As we age, we sometimes forget how things used to be. It is not just age-related deterioration of the synapses in our hippocampi. (We do question why hippocampi and hippopotamuses are the preferred plural forms these days and why more anatomic structures are not named for things like seahorses.) There is also a recency effect.
Warranty
Causation Prevails to Garner Defendants a Summary Judgment Win in Birmingham Hip MDL
This blog is no stranger to the In re Smith & Nephew Birmingham HIP Resurfacing (BBR) HIP Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2775, pending in the District of Maryland. Nor have we hidden our disregard for several of its decisions, going back to its preemption ruling on defendant’s motion to dismiss which made our…
Defendant Wins Summary Judgment Battle in Louisiana
We’ve used the term one-two punch to refer to a couple different situations – Daubert wins followed by the grant of summary judgment; Mensing preemption for generic manufacturers and no innovator liability for brand manufacturers. And we’re going to dust it off again today to refer to Couturier v. Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc., —…
First Circuit Closes Front and Back Door on Massachusetts Pharmacy Liability Case
A Mixed R&R From The Abilify MDL
Outside of the law, if you hear “R&R,” you might think of “rest and relaxation” or the original military term “rest and recuperation.” For many of us, the last year has had plenty of rest, but maybe not much true relaxation or recuperation. As in-person trials are set and the world inches toward a “return…
Generic Drug Claims Chopped Up With Great Efficiency
It is starting to feel like spring. For those with a poetic or philosophical bent, spring may bring thoughts of renewal and the cyclical rhythms of the planet, among other things. For those interested in more practical things, perhaps the need to do a spring cleaning or plan for some plantings outside. Clutter does have…
Exhibiting Insight and Confusion, Court Dismisses Product-Liability Claims Against Surgical-Mesh Manufacturer
Today’s case, Knudsen v. Ethicon, Inc., 2021 WL 390825 (M.D. Fla. 2021), involves product-liability claims against a surgical-mesh manufacturer. In a short decision, the court dismissed manufacturing-defect and implied-warranty claims as inadequately pleaded under Michigan law. Although not fully developed, the court’s reasons for dismissing the claims exhibit both insight into manufacturing-defect claims and…
D.N.J. Dismisses Orthopedic Screw&Plate Case/We Dole Out Top Ten Entertainments That Helped Us (Temporarily) Forget COVID
Mixed Bag of Mesh Rulings
Unlike the Big Guy tonight, we here at the Drug and Device Law Blog do not distribute bags of toys. Throughout this annus horribilis, we’ve handed out plenty of veritable mixed bags. Langner v. Boston Sci. Corp., 2020 U.S. Dist. Lexis 222125 (D. Nebraska Oct. 1, 2020), is another such mixed bag. Langner…