissal of a typical consumer protection-based purely economic loss class action against an over the counter (OTC) product. The plaintiffs, suing on behalf of a putative class, alleged that they purchased an OTC
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(c) is straightforward: a district court has the power to compel a witness to testify at trial if the trial takes place