US Supreme Court Rejects Federal Pre-emption Defenses

The US Supreme Court recently issued two rulings that help keep the courts open to injured plaintiffs in product liability cases. Wyeth v. Levine involves a case against a drug company which sought dismissal of plaintiff's case on the ground that any drug approved by the FDA cannot, as a matter of law be defective. Altria v. Good involved a case in which the cigarette company claimed that Federal law protected it against fraud charges. The Court allowed both cases to go forward to trial. The efforts of the plaintiffs and their lawyers in these important cases were supported by many others in the legal community who believe that people are entitled to their day in court, and that Federal regulation cannot be the only source of limits on the behavior of manufacturers. Federal regulation has consistently proved to be an inadequate regulatory power, from the days of the Ford Pinto to the Bernie Madoff scandal, which stretches back almost as far. Read more about the Altria and Wyeth cases at www.publicjustice.net

John Sedgewick