In the third of the three significant decisions issued in the In re Zantac MDL, No. 2924, on New Year’s Eve, preemption prevailed again – this time barring claims asserted against drug retailers and pharmacists, both branded and generic. In re Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation, ___ F. Supp.3d ___, 2020 WL 7864585 (S.D.
Express preemption
Medical Device Amendments Do Not Preempt Sales Tax

Could a tax case ever make for interesting reading? To our surprise, the answer is Yes. In our end-of-year excavation of older cases we missed when they first came out, we unearthed Rowitz v. Tax Commisioner of Ohio, 2019 WL 7489061 (Ohio Ct. App. Dec. 31, 2019). The plaintiffs in that case applied for…
The Tide Rolls on: Yet Another Decision Preempting Breast Implant Claims

We slipped our summer vacation in just before summer slipped away. Last week, we walked the rocky shores of Cape Cod, ate lobstah rolls the size of trolley cars, and navigated our way through the traffic catastrophes charmingly known in New England as “rotaries.” On our last day in the Bay State, the temperature plunged.…
Preemption Perfection

Sometimes we write on issues for peculiar reasons. Today, for example, a case on a certain topic caught our eye because of its catchy name: Clark v. Perfect Bar. So many questions arise from this concise, yet provocative tag. Did the owner of the 100-year-old brand Clark Bar get sideways with a modern upstart…
More Preemption of Breast Implant Claims

Back in the Pleistocene era when we toiled in law school, it seemed as if modern tort law developed as the result of a cross-continental game of ping pong played between the California and New Jersey courts. That still seems to be the case. Sure, there is the occasional, horrific verdict in flyover country that…
The Second Circuit Puts the Lotion Claim in the Preemption Basket

Why does that last half-inch of conditioner seem to last as long as the entire rest of the bottle? This question is merely the philosophical beginning of our morning ablutions. The time is not billable. Pity. But rinse and renewal are not irrelevant to our thinking. Fresh face, fresh mind. Some of the best ideas…
Breast Implant Preemption (the Sequel)

Last week we discussed the Jacob v. Mentor Worldwide, LLC case, in which a pro se plaintiff alleged injuries from breast implants and complained that the manufacturer had inadequately warned of the risks. The claim boiled down to an attack on the FDA-approved labeling of a class III medical device, and that meant it was…
M.D. Fla. Holds Breast Implant Claims Preempted

No writer made as strong an impression on us in high school as Albert Camus. The opening of The Stranger is arresting: “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don’t know.” Our teacher pronounced The Plague to be an even better book, and he often quoted the bit about how we had “to…
S.D. Fla. Holds that Breast Implant Failure to Warn Claims are Preempted

In Tinkler v. Mentor Worldwide, LLC, 2019 WL 7291239 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 30, 2019), the plaintiff claimed that a breast implant leached chemicals into her tissue, causing a constellation of symptoms known as Breast Implant Illness. Her lawsuit alleged that the manufacturer knew of this danger but failed to warn the implanting surgeon who,…
The Only Common Issue Is Preemption

We had to shake our heads at the recent 360 story entitled, “Allergan Breast Implant Risk MDL Heading to New Jersey” – the link is here for those of you with a subscription.
The idea of a “risk” MDL seems bizarre. The story involves a particular type of cancer, and states that “four proposed class…