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New Jersey Manufacturers and Punitive Damages

By Janice Inman
September 02, 2014

As discussed in Part One of this article, New Jersey's Products Liability Act (Defective Product) (PLA), N.J. Stat. ' 2A:58C-5 (c) (2013), prevents injured plaintiffs seeking compensation from drug and device manufacturers from being awarded punitive damages. The statute, which in an earlier form was enacted in 2008, provides, in pertinent part:

Punitive damages shall not be awarded if a drug or device … which caused the claimant's harm was subject to premarket approval or licensure by the federal Food and Drug Administration under the “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” 52 Stat. 1040, 21 U.S.C. ' 301 et seq. or the “Public Health Service Act,” 58 Stat. 682, 42 U.S.C. ' 201 et seq. and was approved or licensed; or is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by the federal Food and Drug Administration and applicable regulations, including packaging and labeling regulations. However, where the product manufacturer knowingly withheld or misrepresented information required to be submitted under the agency's regulations, which information was material and relevant to the harm in question, punitive damages may be awarded.

Other Jurisdictions

While New Jersey courts are bound by the statute's manufacturer protections, courts located in other jurisdictions have given the law mixed levels of respect. Most recently, as discussed last month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Winter v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 411 (8th Cir., 1/9/14), determined that New Jersey's punitive damages prohibition law was inapplicable to a Missouri plaintiff allegedly harmed by the defendant New Jersey manufacturer's drug products Arendia and Zometa.

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