Abigail Luhn

Abigail M. Luhn is an associate in the Products Liability and Mass Tort Group in our Florham Park, New Jersey, office. Her practice focuses on the defense of major pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability cases involving prescription and over-the-counter medications and medical devices.

View the full bio for Abigail Luhn at the Faegre Drinker website.

Articles by Abigail Luhn:


Hierarchy of Scientific Evidence Reigns Supreme: NJ Appellate Division Affirms Exclusion of Experts in Accutane Litigation

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In In re: Accutane Litigation (A-4952-16T1) — an appeal decided just 10 days after oral argument — the New Jersey Appellate Division applied the New Jersey Supreme Court’s landmark decision In re Accutane Litigation, 234 N.J. 340 (2018) (Accutane 2018), arising from the same multicounty litigation, to affirm exclusion of two of plaintiffs’ experts and dismissal of more than 3,000 cases.

The Accutane multicounty litigation involves thousands of cases in which plaintiffs claim the prescription acne medication caused inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The litigation has been divided into two parts, based on the sub-type of IBD injury alleged: cases in which plaintiffs claim Accutane caused Crohn’s disease (CD) and cases in which plaintiffs claim it caused ulcerative colitis (UC).

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Overview of Amendments to New Jersey’s Evidence Rules, Effective July 1, 2020

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The increasing use of electronic discovery in litigation and the attendant high risk of inadvertent disclosures has led the New Jersey Supreme Court to adopt amendments to New Jersey’s Evidence Rule 530 (Waiver of Privilege by Contract or Previous Disclosure). The Court also adopted amendments to N.J.R.E. 608 (Evidence of a Witness’s Character for Truthfulness or Untruthfulness), and has ordered the restyling of 46 other Rules of Evidence. These amendments are effective July 1, 2020.

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The FDA Is in the Doghouse

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An unusual pet food case filed this summer in the District Court of Colorado has a pet food manufacturer as the plaintiff rather than a defendant. Lystn, LLC v. FDA, No. 1:19CV01943 (D. Colo. July 5, 2019).

There have been numerous reports of lawsuits involving allegedly contaminated pet food filed against pet food manufacturers or distributors by pet owners claiming that they were deceived by pet food labels and suffered harm either as a result of paying a premium for the food or because their pets were sickened by the food. In contrast, on July 5, 2019, a raw pet food company, Lystn, LLC, brought a civil action against the FDA seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. The complaint challenges the FDA’s ability to enforce what Lystn characterizes as “a nationwide zero-tolerance standard for Salmonella presence in pet food that is unsupported by science and ultra vires of powers properly delegated to it by Congress.”

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FDA’s Final Guidance on “Least Burdensome” Principles for Medical Devices

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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Least Burdensome Provisions: Concept and Principles: Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff, February 5, 2019, states that “medical device regulation should be least burdensome across the total product life cycle.” This means that manufacturers are expected to provide “the minimum amount of information necessary to adequately address a relevant regulatory question or issue through the most efficient manner at the right time.” The FDA observed that this approach should “ensure that patients have access to high-quality, safe and effective medical devices.”

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Are You Sure You’ve Got Milk?

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Alternatives to traditional food products have increased in availability, number, variety and popularity over the last decade.  So where does this leave consumers and the regulators who are tasked with ensuring food safety?  The Ninth Circuit has held that the reasonable consumer can digest the differences between almonds and cows.

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