This Wednesday evening marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. In every other year, our large extended family has gathered for Seder, a ritual dinner that commemorates, with traditional foods, songs, and prayers, the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. In our family, Seder is a beloved (and occasionally raucous) affair.   Obviously, no one will “gather” this year.   All are disappointed, but the Drug and Device Law Dowager Countess, well…

At this point, let’s call it what it is: anti-social distancing.  The second word follows much better from that first word.  They go together.  Always have.  It gives you the right mindset too.  When you go for a perilous walk around the block, and you see someone doing the same thing, and they start coming too close to you: “Get the **** away from me.”  Voila, distancing.  Anti-social distancing.  It works.  Then you go back…

We’ve blogged several times before how the logic of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court, 137 S. Ct. 1773 (2017), dooms nationwide class actions against corporations – except in jurisdictions where they are “at home.”  BMS held, essentially, that a non-resident plaintiff could not sue a non-resident corporate defendant over injuries that did not occur in the forum – and that the presence of other, resident plaintiffs asserting…

Last week we discussed the Jacob v. Mentor Worldwide, LLC case, in which a pro se plaintiff alleged injuries from breast implants and complained that the manufacturer had inadequately warned of the risks. The claim boiled down to an attack on the FDA-approved labeling of a class III medical device, and that meant it was preempted. The court dismissed the case in its entirety, but gave leave to amend. We said we awaited the outcome…

Almost two months ago we posted on the magistrate’s Report and Recommendation in Drescher v. Bracco Diagnostics Inc., 2020 WL 699878 (D. Ariz. Jan. 31, 2020).  Back when our co-workers didn’t include furry, four-legged friends.  When we weren’t also re-learning high school geometry.  And when pajamas and slippers weren’t acceptable work attire.  Many things have definitely changed.  Fortunately, the result of Drescher isn’t one of them. Following the magistrate’s dismissal of all claims, over plaintiff’s…

When times are tough, attempted humor can fall flat. Opinions often add little. Fancy prose and witty turns of phrase count for little. Facts, for those whose preconceived notions allow them to be received as such, matter. The language of statutes—potentially powerful drivers of needed stability or change—should be easy to understand even without reference to additional documents on legislative intent (let alone any resort to purported executive intent). With that preface, we will keep…

Today’s guest post is by Corinne Fierro, Mildred Segura, and Farah Tabibkhoei, all of Reed Smith.  These three are all part of the firm’s left-coast, techno side of the product liability practice, and bring our readers a recent appellate decision that addresses the intersection of 21st Century high technology and 20th Century product liability concepts.  As always, our guest bloggers deserve all the credit (and any blame) for what follows. ********** Is…