Edwards v. Ethicon, Inc.

30 F. Supp. 3d 554, 2014 WL 3361920, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92314
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedJuly 8, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2:12-CV-09972
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 30 F. Supp. 3d 554 (Edwards v. Ethicon, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. Ethicon, Inc., 30 F. Supp. 3d 554, 2014 WL 3361920, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92314 (S.D.W. Va. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

JOSEPH R. GOODWIN, District Judge.

Pending before the court are Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Docket 83], Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Based on Preemption of Certain Claims [Docket 87], [556]*556and Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Punitive Damages [Docket 93]. For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Docket 83] is GRANTED as unopposed, Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Based on Preemption of Certain Claims [Docket 87] is DENIED, and Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Punitive Damages [Docket 93] is GRANTED.

I. Background

This case is one of more than 60,000 that have been assigned to me by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in seven MDLs involving pelvic mesh products. Approximately 19,000 of these eases reside in the In re Ethicon, Inc. MDL, MDL No. 2327.

The device at issue in this case is the Gynecare TVT Obturator (“TVT-O”), manufactured by the defendants, Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (collectively, “Ethicon”). The TVT-O is a medical device used to place a mesh tape, or sling, under the urethra to provide support to the urethra to treat stress urinary incontinence. (Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for Partial Summ.' J. [Docket 162], at 1). The plaintiff in this case, Ms. Edwards, was implanted with a TVT-O. The defendants have filed three motions for summary judgment.

II. Legal Standards

A. Summary Judgment

To obtain summary judgment, the moving party must show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court will not “weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Instead, the court will draw any permissible inference from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

Although the court will view all underlying facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the non-moving party nonetheless must offer some “concrete evidence from which a reasonable juror could return a verdict in his [or her] favor[.]” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Summary judgment is appropriate when the nonmoving party has the burden of proof on an essential element of his or her case and does not make, after adequate time for discovery, a showing sufficient to establish that element. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The nonmoving party must satisfy this burden of proof by offering more than a mere “scintilla of evidence” in support of his or her position. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Likewise, conclusory allegations or unsupported speculation, without more, are insufficient to preclude the granting of a summary judgment motion. See Felty v. Graves-Humphreys Co., 818 F.2d 1126, 1128 (4th Cir.1987); Ross v. Comm’ns Satellite Corp., 759 F.2d 355, 365 (4th Cir.1985), abrogated on other grounds, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989).

B. Preemption

Federal preemption originates from the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. See U.S. Const, art. VI, cl. 2.1 In addressing a [557]*557preemption issue, the court’s first task is to determine whether Congress intended to preempt. See Cal. Fed. Savings & Loan Ass’n v. Guerra, 479 U.S. 272, 280-81, 107 S.Ct. 683, 93 L.Ed.2d 613 (1987). Intent to preempt can manifest itself in three forms: field preemption, express preemption, and conflict preemption. See H & R Block E. Enters. v. Raskin, 591 F.3d 718, 722 (4th Cir.2010). Field preemption occurs when the “federal scheme of regulation of a defined field is so pervasive that Congress must have intended to leave no room for the states to supplement it[.]” City of Charleston, S.C. v. A Fisherman’s Best, Inc., 310 F.3d 155, 169 (4th Cir.2002). Express preemption arises when “Congress expressly declares its intent to. preempt state law.” Pinney v. Nokia, Inc., 402 F.3d 430, 453 (4th Cir.2005). Finally, conflict preemption occurs when “state law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.” Hillsborough Cnty., Fla. v. Automated Med. Labs., Inc., 471 U.S. 707, 713, 105 S.Ct. 2371, 85 L.Ed.2d 714 (1985) (internal quotation omitted). Conflict preemption can also arise when “compliance with both federal and state regulations is a physical impossibility!.]” Id. (internal quotation omitted).

Once Congress’s intent to preempt is determined, the focus turns to the scope of that preemption. See Duvall v. Bristol-Myers-Squibb Co., 103 F.3d 324, 328 (4th Cir.1996). Two presumptions guide this inquiry. See id. First, “‘the purpose of Congress is the ultimate touchstone’ in every pre-emption case.” Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996) (quoting Retail Clerks v. Schermerhorn, 375 U.S. 96, 103, 84 S.Ct. 219, 11 L.Ed.2d 179 (1963)). Second, a court starts “with the basic assumption that Congress did not intend to displace state law.” Maryland v. Louisiana, 451 U.S. 725, 746, 101 S.Ct. 2114, 68 L.Ed.2d 576 (1981). “This presumption is strongest when Congress legislates ‘in a field which the States have traditionally occupied.’ ” S. Blasting Servs., Inc. v. Wilkes Cnty., N.C., 288 F.3d 584, 590 (4th Cir.2002) (quoting Lohr, 518 U.S. at 485, 116 S.Ct. 2240).

C. Choice of Law

The parties agree that Georgia’s choice-of-law rules apply in this case. Georgia follows the doctrine of lex loci delicti, which dictates that “a tort action is governed by the substantive law of the state where the tort was committed.” Dowis v. Mud Slingers, Inc., 279 Ga.

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Bluebook (online)
30 F. Supp. 3d 554, 2014 WL 3361920, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92314, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-ethicon-inc-wvsd-2014.