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7th Circ. Panel Revives Rolls-Royce Qui Tam Suit
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
Overturning a lower court ruling, a federal appellate court has ruled that a qui tam lawsuit filed by a former Rolls-Royce PLC engineer over allegedly defective parts is not precluded merely because he previously filed a related employment suit against the company.
Guidant Judge Rejects 3rd Party Payor Claims Again
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has refused to reconsider a 2007 dismissal of proposed class action claims third-party health care providers brought against Guidant Corp. over its recalled implantable heart defibrillators, noting that much of the request was "an attempt to relitigate old issues."
Expanded Discovery Allowed In Actavis Digitek MDL
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has allowed for expanded discovery and has refused Actavis Group's bid to quash a subpoena in the multidistrict product liability case accusing Actavis of selling a defective or adulterated heart medication.
Pollution Clause Lets Venoco Insurer Off Hook: Court
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A California appeals court has ruled that a Gulf Underwriters Insurance Co. is not obligated to provide liability coverage to oil producer Venoco Inc. for pollution-related health claims brought by former students and staff members of Beverly Hills High School, which is near a Venoco well site.
Last Acculink Claim Against Abbott Nixed
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has thrown out the lone remaining claim in a product liability lawsuit brought by a man who was partially blinded during a stent procedure in which Abbott Laboratories' blood clot-capturing Acculink system failed to prevent a stroke.
Wyeth Wins Sanctions Against Firm In Prempro MDL
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A judge in charge of the multidistrict litigation over Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s hormone replacement pill Prempro has followed through on his threat to sanction Bailey & Galyen, a law firm representing hundreds of plaintiffs, for its failure to timely produce completed client fact sheets.
Bridgestone Announces Faulty Tire Recall Extension
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
Bridgestone Corp. has issued a U.S. recall of more than 127,000 Firestone-brand tires that were manufactured with defective tread.
1 Claim Remains In LG Toxic Fridge Case
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
In a boost for LG Electronics USA Inc., a federal judge has thrown out the lion's share of product liability claims in a lawsuit brought by a consumer who claims his refrigerator contaminated otherwise clean water with high levels of toxic chemicals, putting him and his family at risk for serious health problems.
Liberty Mutual Has Duty In Pella Suits: Judge
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has ruled that two putative class action lawsuits claiming Pella Corp. manufactured and sold defective windows allege property damage that was potentially covered under policies issued by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., triggering the insurer's duty to reimburse the company for defense costs.
Eli Lilly Wins Dismissal Of Another Zyprexa Case
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
A judge has dismissed another lawsuit from the multidistrict litigation alleging Eli Lilly & Co. failed to warn of the health risks associated with the blockbuster antipsychotic drug Zyprexa.
CPSC Stays Lead-Level Enforcement For Kids' Bikes
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will put off enforcement of a new law directing children's bicycle manufacturers to halve lead levels in certain bike parts by August, giving bicycle manufacturers until July 2011 to figure out how to make critical components safely without lead.
Chrysler Seeks To Clarify Lemon Law Provision
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
The former Chrysler LLC has asked the bankruptcy court to approve a process to ease the implementation of the lemon law provision in Italian carmaker Fiat SpA's $2 billion agreement to purchase the company.
FDA Panel Pushes Acetaminophen Painkiller Ban
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Popular prescription painkillers including Abbott Laboratories' Vicodin and Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc.'s Percocet may soon be pulled from the market, after a narrow majority of U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel members reportedly voted Tuesday to eliminate the drugs because they contain acetaminophen, which has been linked to liver damage and death.
FDA Mandates Labels For Pfizer, GSK Smoker Drugs
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has required Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to put boxed warnings on their smoking-cessation aids amid reports linking the medications to suicides.
Ohio Court Says Law Bars Off-Label Abortion Pill Uses
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Responding to a request from a federal appeals panel, Ohio's highest court ruled Wednesday that a state law requires doctors prescribing mifepristone — also known as the RU-486 abortion pill — to follow the usage approved by U.S. regulators, including an admonition not to dispense the drug more than 49 days into a pregnancy.
MySpace Found Not Liable For Sexual Assault
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
MySpace Inc. cannot be held liable when minors are sexually assaulted by adults they met on its Web site because the social networking Web server is immune under the Communications Decency Act, a California appeals court has affirmed.
Federal Preemption Shifting, Not Dead: Experts
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court case Wyeth v. Levine, President Barack Obama released a memo signaling a more cautious approach to federal preemption than that of the last Bush administration. But legal experts say Obama has merely given a nod to state sovereignty, not rung the death knell for federal preemption.
Class Action Over Dell Printer Feature Dismissed
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
A judge has dismissed a proposed class action accusing Dell Inc. of fraudulently marketing an ink-jet printer feature to dupe customers into replacing ink cartridges that don't need to be replaced.
Q&A With Duane Morris' Sharon Caffrey
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
Courts need to apply Daubert and Frye to preclude experts from giving unsound opinions and be more willing to grant summary judgment, says Sharon L. Caffrey, co-head of the products liability and toxic torts division of Duane Morris LLP's trial practice group.
Nestle's Cookie Woes Grow Amid E. Coli Fears
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
After a sample test, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that evidence of E. coli contamination has turned up in the prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall.
FDA Enforcement Crackdown Requires Reforms
An increase in the number of FDA enforcement actions will improve public health and level the commercial playing field only if the enforcement actions are tethered to the statutes and regulations that govern FDA-regulated firms, say Sheldon T. Bradshaw and D. Kyle Sampson of Hunton & Williams LLP.
Wyeth Places Heavier Burden On Implied Preemption
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in March in Wyeth v. Levine, deciding that FDA approval of drug labels does not automatically preempt state tort claims. The justices' analyses of the impossibility doctrine of implied preemption impact the viability of FRCP 12(b)(6) motions, as well as discovery plans, say Joseph J. Leghorn and Kathleen S. Kizer of Nixon Peabody LLP.
Making The Most Of Rule Of Evidence 502
It is foreseeable that, if used strategically, the new Federal Rule of Evidence 502 should alleviate the burdens of costly electronic discovery and post-production privilege review and should ultimately reduce the billions of dollars spent each year in litigation to protect against the inadvertent disclosure of privileged materials, says Otilia Gabor of Miles & Stockbridge PC.
How To Choose The Best Product Liability Expert
Experts can provide a “reality check” by serving as sounding boards and helping to evaluate cases, and can even explain how one may win a case. Moreover, expert testimony is required by most courts. But there are certain ways to get the most out of an expert inquiry, say Kurt W. Meaders of Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP and Jeffrey Curran of McGivern Gilliard & Curthoys PC.
Insight Into Assigning Arbitrability
The case of Monex Deposit Co. v. Gilliam begins to fill in a gap that California decisions have acknowledged in the debate over whether the court or the arbitrator should decide if an arbitration agreement is valid and enforceable, say Neil A. Goteiner, Frank J. Riebli and Scott Andrews of Farella Braun & Martel LLP.
REACH: Key Competition Issues
The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical laws — the EU chemicals regime known as REACH — raises a range of competition issues that are coming to the fore now that registration activities are beginning in earnest, say Yves Botteman and Darren Abrahams of Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
Blackwell V. Wyeth: The Application Of Frye
If you are like me, the Daubert requirements on the admissibility of expert testimony play a far more active role in your practice than the older, and somewhat more limited, Frye analysis. But the recent opinion from the Maryland Court of Appeals in Blackwell v. Wyeth gave me pause to reconsider Frye's place in the product liability practitioner’s toolbox, says Brian Casto of Miles & Stockbridge PC.
Treating Physician V. Expert Witness
Even if the court decides that a plaintiff’s treating physician is an expert witness, but does not agree that Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. or Frye v. United States should apply, an alternative basis for challenging the disguised expert’s testimony is that it was improperly disclosed, say James W. Mizgala, Elizabeth M. Chiarello and Stephen G. Collins of Sidley Austin LLP.