California

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Not long ago we published a blogpost, “New California Ranitidine Litigation Order Makes A Huge Mess Of Everything” about a California trial court decision that created, out of whole cloth, what it called a “hybrid theory” of strict liability that jumbled together elements of the long-established – and long separate – concepts of design and manufacturing defect, while sprinkling in the negligence concept of intent.  See In re Rantidine Cases, 2025 WL 2796831 (Cal. Super. Sept. 15, 2025).  As a result, the court allowed a “manufacturing” defect that was uniform across all units of the product, because it construed plaintiffs’ attack on the defendants’ manufacturing processes as a manufacturing defect.

In this post we will attempt to describe just how far out of bounds this “hybrid theory” really is.Continue Reading California Design vs. Manufacturing Defects – Neer the Twain Shall Meet

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Not too long ago, we tried to extrapolate from a doctoral thesis on quantum dots to lessons for litigation.  That “[q]uantum dots are between one-billionth of a meter and one-hundred-millionth of a meter in size” emphasized that “appreciating the scope and scale of what is being discussed can be critical.”  In the spate of litigation…

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Prologue: Many years ago, our litigation practice included representation of a couple of film studios.  While it was fun to visit backlots and (literally) bump into movie stars, we discovered that discovery, research, and motion practice were not necessarily any more exciting due to involvement of above-the-line talent. Contract law is still contract law, even…

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Science and law share a common goal—getting at the truth; but their relationship can be shaky.  In areas like medicine and products liability, courts need to rely on science, but courts should not make science or get ahead of science.  Science is a methodical process that relies on testing, peer review, and replication. When science…

Drug & Device Resources

Bexis’ Book

FDA-regulated products now account for an estimated one-fifth of overall economic activity in the U.S. They have also been the focus of a litigation explosion. This timely guide covers all aspects of litigation involving drugs, medical devices, vaccines and other FDA-regulated prescription products.
Learn more about this book