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Hither and Yon

By James M. Beck and Mark Herrmann

Here are three items we saw that might interest you:

First, on Monday, Judge Mark Bernstein (in Philadelphia Common Pleas) decertified a Neurontin off-label use class action, granted summary judgment on express warranty claims, and otherwise permitted the claims of two individual plaintiffs to proceed (they promptly asked for a continuance). Gregory Clark and Linda Meashey v. Pfizer Inc. and Warner-Lambert Co., LLC, No. 1819, Control Nos. 061293/061291, Slip op. (Pa. Ct. Com. Pleas -- Philadelphia County Feb. 9, 2009). Russell Jackson reports on the case here, and we'll defer to his description. But Russell didn't provide a link to the decision itself. As a public service, we provide that link here.

Second, yesterday's New York Times had this piece about the FDA's investigation of dietary supplements used for weight loss that may contain active pharmaceuticals. We don't typically report on stuff that may foment litigation, but we figure that, once a story has hit the front page of the business section of the Times, what we say on our little blog isn't likely to effect things too much. (And, having represented both manufacturers of drugs and manufacturers of dietary supplements, we'll simply note that those two seemingly related industries are often in fact worlds apart.)

Finally, whatever you think of their politics, most people agree that Judges Reinhardt and Kozinski (on the Ninth Circuit) are both exceptionally bright guys. It's thus fun to see the two of them have at it, as they did in the majority and dissent in the recent criminal case of United States v. Cruz. Hat tip to Volokh Conspiracy (which describes the language in Kozinski's dissent), and another hat tip in turn to How Appealing (which simply calls Kozinski's dissent "blistering").

Full post as published by Drug and Device Law on February 11, 2009 (boomark / email).