Mealey's Drugs & Devices : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Drugs & Devices

January 30, 2024
Now Is Not Time To Start Remand Process, Hernia Pelvic Mesh Makers Tell MDL Court

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A motion by plaintiffs in the hernia mesh multidistrict litigation urging the court to begin the process of remanding cases is “premature, unreasonable, and counter-productive to its stated goals,” C.R. Bard Inc. and Davol Inc. argue in their opposition to a proposed case management order.
January 30, 2024
Law Firm Tells Court To Reject Motion To Disqualify For Previous Governmental Work

CLEVELAND — Motley Rice LLC has rejected an argument from OptumRx that the law firm’s separate representation of other governmental investigations into the pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) means that it should be disqualified from representing parties in the opioid multidistrict litigation.
January 30, 2024
Plaintiffs In ASD-ADHD MDL Ordered To Explain Why Cases Shouldn’t Be Dismissed

NEW YORK — The New York federal judge overseeing the acetaminophen autism spectrum disorder-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ASD-ADHD) multidistrict litigation told the plaintiffs who allege that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen causes autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that they must explain why their cases should not be dismissed in light of a ruling that found the general causation experts are inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.
January 30, 2024
Suboxone Film Caused Permanent Tooth Decay, Kentucky Man Alleges

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The manufacturer of Suboxone film used to treat opioid use disorder failed to disclose that the drug can cause permanent damage to teeth, a Kentucky man who used the product for 10 years alleges in a state federal court.
January 30, 2024
Judge: False, Misleading Claims Over Cough Drop Label Preempted By Federal Law

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A New York federal judge granted a cough drop manufacturer’s motion to dismiss, finding that a woman’s putative class action alleging that the over-the-counter (OTC) product label is false and misleading is preempted under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
January 29, 2024
Panel: Opioid Suits Describe ‘Exclusively Deliberate’ Conduct, No Coverage Owed

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 26 held that underlying allegations brought against a prescription drug distributor insured “describe exclusively deliberate conduct” and, therefore, there is no coverage owed, affirming a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of insurers in their lawsuit disputing coverage for the underlying lawsuits prompted by the opioid epidemic.
January 26, 2024
Shkreli Lifetime Ban From Drug Industry Affirmed By Appeals Court

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a lifetime ban on former drug executive and convicted securities fraudster Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry.
January 25, 2024
Johnson & Johnson To Pay $149.5 Million To Washington In Opioid Settlement

SEATTLE — Washington and Johnson & Johnson have reached an agreement in which the opioid manufacturer and raw material supplier will pay $149.5 million to the state for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic, the state announced Jan. 24.
January 24, 2024
FDA, Danco Urge High Court To Reverse 5th Circuit’s Abortion Drug Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Danco Laboratories LLC, the manufacturer of Mifeprex-brand mifepristone, on Jan. 23 filed separate opening briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in upholding a district court’s stay of the Food and Drug Administration’s 2016 amendments to mifepristone’s approval and the agency’s 2021 decision not to enforce its regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
January 24, 2024
N.C. Federal Judge Finds Claims Against Drugmaker Preempted, Dismisses Case

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge granted a motion to dismiss a second complaint filed by a woman who alleges that her arthritis medication damaged her kidneys after finding that her claims are preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
January 19, 2024
Settlement Reached In Class Alleging Injuries From Ankle Monitoring Device

DENVER — A man seeking to represent a class of individuals who allege that they were injured by an alcohol tracking ankle monitor and the device’s manufacturer notified a Colorado federal court that the parties have reached a confidential settlement to resolve all claims.
January 17, 2024
High Court Told ‘Chaos’ Will Ensue ‘In A World Without Chevron’ Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court was told Jan. 17 that “chaos” will ensue “in a world without Chevron” deference by government attorneys, who urged it to apply stare decisis and uphold Chevron, which is being challenged in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations.
January 18, 2024
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices

New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
January 18, 2024
New York Federal Judge Finds Motions Don’t Meet Court Rules, Allows Refiling

UTICA, N.Y. — A New York federal judge ordered the manufacturer of an allegedly defective hip implant to refile motions to exclude expert witnesses and for summary judgment within 30 days in a case recently transferred from the Pinnacle hip implant products liability multidistrict litigation pending in the Northern District of Texas.
January 18, 2024
Federal Judge Tosses Express Warranty Claim Against Ozempic, Mounjaro Makers

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Jan. 17 dismissed the express warranty claims against Eli Lilly & Co. after a woman who alleges that the drugmaker failed to warn her about the risk of gastroparesis, or delayed stomach emptying, failed to amend her complaint; the judge dismissed the same claim against Novo Nordisk A/S on Jan. 9 in a nearly identical ruling.
January 18, 2024
Judge Remands Knee Replacement Injury Case To Louisiana State Court

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge granted a motion to remand a man’s case alleging that he was injured by a defective artificial knee replacement device after finding that there are viable claims against a sales representative and distributor.
January 17, 2024
Paragard MDL Judge Pushes Back Discovery, Expert Disclosure Deadlines

ATLANTA — The first bellwether case for the Paragard IUD multidistrict litigation centered in a Georgia federal court, which was to be held in October 2024, has been pushed back, with a federal judge announcing that she has granted a joint motion for an extension of time for various deadlines.
January 17, 2024
Louisiana Federal Judge Tosses Express Warranty Claim Against Ozempic Maker

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana dismissed an express warranty claim against Novo Nordisk A/S and its affiliates after a woman who alleges that the drugmaker failed to warn her about the risk of gastroparesis, or delayed stomach emptying, failed to amend her complaint.
January 17, 2024
3M Loses Bid To Keep Bair Hugger Case Out Of Texas State Court

MINNEAPOLIS — The judge overseeing the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation granted a man’s motion to remand his case to a Texas court after finding that 3M Co. failed to demonstrate that certain defendants were fraudulently joined.
January 16, 2024
Va. Federal Judge Stays Mifepristone Regulation Case Pending High Court Decision

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A Virigina federal judge on Jan. 12 agreed to stay a case filed by a group of abortion providers who want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove all legislative barriers to the abortion drug mifepristone pending the resolution of a U.S. Supreme Court case on whether the FDA acted unlawfully in removing certain safety measures for the drug.
January 16, 2024
Judge Denies Walgreen’s Dismissal Motion In FCA Suit On Remand From 4th Circuit

ABINGDON, Va. — A Virginia federal judge on Jan. 13 denied Walgreen’s motion to dismiss after the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the judge’s previous dismissal of a suit filed by federal and state governments alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and Virginia law, finding in part that the federal and state governments “have plausibly alleged a materially false representation” regarding Walgreens’ alleged misrepresentation that certain patients met Medicaid eligibility requirements for hepatitis C drugs.
January 16, 2024
Anti-Abortion States Can Intervene In Case Over FDA’s Approval Of Mifepristone

AMARILLO, Texas — A Texas federal judge on Jan. 12 agreed to allow three states to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone and misoprostol after finding that their motion was timely and that the opposing parties would not be unduly prejudiced by allowing them to join.
January 12, 2024
Woman’s Case Reinstated After It Was Tossed For Mississippi Statute Of Limitations

NEW ORLEANS — Finding a that “single clerical error” by a woman’s counsel that led to her case being dismissed constituted “excusable neglect,” the Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Taxotere hair loss multidistrict litigation agreed to reinstate her case.
January 12, 2024
Woman: Zantac Maker, Retailer Trying ‘To Scare The Court’ From Granting Cert

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider at its Feb. 16 conference a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a woman who is appealing the dismissal of her case against the maker of Zantac and asking the high court to settle a jurisdictional question on whether her design-defect claim was dismissed when the multidistrict litigation court dismissed the claim in the master complaint; the woman rejected the respondents’ argument that her case is not the proper vehicle in a reply brief.
January 12, 2024
Arbitration Denied In Class Suit Against Walgreens Over Lidocaine Labeling

CHICAGO — Walgreen Co., doing business as Walgreens, waived its right to arbitration in a putative class complaint alleging that the labels on certain lidocaine products are misleading when it did not assert an arbitrability defense until after its motion to dismiss was ruled on, a federal judge in Illinois ruled, denying the pharmacy chain’s motion to compel arbitration and stay.