Cline v. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc.

17 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56669, 2014 WL 1624084
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 31, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 1:11-CV-4064-AT
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 17 F. Supp. 3d 1275 (Cline v. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cline v. Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc., 17 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56669, 2014 WL 1624084 (N.D. Ga. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

AMY TOTENBERG, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 65]. This case arises from the surgical implantation of a medical device and the injuries sustained from its failure and removal.1 For the reasons described below, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 65] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.2

From the outset of its case, Plaintiff has endeavored to allege a tort claim based on the failure of her Eon Mini Model 3788 Spinal Cord Stimulator (“Model 3788”), a type of implantable pulse generator (“IPG”). However, such state law claims are generally preempted by virtue of the FDA’s regulatory authority over medical devices. See 21 U.S.C. § 360k; Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 552 U.S. 312, 321-22, 128 S.Ct. 999, 169 L.Ed.2d 892 (2008). An exception exists for state claims premised on an injury that is causally linked to the violation of FDA regulations. Riegel, 552 U.S. at 330, 128 S.Ct. 999. Such “parallel claims” escape preemption because they do not impose additional duties beyond requirements under federal law.3 Id.

On November 7, 2012, 921 F.Supp.2d 1374 (N.D.Ga.2012), the Court evaluated whether Plaintiffs proposed Second Amended Complaint stated a parallel claim. (Doc. 42.) The Court held that Plaintiffs amended parallel claim for “Violation of FDA Regulations and Current [1278]*1278Good Manufacturing Practice Requirements” should not be denied as futile. At the same time, the Court directed Plaintiff to file a Third Amended Complaint that more precisely identified “the particular [premarket approval] specifications she contends were violated and linked to the injuries she suffered.” (Id. at 1382.) To this end, the Court authorized a period of limited discovery into the FDA’s premark-et approval (“PMA”) specifications for the Model 3788 IPG. (Id. at 1382-83.)

Plaintiff filed her Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”) on March 21, 2013, alleging the following claims: (1) breach of express warranty; (2) negligent manufacture and failure to warn; (3) strict liability; (4) breach of implied warranty; (5) material misrepresentation; and (6) violation of Georgia’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“UDTPA”).4 (TAC, Doc. 62-1.) Defendant moved to dismiss the TAC pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

I. Legal Standard

This Court may dismiss a pleading for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Rule 12(b)(6). A pleading fails to state a claim if it does not contain allegations that support recovery under any recognizable legal theory. 5 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1216 (3d ed.2002); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677-78, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). In considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court construes the pleading in the non-movant’s favor and accepts the allegations of facts therein as true. See Duke v. Cleland, 5 F.3d 1399, 1402 (11th Cir.1993). The pleader need not have provided “detailed factual allegations” to survive dismissal, but the “obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In essence, the pleading “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

II. Discussion

In response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff withdrew her claims for breach of implied warranty and violation of the UDTPA. (Pis. Resp. Opp., Doc. 66 at 29, 34.) The Court begins by reviewing the standard for pleading parallel claims and the Model 3788 premarket approval before addressing Plaintiffs remaining claims for breach of express warranty, negligent manufacture and failure to warn, strict liability, and material misrepresentation.

A. Preemption and Parallel Claims5

The FDA is tasked with the regulation of medical devices. See Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (“MDA”), 21 U.S.C. § 360c et seq. Surgically implantable devices, such as the Model 3788, pose inherent risks and are subject to close regulatory scrutiny. The FDA generally requires that the manufacturers of such devices obtain premarket approval (“PMA”) before the devices are made commercially avail[1279]*1279able. 21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(1)(C). The FDA reviews PMA applications for a “reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness.” 21 U.S.C. § 360e(d). This review encompasses (1) data supporting the safety and effectiveness of the device; (2) detailed descriptions of the device’s design, components, and method of manufacture; and (3) a sample of the proposed labeling of the device. Riegel, 552 U.S. at 318, 128 S.Ct. 999.

Once a device receives premarket approval, manufacturers cannot alter the “design, manufacture, label, or other attribute that affects the ‘safety or effectiveness’ of the device without an additional or supplemental PMA.” Horn v. Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corp., No. CV-409-074, 2011 WL 3893812 at *3 (S.D.Ga. Aug. 26, 2011) (quoting § 360e(d)(6)(A)(i)). The FDA has promulgated guidelines covering the design, production, inspection, testing, labeling, packaging, handling, storage, distribution, and installation of medical devices that require premarket approval. See 21 C.F.R. §§ 820.1-820.250.

The Supreme Court has established a two-pronged test for claim preemption under the MDA. Riegel, 552 U.S. at 321-322, 128 S.Ct. 999. First, courts must determine if the federal government has established requirements relating to the device. Id. If so, courts then evaluate whether a state claim imposes requirements relating to the safety and effectiveness of the device that are “different from, or in addition to” federal requirements. Id.

In Riegel, the Court held that the pre-market approval process imposes federal requirements under the MDA and satisfies the first prong of this test. Id. at 322, 128 S.Ct. 999. Thus, preemption is generally a question of whether state law claims relate to the safety and effectiveness of the medical device.

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17 F. Supp. 3d 1275, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56669, 2014 WL 1624084, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cline-v-advanced-neuromodulation-systems-inc-gand-2014.