Delaware

Subscribe to Delaware via RSS
Photo of Eric Hudson

This post is not from the Reed Smith or Dechert sides of the blog.

We hope we’re not the only ones distracted by the Winter Olympics. We’re breathless from Breezy Johnson taking gold in the downhill, Jordan Stoltz emerging as the U.S. speed-skating phenom, Jessie Diggins battling bruised ribs to take bronze in the 10K cross country freestyle, and Ilia Malinin throwing in a back-flip in his skating routine just for kicks—despite it not earning him any points. Not to mention short-track skating, biathlon, luge, moguls, snowboard-cross, bobsledding, the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering, and all kinds of other ski and snowboarding events where the contestants either fly down mountains at cataclysm-embracing speeds or hurl themselves into the stratosphere while contorting themselves in twists and turns that make us dizzy. Combine that competition and athleticism with the Olympic themes of unity and sportsmanship, and you can see why we’ve got Olympic fever.

We were particularly enthralled with the U.S. mixed-double’s curling team. This is from humble bloggers who, other than every four years, have no idea what curling is. But when the Winter Olympics roll around, we’re watching to see who’s dominating the house and who has the hammer. The U.S. mixed doubles team had never taken home a curling medal. This year’s team, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, absolutely dominated the round robin and earned a spot in the medal round. After a magnificent shot in the last end (like a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth), the U.S. defeated defending gold-medalist Italy for a chance to play for the gold medal. While “Corey and Korey” ending up taking home silver, it was the first ever medal for the U.S. in mixed curling and the first ever Olympic medal in curling for an American woman. What a run.    

One of the curling commentators noted that Korey Dropkin was one of the best sweepers in the game. While it may be a stretch to connect curling to the legal side of these posts, we think it is fair to note that mass torts defendants often engage in years of clean up after securing victories in mass torts. Call it sweeping the house if you will. Case in point is the Zantac litigation. The defendants secured litigation-ending rulings excluding plaintiffs’ general causation experts in the federal MDL (which we posted about here and here).  Plaintiffs then fled to Delaware (of all places to see mass torts plaintiffs flocking, we continue to be surprised and disappointed at this trend).  The Delaware trial court refused to follow the well-reasoned decisions from the MDL and appeared to give new life to the Zantac litigation (see this post), but the Delaware Supreme Court reversed and remanded with instructions for the trial court to apply Delaware’s Rule 702 consistently with the federal rule (see here).  Continue Reading The Zantac Defense Has the Hammer in Delaware

Photo of Eric Hudson

Snap removal is one of the few ways that defendants can counter plaintiffs’ efforts at forum shopping. When a case analyzes snap removal and expressly adopts fraudulent misjoinder in the Third Circuit, you know it gets our attention.

Today’s decision, Paddock v. Novartis Pharms. Corp., 2025 WL 1908806 (D. Del. July 11, 2025), is a report and recommendation denying remand following the defendant’s snap removal.  The case involves claims by multiple plaintiffs that the defendant wrongfully promoted the off-label use of terbutaline (an asthma drug) to treat pre-term labor in pregnant women, and that the plaintiffs’ children developed autism as a result of their ingestion of the drug during pregnancy.Continue Reading Snap! Sometimes the Third Time Isn’t a Charm

Photo of Eric Alexander

This is from the non-Dechert and non-RS side of the Blog.

We recently attended a successful Ph.D. thesis defense on the seemingly narrow issue of trap states in quantum dots.  This was held in a dark wood-paneled room in a large science building on the campus of a research institution generally known by a short…

Photo of Eric Hudson

Happy Valentine’s Day. Today’s decision is about a rather un-romantic topic—holding companies.  But that got us thinking about a lesser-known band out of San Francisco called Big Brother and the Holding Company. One of America’s most iconic vocalists got her start with the band. Big Brother and the Holding Company’s second album, Cheap Thrills, reached…

Photo of Eric Hudson

We’ve all heard that “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Some of us describe it as “the rule of poultry equivalents.” However you phrase it, we’ve always thought that if a defendant’s insurance is routinely discoverable, a plaintiff’s litigation financing agreement should be as well. Today’s decision from Delaware, Burkhart v. Genworth Financial, Inc., 2024 WL 3888109 (Del. Ch. Aug. 21, 2024), isn’t a pharmaceutical or medical device case, but it is the fourth decision out of the Delaware state courts holding that a plaintiff’s litigation funding agreement is discoverable.  The decision adds to some of the positive case law and local rules related to litigation funding that we’ve addressed here, here and here.  Continue Reading Litigation Funding Agreements Discoverable in Delaware

This post is from the non-Reed Smith, non-Dechert, and non-Holland & Knight side of the blog. 

We have covered the ranitidine litigation before. As we explained in prior posts (including here and here), plaintiffs allege that ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac, breaks down into N-Nitrosodimethylamine (“NDMA”), particularly at higher temperatures.  NDMA is a known carcinogen and a ubiquitous substance present in the environment and in all manner of foods including bacon, beer, and cheese.  Readers will remember that in a sweeping, 341-page opinion, the MDL court cut the head off the federal Zantac litigation by excluding plaintiffs’ experts.  But other parts of the snake keep slithering. Continue Reading Delaware Zantac Court Fails to Keep the Gate

Photo of Lisa Baird

As a defense lawyer, one grows accustomed to clear judicial days on which the state court can foresee forever.  See Thing v. La Chusa, 48 Cal. 3d 644, 668 (1989).  On those clear judicial days, when the court catches a glimpse of the possibility of harm shimmering off in the distance, one can be…

Photo of Eric Alexander

We have been reporting on third party payer/payor (“TPP”) litigation for a long time.  This category covers a range of causes of action and allegations but boils down to boils down to insurance companies or other entities trying to recover amounts they paid for patients to receive medical products because the manufacturers or sellers…

Photo of Andrew Tauber

In today’s case, Chapman v. AstraZeneca, a Delaware state court granted summary judgment to the defendant pharmaceutical manufacturer after excluding the plaintiff’s causation expert under Delaware Rule of Evidence 702 because the expert’s opinion was not “stated in terms of medical probability.”

The plaintiff claimed that the defendant’s proton pump inhibitor, a class of…

Photo of Michelle Yeary

There’s more than one way to cook an egg.  And, there’s more than one way to dismiss a case. In Bennett v. Teva, the district court decision was based on preemption.  The Third Circuit took a different route basing their dismissal on TwIqbal.  While we would have preferred an appellate win on preemption…

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