We’ve blogged a lot recently about preemption and the dismissal of complaints alleging that certain over the counter products, including acne medications, sunscreens, antiperspirants, expectorants, and shampoos contain benzene. Almost a year ago we blogged about the dismissal of an OTC case involving medicated shampoo that allowed plaintiff leave to amend. Today’s decision, Pineda v. Lake Consumer Products, Inc., 2025 WL 2698991 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 22, 2025), is a mixed bag that addresses plaintiff’s amended complaint. It’s about coal-tar shampoos, which are known to include benzene and are subject to an FDA monograph that recognizes the naturally occurring presence of benzene in coal tar. Yet, shockingly, plaintiff filed a class action claiming she would not have purchased the shampoos had she known they contained benzene.Continue Reading OTC Preemption Letdown in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
OTC Preemption
Still Preempting OTC Drug Claims Over Alleged Contamination
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…
Double Shot Thursday: Express Preemption Based on an OTC Drug Monograph and The Delaney Clause and Personal Injury Litigation— FDA Delists Color Additive Red No. 3, But Will It Be Enough to Attract Even Dyed-in-the-Wool Plaintiffs Lawyers?
Like the radio stations of yore did with songs, we offer up two related posts back-to-back instead of the usual one. We cannot offer a “favorite artist” as the source of consecutive songs, we offer two posts that relate to the legal implications of some of the typical things that FDA does and has been…
Consumer Fraud Case Against “Non-Drowsy” Cough Syrup Sleepwalks Past Preemption
Class Complaint Fails in OTC Drug MDL
When it comes to MDLs that concern a bunch of cases about a drug or device, they typically have a name like “In re [name of product(s)] Product Liability Litigation” or “In re [name of product(s) Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation.” In theory, the first group of MDLs involves, shockingly, product…
Another Preemption Win Involving An Economic Loss Class Action And An OTC Drug
As regular blog readers know, we love a clean grant of a motion to dismiss on preemption grounds. They are relatively common, so it sometimes puzzles us that the plaintiffs’ bar keeps filing plainly preempted claims.
Perhaps some of these plainly preempted lawsuits get filed because the express preemption provision of the FDCA related to…