Parties involved in coordinated proceedings featuring thousands of plaintiffs and a tight discovery schedule are expected to negotiate an efficient process for production of baseline data. The Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS)/Defendant Fact Sheet (DFS) process provides an orderly procedure for discovery specific to plaintiffs and their prescribing/treating physicians.
Continue reading “Hallmarks of an Efficient Defendant Fact Sheet Process”
On October 10th, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Air & Liquid Systems Corp., et al. v. Devries, et al., No. 17-1104, over whether the manufacturer of a bare metal product, in this case engines on a Navy ship, may be held liable for injuries suffered from later-added asbestos-containing materials. Under maritime law, the Third Circuit said yes, if the facts show the manufacturer reasonably could have known that asbestos is hazardous and its product will be used with an asbestos-containing part, because (a) the product was originally equipped with the asbestos part, which needs to be replaced, (b) the manufacturer specifically directed that the product be used with the asbestos-containing part, or (c) the product required the asbestos-containing part to properly function.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Bare Metal Defense in Asbestos Maritime Case”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) sent an untitled letter to Eisai Inc. on October 11, 2018, based on a sales representative’s “false and misleading” oral statements during a lunch presentation about the safety of the antiepileptic medication Fycompa®, downplaying warnings, and engaging in off-label promotion of the product.
On October 3, 2018, the New Jersey Supreme Court dismissed 532 cases against Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and Roche Laboratories Inc., the manufacturer of the prescription acne medication Accutane, holding that the laws of New Jersey – the location of Roche’s principal place of business– and not the respective laws of plaintiffs’ home states governed the adequacy of the warnings underlying plaintiffs’ failure to warn claims. The Court held that because the medication’s warnings were FDA-approved, “they enjoy a ‘rebuttable presumption’ of adequacy under New Jersey’s Products Liability Act ([NJ]PLA).”
Continue reading “NJ Top Court Tosses More Than 500 Suits Against Acne Medication Maker”
August was a busy month for multi-county litigation (MCL) in New Jersey: the Supreme Court of New Jersey designated three new MCLs and terminated one in a matter of just three days. Newly added to the MCL docket are the Physiomesh Flexible Composite Mesh litigation, Zostavax litigation, and Taxotere litigation. Meanwhile, the Pompton Lakes Environmental Contamination litigation has been terminated. Here is a brief update on these four litigations.
Continue reading “New Jersey MCL Update: Three New Consolidated Litigations in New Jersey”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has issued a precedential opinion approving snap removal and resolving the district split regarding its propriety.
Continue reading “OH SNAP! – Snap Removal Now Permitted in Third Circuit”
