It is beach weather, but which beach? The Jersey shore is close, has fun boardwalks and rides, and offers the comfort of the familiar. Then again, you must pay to get on sand covered with New Yorkers. The Outer Banks are lovely, with dunes, wild horses along the surf, splendid lighthouses, and the spot where
Strict Liability
E.D. Pa. Trims Pelvic Mesh Claims
Bostic v. Ethicon, Inc., 2022 WL 952129 (E.D. Pa. March 29, 2022), is a Pennsylvania mesh case raising a host of familiar issues in a motion to dismiss context. The complaint is of the typically overpleaded (14-count) variety. Dickens was not really paid by the word, but plaintiff lawyers seem to think they might…
Sometimes Too Much is Really Too Little

This post is from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog.
A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a “brief.”— Franz Kafka
Our profession often gets criticized for purposeful confusion via legalese, fine print, or just plain old-fashioned verbosity. We cannot deny that the loquacious and the prolific…
Pennsylvania – Big Brother Will Sue You Now

Today’s case isn’t drug/device, but it’s something our defense-oriented readers should know about. At the tail end of 2021, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court laid this rotten egg: Commonwealth v. Monsanto Co., ___ A.3d ___, 2021 WL 6139209 (Pa. Cmwlth. Dec. 30, 2021) (“CvM”). The Commonwealth Court is a unique Pennsylvania judicial body,…
Good “Comment k” Decision in Pain Pump Case out of E.D.Pa.

We report, with excitement and apprehension, that we have tickets to see Hugh Jackman as Harold Hill in The Music Man next month on Broadway. The Drug and Device Law Dowager Countess blushes and giggles at the mention of Jackman, and the outing seemed a worthy one, not without apparent urgency given time’s ravages (the…
Good Comment k Decision – and Some Mixed Holdings – in W.D. Pa. IVC Filter Case

We begin by introducing a new Drug and Device Little Rescue Dog. We lost the oldest of our rescued angels – a perfect soul we will miss as long as we are breathing – in the fall. Our other dog was sad and lonely, so we set out to adopt a companion for him. Our…
W.D. Pa. Applies Comment k to Animal Prescription Drugs

The Drug and Device Law Daughter has told us more than once that the future will see a vast expansion of animal rights. Animals are capable of suffering, and even if they will never be accorded the exact same civil rights as people (who are, after all, also animals), surely we will find ways to…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Decide Two Critical Questions

We have news to report. No, we don’t mean the resignation of New York’s governor, though we can’t say we’ve shed many tears. And we certainly don’t have much good news about Greece, where we are supposed to be headed in a few weeks. Between Delta (Greece is now back in the CDC’s “Level Four”) …
The 402A Plot Thickens in Pennsylvania

Recently, in the context of an IVC filter case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals certified two questions to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:
1. Under Pennsylvania law, must a plaintiff bringing a negligent design claim against a prescription medical device manufacturer prove that the device was too harmful to be used by anyone, or may
…
Dog Bites and Good Deeds

No good deed goes unpunished. One of our very first cases was a pro bono case for the Red Cross following a Northern California earthquake. The Red Cross gave a local homeowner money to repair her home. It was a gift. No strings attached. Please, take our money and fix your house. Live long and…