Trial Lawyer Setback
Litigation, Myers-Armstrong v. Actavis Totowa LLC
Walter Olson forwarded this news item from Drug and Device Law, noting that, even in California, some spoilsport judges won’t let you sue if a product actually works and does not harm you.
[T]he defendant was basically shut down by the FDA over Good Manufacturing Practices issues at its plant. The defendant recalled over 100 drugs (it was a generic manufacturer) at the wholesale, but not retail level. The plaintiff took one of these drugs, was not hurt by it, but sued over all 100+ drugs. …
The court threw it out on the eminently sensible ground that a plaintiff who took a drug that was effective, and wasn’t hurt by it, hasn’t been injured just by the drug being “adulterated” under the FDCA because there were GMP violations at the plant where it was made. The court literally concluded that “life’s too short” to allow this kind of 100% opportunistic litigation.
