Industry: Pharmaceuticals
Federal Court Wipes Away Challenge to Nivea Lotion on Preemption Grounds
What distinguishes a “cosmetic” from a “drug” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)? The FDA has struggled to offer clear guidance on the distinction, but the classification as one or the other (or both) carries significant legal and regulatory consequences for manufacturers: a product that is a “drug” needs pre-market approval from the FDA, while a “cosmetic” does not. A cosmetic product that has not received this approval may not represent that, like a drug, it is “intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man.” 21 U.S.C. § 321(g)(1). Thus, a product that claims to be capable of changing how part of the body works (e.g., “reduces cellulite” or “regenerates cells”), but has not been subjected to this pre-approval process, is considered mislabeled under the FDCA.
Liability Immunity Under The PREP Act: A Potent New Defense Against COVID-Related False Advertising Claims
Our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been made more difficult by a shortage of personal protective equipment and lifesaving drugs and medical devices. Some evidence suggests that manufacturers’ fear of lawsuits has exacerbated these shortages. Seeking to allay these concerns, in March 2020, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Declaration providing manufacturers, distributors, health professionals, and other “qualified persons” immunity against certain claims relating to COVID-19 “countermeasures.” See 85 Fed. Reg. 15198 (Mar. 17, 2020). In mid-April, HHS followed up with an Advisory Opinion clarifying the scope of liability immunity under the Declaration.
Much has been written about the Declaration’s potential as a shield against product liability suits. But does the Declaration also provide immunity from false advertising suits, including Lanham Act, common-law, and statutory consumer protection claims? There’s not yet any judicial precedent on this question, but the answer appears to be “yes”—at least in many cases.
FDCA Preclusion: When Can a Manufacturer Defeat a Competitor’s Lawsuit by Complying with FDA Regulations?
As many readers probably know, when a food or beverage manufacturer gets a consumer class action alleging that its labeling violated state law, one of the first things it should do is consider whether the disputed aspect of the labeling is covered by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”). Many provisions of that statute—and, by extension, their implementing regulations—expressly preempt non-identical state-law regulations. If a putative class of consumers is asking a manufacturer to do something different with its labeling than those provisions do, there is a strong argument that the case is preempted: federal law (the FDCA) trumps state law (the relevant consumer protection statute).
Ninth Circuit Endorses RICO Claims For Prescription Pharmaceutical Promotion
Ninth Circuit Endorses RICO Claims For Prescription Pharmaceutical Promotion
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was meant to help take down the Mafia. For years, however, plaintiffs have attempted to contort it into a federal false advertising regime for prescription pharmaceuticals, complete with treble damages and attorney’s fees. The Ninth Circuit recently gave plaintiffs a boost in that effort, permitting RICO claims to proceed against pharmaceutical companies based on allegedly improper labeling and promotion of their prescription medications.
Patterson partner and Misbranded contributor Jonah Knobler recently critiqued the Ninth Circuit’s decision—and pharmaceutical RICO suits generally—at Drug and Device Law. Check out that post here.
“Lack of Substantiation” Claims: A Substantively Lacking Liability Theory
As astronomer Carl Sagan famously said, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” Plaintiffs have not gotten the message. They often allege that a defendant’s marketing or labeling statements are false and misleading on the sole basis that there is purportedly no evidence (or insufficient evidence) proving their truth. These so-called “lack of substantiation” claims are easy to plead because a plaintiff does not need to conduct an investigation to identify evidence that the challenged statement is false. Rather, she alleges only an absence of supporting evidence for the statement—and generally, in a conclusory manner.
“Slack-Fill” Cases Coming Up Empty
Unless you were born yesterday, you know that packaged goods usually contain some empty space in the box, bottle, or bag. This has been true for as long as there have been packaged goods. What is relatively new is that consumers—or, rather, a small cadre of specialized plaintiff’s lawyers—are suing over it. But as Newton said, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And the more that lawyers have inundated courts with these suits, the more aggressively courts have responded to shut the silliness down. This post examines the regulatory underpinnings of these so-called “slack-fill” suits and the many bases that courts have found for letting the air out of them.