Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Product Liability Law & StrategyKickerFeaturesTopicsCommercial LawLitigationSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Preemption Beyond Drugs and Medical Devices

By Daniel J. Herling
January 29, 2009

Although the issue of Federal Preemption has grabbed the headlines in medical device and pharmaceutical cases, those analyzing preemption's impact on plaintiff's failure-to-warn claims on other types of products that are subject to federal regulation are significant for their varied results.

For example, the Third and Fourth Circuits have addressed similar, if not identical, claims reaching very different conclusions. Pinney v. Nokia, Inc., 402 F.3d 430 (4th Cir. 2005) and Farina v. Nokia, et al., ____ F.3d _______ (3rd Cir. Sept. 2, 2008) both involved putative class actions brought against various manufacturers, suppliers, lenders, and lessors of wireless hand-held telephones (cell phones), those that provide wireless services for such devices, and two trade associations that represented that such devices were safe to use. The complicated and lengthy procedural history of the cases (the complaint that led to the two separate appellate opinions was first filed on April 19, 2001) raised several issues for both courts to consider, including personal jurisdiction, law of the case, and federal preemption.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.