DRI Seeks To Protect Against “Innovator Liability”

By on January 12, 2012

In the case of Wyeth v. Weeks, the Alabama Supreme Court consented to answer the following question from the Middle District of Alabama: “Under Alabama law, may a drug company be held liable for fraud or misrepresentation (by misstatement or omission), based on statements it made in connection with the manufacture or distribution of a brand-name drug, by plaintiffs claiming physical injury from a generic drug manufactured and distributed by a different company?" In its brief filed on December 12, 2011—a combined effort with the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association—the Defense Research Institute (DRI)  argues that well-established state tort duty principles prohibit imposing liability on a brand-name manufacturer that did not manufacture the product ingested by plaintiffs. The contrary decision of the Middle District of Alabama is one of but three decisions in the entire country that have allowed failure-to-warn claims to proceed against a brand-name manufacturer where the plaintiff ingested a generic version of the brand-name drug.

The dispute in this case stems from plaintiffs who ingested generic metoclopramide and developed tardive dyskinesia. The plaintiffs claimed that the generic manufacturer failed to warn of the dangers of metoclopramide adequately, and sued the generic defendant on a failure to warn theory. However, the United States Supreme Court recently ruled in PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing that, because federal regulations prohibit generic manufacturers from unilaterally altering their warning labels, state tort failure-to-warn claims against generic manufacturers are preempted by federal law. Accordingly, the plaintiffs brought suit against the brand-name manufacturers, and the Middle District of Alabama denied in part the brand-name manufacturers’ motion to dismiss. DRI argues against extending common tort principles out of their shape to impose a duty on a defendant who did not manufacture the product and has no control over it. DRI maintains that federal preemption of generic manufacturers does not change this result, even if application of proper tort principles leaves the plaintiff without a remedy.

It would be bad jurisprudence and bad precedent for the Alabama Supreme Court to uphold plaintiffs’ position and impose liability on a drug manufacturer, whose  product did not cause the alleged harm.  If that was the result, it is conceivable that a manufacturer with only 10% market share could be held strictly liable for adverse drug reactions caused by generic competitors, who might collectively control 90% of the market.  It would be unfair and unequitable to shift the burden of liability to a manufacturer whose product did not cause the injury merely because the Supreme Court has ruled that preemptioin protects generic manufacturers against state tort failure-to-warn claims. 

Filed under Defense Research Institute, DRI, generic drug manufacturers, innovator liability, Pharmaceutical & Medical Device, Pharmaceutical Product Liability, pliva v mensing, Product Manufacturers, wyeth v. weeks Tagged with

Is Safety Equipment Ever Optional?

By on August 21, 2009

Kenneth Ross, one of the more discerning authors in the product liability defense bar, has authored a thoughtful piece titled, Is There Anything Optional About Safety? in the August ’09 DRI Product Liability Committee Newsletter–"Strictly Speaking".  As manufacturers design new products and update the design of old products, many times they sell and offer for sale differing levels of safety and quality.  Ken’s article explores the legal and practical risks in selling products with these differences and provides advice to manufacturers about minimizing risk.  As one law professor notes, the case law is "muddled and quite sparse".  There are cases on both sides–those that hold that safety devices can be optional and those that hold that not installing a safety device establishes a basis for liability.  Ken discusses several important considerations that should be weighed in performing this delicate balancing act.

Filed under Bowman and Brooke LLP, Defense Research Institute, DRI, Kenneth Ross, Product Manufacturers, reasonable alternative, Restatement Third, Torts:Product Liability, safety, Strict Liability, Toxic Tort/Product Liability Litigation Tagged with ,

When A Little Sunshine May Cause A Burn

By on April 22, 2009

According to Senator Herb Kohl, the intention of the "Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009" (S. 537) is to require federal judges to perform a " simple balancing test" to ensure that in any proposed secrecy order, the defendant’s interest in secrecy truly outweighs the public interest in information related to public health and safety.  Citing court-approved confidential settlement agreements in product liability cases entered into by drug and tire manufacturers, Senator Kohl argues that federal judges must be required to consider public health and safety when deciding whether to allow a secrecy order.   Although this proposal may have a populist appeal, the  American Bar Association believes that the proposed law would make discovery more burdensome, more expensive, and more time-consuming, and would threaten important privacy interests.  The Act would change Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) by limiting a court’s ability to enter an order in a civil case: (1) restricting disclosure of information obtained through discovery; (2) approving a settlement agreement restricting the disclosure of such information; or (3) restricting access to court records in civil cases. Before entering a secrecy order, a court would first have to perform the balancing test discussed by Senator Kohl or reach a determination that the order would not restrict the disclosure of information relevant to the protection of public health or safety.  I concur with the ABA that the Sunshine Act is a bad idea; its adoption would not serve the public interest.

The Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States reported last year that empirical studies demonstrate that there is no evidence that protective orders create a significant problem of concealing information about public hazards.  The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules strongly opposes the measure as unnecessary legislation that will burden the courts and have significant adverse consequences for civil litigation.  Moreover, the ABA already has adopted policy that encourages courts to permit disclosure of information relevant to potential hazards.  Typically, in cases involving a sealed settlement agreement, there is sufficient information available to the public providing details of a potential public health or safety hazard. As product liability litigators are well aware, protective orders serve to facilitate the timely production of documents. Requiring that a court hearing be conducted before such an order is entered into in every civil case would consume precious judicial resources and further delay litigants’ day in court.

 

Filed under ABA, confidentiality agreement, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, Product Manufacturers, secrecy agreement, Senator Herb Kohl, Sunshine in Litigation Act of 2009 Tagged with

Don’t Blame Chinese Imported Products!

By on March 13, 2009

In his  recent article, "Made in China: Consumer Product Lawsuits Imported to the United States", Seattle defense lawyer and IADC member Gregory Shelton offers American importers several good suggestions for avoiding potential liability from imported products.  These include: (1) requiring the exporter to comply with all applicable U.S. product quality standards and product safety regulations; (2) obtaining legal counsel in the exporter’s home jurisdiction; (3) requiring the exporter to obtain appropriate insurance coverage from an American or international insurer that will protect the importer in the event of a recall or lawsuit; and (4) retaining good legal counsel early.  I would add to Greg’s checklist: (5) having an independent U.S. consultant available to test, if necessary, the components of imported products, particularly if an American consumer reports a complaint to the company or to the CPSC.  Early independent product evaluation can be critical for an importer in planning its next steps, such as whether to perform a recall or halt future shipments until an issue can be addressed.  There are many good consultant firms to chose from. One excellent consultant up-to-speed on the new CPSC requirements is Exponent.

However, we disagree with Mr. Shelton when he argues that Chinese imports are more likely to result in lawsuits or recalls than imports from other countries.  There is simply no empirical evidence to support this assertion.  To the contrary, China has made enormous progress, particularly over the last year, to police its domestic suppliers.  To blame China for the spate of recalls over the last couple of years is to ignore the past lack of adequate funding for the CPSC, the agency that provides regulatory oversight of consumer products.  Moreover, blaming China results in Americans turning a blind eye to problems in our domestic product supply chain. 

Filed under China, CPSC, CPSIA, Gregory Shelton, IADC, imports, Product Manufacturers, recalls, Toxic Tort/Product Liability Litigation, Williams Kastner Tagged with

CPSC’s New Database: An Opportunity for Abuse?

By on October 31, 2008

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (“CPSIA”) provides that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) will establish and maintain an Internet database on the safety of consumer products.  The CPSIA Section 212 requires that the database be: (1) available to the public; (2)  searchable; and (3) accessible on the CPSC’s website.  Reports of harm caused by consumer products may be reported by consumers; local, state or federal govenment agencies; health care professionals; child service providers; and public safety entities. Ideally, the database will encourage the sharing of information and direct communications among consumers, consumer advocacy groups and state attorneys general, who have been given an important new role under the CPSIA.  For the first time, consumers will have direct instant access on the Agency’s website to potentially important product safety information.

The CPSIA of 2008 is much needed legislation to upgrade the level of  protection provided to the American consumer by the federal government.  The law represents the Congress’ response to a year of multiple, embarrassing consumer product scandal after another during what some commentators have termed the “Year of the Recall”.  In the past, information vital to the public welfare concerning defective consumer products has not been promptly provided to the American people.  At times, this delay may have been responsible for what may have been preventable injuries or deaths —  hence, the legislative mandate for the database.

In light of these public benefits, can there be any dark side to this new era of governmental transparency?  Are consumer product companies justified in fearing that the database has the potential to  spread disinformation and unfairly tarnish reputations?

The statute requires that a report submitted for inclusion on the database: (1) describe the consumer product; (2) identify the manufacturer or private labeler; (3) describe the harm related to the use of the product; (4) provide contact information; and (5) contain a verification that the report is true and accurate. Based upon informal Commission staffer comments, the CPSC is not required to perform an independent investigation to determine the veracity of a report or whether the incident that is the subject of the report occurred in the manner claimed or occurred at all.  For this reason, there is a risk that the database may morph into a  consumer Wikipedia, but with the imprimatur of United States approval and the gloss that comes from being hosted on a federal regulatory agency website.  What opportunity will  manufacturers have to comment on a report that one of their products may have triggered a fire in a home or caused a child to suffocate before the report is posted?  Unfortunately, not a whole lot!  The statute requires that within five days of receiving a report the Commission shall “to the extent practicable” transmit the report to the manufacturer identified in the report prior to the report being posted on the database.   Because the person making the report need not be identified to the manufacturer unless he or she explicitly consents, there may not be much the manufacturer can do, within the 10 day window provided before the report is posted, to determine whether the report is accurate. Certainly, this narrow window does not permit a manufacturer to obtain the product from a consumer, assuming the consumer can be identified, and inspect it.  The manufacturer can request that proprietary or trade secret information not be posted on the database, but that request, if granted, will result only in the sensitive information being redacted, not in a delay in posting the report on the database.  The statute permits a manufacturer to request that its own comments also be included in the database, but in the absence of a realistic time frame to perform an investigation of the underlying report, what would be an appropriate comment to make?  Moreover, the manufacturer may be at a disadvantage if reporters call seeking comment after the consumer’s report is posted by the Commission.

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Filed under clear and conspicuous notice, CPSC database, CPSIA, evidence, Product Manufacturers, product recalls, Toxic Tort/Product Liability Litigation, year of the recall Tagged with