On May 1, 2015, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed into law a bill to “provide that a manufacturer is not liable ... for damages resulting from a product it did not design, manufacture, sell, or lease.” Sponsored by state Sen. Cam Ward, the bill supersedes the Alabama Supreme Court's controversial holding in Wyeth Inc. v. Weeks, 159 So.3d 649 (2014).

Backdrop of Weeks -

The Weeks case was originally decided by the Alabama Supreme Court in January 2013, in response to a certified question from a federal district court. Danny and Vicki Weeks had filed suit in federal district court, alleging injury from long-term use of metoclopramide, the generic form of Reglan. In addition to suing two brand-name manufacturers, the Weeks sued two brand-name manufacturers even though they never alleged Danny Weeks ingested the brand-name drug. Instead, they sued on a theory that the brand-name manufacturers had a duty to warn all users of the drug based on federal requirements that all generic labels be identical to the brand-name label. This theory is founded on the premise that the label designed by the brand-name manufacturer is the one health care practitioners would rely on in prescribing the drug, regardless of whether the brand-name or generic was prescribed.

Originally published in Product Liability Law360 on May 18, 2015.