This post is from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog.
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” — Lao Tzu
This may not be exactly what the court in Moore v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156923 (E.D. Tenn. Nov. 14, 2016) had in mind when it authored its recent opinion dismissing the complaint in this case, but the decision brought these ancient philosophical words to our mind. Of course, if we are talking about self-knowledge advice, we might be more partial to Ann Lander’s “Know yourself. Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” But, we trust you get the point. You better know yourself first before you start worrying about what you don’t know about others.
Plaintiffs tend to put the cart before the horse on this issue. When faced with a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, plaintiffs focus intently on what they claim they don’t know yet or can’t possibly know – but never seem interested in all of the things that they should know before filing a lawsuit. That’s a big part of where plaintiffs fell short in Moore.
During surgery to repair a hernia, two mesh products were implanted in plaintiff – one Bard product and one Ethicon product. Id. at *2-3. Plaintiff alleged that both products were made of polypropylene; that both defendants failed to adequately warn about the risks of their products; and that following surgery plaintiff’s condition worsened which he alleges is due to one or both of the mesh products. Id. at *3-4. And, that is all plaintiff alleged.Continue Reading Excellent TwIqbal Decision — Plaintiffs Need to Look for Some Enlightenment