There is a good Bloomberg analysis of the recent pro-consumer decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the key points:
The Wyeth case illustrated one of the challenges companies face in some Supreme Court cases: persuading members of the court’s conservative wing to limit the powers of state courts and legislatures.
Clarence Thomas, a justice who typically joins the court’s conservatives on social issues, sided with the pro-consumer majority in the Wyeth case. Thomas wrote that the high court shouldn’t block state product-liability lawsuits simply because they interfere with federal objectives.
Similarly, Thomas and Justice Antonin Scalia, another conservative on social issues, have said the Constitution doesn’t put any limits on damage awards.
The entire article is available at the above link.