The Supreme Court of California is gearing up to decide an important question for the future of product liability law: Do drug manufacturers have a duty to innovate? In other words, does a manufacturer of a non-defective drug...more
In Himes v. Somatics, LLC, No. S273887, 2024 WL 3059637 (Cal. June 20, 2024), the Supreme Court of California delivered a win to the defense, upholding the learned intermediary doctrine in cases involving prescription drugs...more
The United States Supreme Court finally clarified its 11-year-old “clear evidence” standard for pharmaceutical preemption. In its much-anticipated opinion delivered by Justice Breyer, the Court unanimously reversed the Third...more
6/6/2019
/ Agency Disapproval ,
Clear Evidence Standard ,
Failure To Warn ,
FDA Approval ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Judicial Authority ,
Jury Trial ,
Manufacturers ,
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Question of Fact ,
Question of Law ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Claims ,
Vacated ,
Warning Labels
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the scope of specific personal jurisdiction in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco Cty., 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017) (“BMS”). Mass tort defendants...more
The FDA recently announced that it would once again delay promulgation of its proposed rule for generic drug labeling obligations. This action followed introduction of a spending bill that would have blocked funding for the...more
The Supreme Court case Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins reaffirmed and clarified the requirements necessary for plaintiffs to establish standing. As evidenced by the recent First Circuit case Hochendoner v. Genzyme Corp., the analysis...more
In an unusual turn of events, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe recently granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to over 300 cases in the Zoloft MDL. These cases were consolidated in 2012 and involved allegations...more
5/5/2016
/ Birth Defects ,
Causation ,
Daubert Hearing ,
Drug Safety ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pregnancy ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Summary Judgment ,
Zoloft
Last week, a federal court in Utah granted Aventis Inc.’s motion for summary judgment based on federal preemption of failure-to-warn claims. Cerveny v. Aventis, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34182 (D. Utah Mar. 16, 2016). The...more
Earlier this month, a federal district court in Illinois denied GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) renewed summary judgment motion based on federal preemption of failure-to-warn claims in an opinion setting tough standards for brand...more
In a surprising turn of events, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they have settled their dispute regarding the off-label promotion of Exparel, one of Pacira’s anesthetic...more
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...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has reopened the comment period for its proposed rule on generic drug labeling. It has also scheduled a day-long public meeting to hear comments and...more
On Jan. 20, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal involving failure-to-warn claims against generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. Teva Pharms. USA Inc. v. Super. Ct., No. 13-956 (U.S. Jan. 20, 2015). This...more
On January 20, 2015, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal involving failure-to-warn claims against generic pharmaceutical manufacturers. Teva Pharms. USA Inc. v. Super. Ct., No. 13-956, 2015 WL 231967 (U.S. Jan. 20,...more
A federal district court has held that design defect claims against a brand pharmaceutical manufacturer are preempted by federal law. Booker v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 3:12 oe 40000, 2014 WL 5113305 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 10,...more
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Alabama confirmed its January 2013 holding in Weeks v. Wyeth Inc. that manufacturers of brand drugs can be liable for injuries caused by generic drugs. Though the recent ruling puts...more
Last week, the Supreme Court of Alabama confirmed its January 2013 holding that manufacturers of brand drugs can be liable for injuries caused by generic drugs. Weeks v. Wyeth, Inc., No. 1101397, slip op. (Ala. Aug. 15,...more
In This Issue:
- Data for the Taking: Using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to Combat Web Scraping
- Google Glass Into Europe: A Small Step or a Giant Leap?
- Drugs and the Internet: FDA Distributes New...more
8/19/2014
/ ABC v Aereo ,
Accessibility Rules ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
DMCA ,
EU ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Google Glass ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Social Networks ,
Web Scraping ,
Website Accessibility
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently promulgated two much-anticipated draft guidance documents on the use of social media to present information about prescription drugs and medical devices. The draft guidance...more
Earlier this year, in the widely followed In re: Actos (Pioglitazone) Products Liability Litigation matter, a Louisiana federal jury ordered a drug manufacturer to pay $6 billion in punitive damages and $1.5 million in actual...more
Last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promulgated two much-anticipated draft guidance documents on using social media to present information about prescription drugs and medical devices. The draft guidance...more
On June 2, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration launched openFDA, a program designed to improve access to publicly available data beginning with adverse event reports. While greater accessibility to adverse event reports...more
Last week, a federal district court in Illinois held that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a branded drug manufacturer, owed a duty of care to a patient who took the generic version of its drug. Dolin v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No....more
An economic consulting group recently published findings that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed rule will increase annual healthcare costs by $4 billion. The FDA's proposal, announced in November 2013, will allow...more
An economic consulting group recently published findings that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed rule will increase annual healthcare costs by $4 billion. The FDA's proposal, announced in November 2013, would allow...more