Supreme Court to Hear Wyeth v. Levine
This fall the United States Supreme Court will hear Wyeth v. Levine - a case that may close the loop on whether pharmaceutical manufacturers are immune from state law tort claims. The case is highly anticipated in the life sciences industry as it comes on the heels of two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding state law tort immunity for manufacturers in the industry.
In February, the Supreme Court heard Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. and determined that federal law preempts state law tort claims against medical device manufacturers. Just a few weeks after its decision in Medtronic, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Warner-Lambert, Co. v. Kent and, in a 4-4 deadlock, did not extend preemption immunity to pharmaceutical companies.
Based upon existing law in the medical device arena, the Court’s decision in Medtronic was not terribly unpredictable. The question of state law tort immunity for pharmaceutical companies, however, is a much more difficult issue as existing law in this arena is more ambiguous.
The life sciences industry will surely watch the Supreme Court this fall in anticipation of the Wyeth decision.
