Arthur v. Medtronic, Inc.

123 F. Supp. 3d 1145, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111346, 2015 WL 5012312
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedAugust 24, 2015
DocketNo. 4:14-CV-52 (CEJ)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 123 F. Supp. 3d 1145 (Arthur v. Medtronic, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arthur v. Medtronic, Inc., 123 F. Supp. 3d 1145, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111346, 2015 WL 5012312 (E.D. Mo. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CAROL E. JACKSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the court on defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs first [1148]*1148amended complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b) and 12(b)(6). Plaintiff has filed a response in opposition and the issues are fully briefed.

I. Background

On December 1, 2008, plaintiff Kathleen Arthur underwent an anterior cervical dis-cectomy and fusion surgery (ACDF) in which her surgeon implanted the Infuse Bone Graft/LT-Cage Lumbar Tapered Fusion Device (“Infuse”), manufactured by defendants Medtronic, Inc., and Medtronic Sofamor Danek USA, Inc., (collectively, “Medtronic”). Plaintiff alleges the surgery did not resolve her cervical pain and that she later developed numbness in her arm and fingers. Despite pain management treatment and additional surgical procedures, she continues to experience severe pain and numbness. Plaintiff alleges that Medtronic knew before 2008 that the Infuse device causes excessive bone growth that compresses nerves around the spinal cord and causes severe pain. She further alleges that Medtronic promoted off-label use of Infuse in the cervical region.

Plaintiff filed this action bringing multiple state law claims. Previously, the court found that the Medical Device Act (MDA), 21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq., preempted plaintiffs claims for strict liability, failure to warn, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of implied warranty. The court also found that plaintiffs claims for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of express warranty were not preempted, but they were not adequately pleaded. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint reasserting her fraud and express-warranty claims. Defendants assert that she has failed to cure the defects in her initial complaint and move for dismissal.

II. Legal Standards

A. Rule 12(b)(6)

The purpose of a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) is to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The factual allegations of a complaint are assumed true and construed in favor of the plaintiff, “even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citing Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 508 n. 1, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002)); Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989) (“Rule 12(b)(6) does not countenance ... dismissals based on a judge’s disbelief of a complaint’s factual allegations.”); Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974) (stating that a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it appears “that a recovery is very remote and unlikely”). The issue is not whether the plaintiff will ultimately prevail, but whether the plaintiff is entitled to present evidence in support of his claim. Scheuer, 416 U.S. at 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683. A viable complaint must include “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955; see id. at 563, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (stating that the “no set of facts” language in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), “has earned its retirement”); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-84, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (holding that the pleading standard set forth in Twombly applies to all civil actions). “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

B. Rule 9(b)

Plaintiffs fraudulent misrepresentation claim is subject to Rule 9(b), [1149]*1149which provides that, “[i]n alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting the fraud or mistake.”

Rule 9(b)’s particularity requirement demands a higher degree of notice than that required for other claims, and is intended to enable the defendant to respond specifically and quickly to the potentially damaging allegations. To satisfy the particularity requirement óf Rule 9(b), the complaint must plead such facts as the time, place, and content of defendant’s false representations, as well as the details of the defendant’s fraudulent acts, including when the acts occurred, who engaged in them, and what was obtained as - a result. Put another way, the complaint must identify the “who, what, where, when and how” of the alleged fraud.

United States ex rel. Joshi v. St. Luke’s Hosp., Inc., 441 F.3d 552, 556 (8th Cir. 2006) (internal citations omitted). A plaintiff must state an underlying basis for its assertions sufficient to provide an indicia of reliability. Id. at 557 (citation omitted). While a plaintiff need not allege specific details of every alleged fraud, the plaintiff must provide some representative examples of the alleged misconduct. Id.

III. Discussion

A. Fraudulent Misrepresentation

In order to state a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation under Missouri law, plaintiff must plead:' (1) a representation; (2) its falsity; (3) its materiality; (4) the speaker’s knowledge of its falsity or ignorance of its truth; (5) the speaker’s intent that it should be acted on by 'the person in the manner reasonably contemplated; (6) the hearer’s ignorance of the falsity of the representation; (7) the hearer’s reliance on the representation being true; (8). the hearer’s right to rely thereon; and (9) the hearer’s consequent and proximately caused injury. A plaintiff’s failure to establish any one of the essential elements of fraud is fatal to recovery. Renaissance Leasing, LLC v. Vermeer Mfg. Co., 322 S.W.3d 112, 131-32 (Mo.2010).

Plaintiff alleges that in November 2008 defendants’ sales representatives told her surgeon that although Infuse was not approved for use in ACDF procedures, “it would be approved for such use by the end of 2008 or the first part of 2009.” First Am. Comp. ¶ 17 [Doc. # 38]. After the surgeon expressed concerns about using Infuse in a manner that had not been approved, the sales representatives assured him that Infuse was appropriate for use in the ACDF procedure “as Infuse would be approved in a matter of weeks” for such use. ¶ 18.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Beery v. Roper
E.D. Missouri, 2023
Lynn v. Olive & Oak, LLC
E.D. Missouri, 2022
Freed v. St. Jude Med., Inc.
364 F. Supp. 3d 343 (D. Delaware, 2019)
OS33 v. Centurylink Commc'ns, L.L.C.
350 F. Supp. 3d 807 (E.D. Missouri, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
123 F. Supp. 3d 1145, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111346, 2015 WL 5012312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arthur-v-medtronic-inc-moed-2015.