Product liability litigation regularly involves the highest stakes in cases of extreme complexity. Faced with such franchise-threatening matters, the world’s leading corporations trust Paul, Weiss to lead them to victory. Our superior ability to establish a winning, long-term strategy, our unique skill at breaking down and presenting complicated material, and our vaunted trial prowess make us counsel of choice in many of the most important product liability lawsuits.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects FDA Preemption Of State Laws
March 9, 2009 Full PDF
On March 4, 2009 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Food and Drug Administration's approval of a drug's label does not shield manufacturers from state product liability lawsuits. In Wyeth v. Levine, the Court declined to find that federal law preempted state law absent an express preemption provision. The decision clears the way for consumers to sue pharmaceutical manufacturers for liability in state court and has re-energized legislative efforts to revoke last year's Supreme Court ruling that the Medical Device Act shields medical device manufacturers from product liability suits in state court.