Various plaintiff-side consortia have taken it into their heads to sue every manufacturer of so-called “novel oral anticoagulants” because these products, gasp, can cause serious, and sometime fatal, bleeding incidents. Fortunately, on the whole the plaintiffs haven’t done so well with these cases – losing almost all the trials – because jurors can be taught
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A jack of all trades is a master of none. These cutesy little phrases throw some derision toward one who possesses some knowledge in a bunch of areas. Representing drug and device companies in litigation can make a lawyer reject the negative interpretation of these phrases. We have
We have always thought that regulatory approval or clearance of a drug or medical device should weigh heavily against punitive damages, or even preclude punitive damages altogether. An Arizona statute says exactly that, and now a trial court in Phoenix has applied that statute to dismiss punitive damages in a case involving a medical device
We know of only a couple of cases that have allowed “experts” to testify on the subject of punitive damages. First, in the Actos litigation, the court allowed a so-called “ability to pay” expert opinion to be presented to the jury. In re Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation, 2013 WL 6383104, at *5 (W.D.
Today’s post is an update to our post from just a few weeks ago regarding McWilliams v. Novartis AG, No. 2:17-CV-14302 (S.D. Fla.). At that time, the court denied summary judgment on plaintiff’s failure to warn claims, but applying New Jersey law dismissed plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages. Since the case involves an FDA-approved
It can sometimes be difficult for us here at the DDL Blog to address “mixed bag” cases. We are quite clear that we are a defense side blog. Love us or hate us – we don’t pull punches. We hoard and covet preemption and learned intermediary wins and treat each one like the gem that
We’ve seen the latest affirmance of largely identical verdicts in a consolidated MDL trial in Campbell v. Boston Scientific Corp., ___ F.3d ___, 2018 WL 732371 (4th Cir. Feb. 6, 2018). We’re not discussing Campbell’s merits today. For present purposes, suffice it to say that the consolidation- and punitive damages-related rulings aren’t that
This post is from the non-Dechert side of the blog.
While the recent Pennsylvania Superior Court Risperdal decision is not a defense victory, it is certainly not as favorable for plaintiffs as they are making it out to be. While several issues were presented for appeal in Stange v. Janssen Pharms., Inc., 2018 Pa.
Defense hacks. Homers. Biased. These are just a few of the labels we have applied to the authors of this Blog. While we recognize our leanings and strive to offer something more than just cheering a decision for the defense and jeering a decision for the plaintiff, we do see some cases as
It was over 32 years ago that we graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. The three years in Hyde Park were a punishing experience. There was one class in particular when Prof. Richard Epstein used the Socratic method to pummel our intellect and ego. By the end of the exercise, we were a