Hendricks v. Boston Scientific Corp.

51 F. Supp. 3d 638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143658, 2014 WL 5033263
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedOctober 9, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 2:12-cv-08633
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 51 F. Supp. 3d 638 (Hendricks v. Boston Scientific Corp.) 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
Hendricks v. Boston Scientific Corp., 51 F. Supp. 3d 638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143658, 2014 WL 5033263 (S.D.W. Va. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

(Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs’ Punitive Damages Claims and Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint)

JOSEPH R. GOODWIN, District Judge.

Pending before the court are (1) Boston Scientific Corporation’s (“BSC”) Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs’ Punitive Damages Claims [Docket 263];1 and (2) plaintiff Chris Rene Wilson’s Motion for Leave to Amend the Complaint [Docket 167]. For the reasons below, I FIND that West Virginia law, not Massachusetts law, applies to plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims and that there are genuine disputes of material fact over whether punitive damages are appropriate. Accordingly, I DENY BSC’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs’ Punitive Damages Claims. Because I conclude West Virginia punitive damages law applies here and Ms. Wilson concedes her motion is moot if this is so, I DENY plaintiff Chris Rene Wilson’s Motion for Leave to Amend the Complaint.

I. Background

Plaintiffs’ cases are seven of more than 60.000 assigned to me by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in seven different MDLs against various manufacturers. Of the more than 60,000 cases, over 13.000 reside in the Boston Scientific MDL.2 These cases involve the use of tran-svaginal surgical mesh to treat pelvic or[640]*640gan prolápse and stress urinary incontinence. In this particular ease, plaintiffs, including Ms. Wilson, were implanted with a product manufactured by defendant Boston Scientific Corporation (“BSC”): the Obtryx Transobturator Mid-Urethral Sling System (“Obtryx”). The plaintiffs allege that as a result of implantation with this product they experienced several complications. The plaintiffs currently advance the following claims: negligence, strict liability (defective design, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn), breach of express and implied warranties, fraudulent concealment, and punitive damages.3 (See, e.g., Wilson Short Form Compl. [Docket 1] ¶ 13).

On July 9, 2014, Ms. Wilson moved the court for leave to amend her complaint so she could add a claim for damages (including punitive) under Massachusetts law. On August 1, 2014, BSC moved for partial summary judgment on plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims. In September 2014 the court requested supplemental briefing on choice-of-law issues pertaining to both motions. Having reviewed the briefs and arguments of the parties, I address the defendant’s motion first.

II. Legal Standard

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. 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. Commc’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).

III. Discussion

Plaintiffs and the defendant do not dispute that West Virginia’s choice-of-law principles apply here. (See Def.’s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. Part. Summ. J. on Pis.’ Pun. Dam. Claims (“Def.’s Mem.”) [Docket 264], at 7; Pis.’ Resp. in Opp’n to BSC’s Mot. Part. Summ. J. on Pis.’ Pun. Dam. Claims [641]*641[Docket 287] (“Pis.’ Resp.”), at 9-10). Nor do the parties dispute that West Virginia law applies to plaintiffs’ claims for compensatory damages. The defendant, however, contends that West Virginia’s choice-of-law principles dictate application of Massachusetts substantive law to plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims. (See Def.’s Mem. at 8-10). By contrast, plaintiffs maintain that West Virginia law controls this issue. (See Pis.’ Resp. at 9-16).

A. West Virginia Follows the Lex Loci Delicti Rule for Torts

I turn first to West Virginia’s choice-of-law principles. With respect to causes of action sounding in tort, West Virginia follows the traditional rule that the applicable substantive law is the law of the place of injury. West Virginia ex rel. Chemtall, Inc. v. Madden, 216 W.Va. 443, 607 S.E.2d 772, 779-80 (2004); McKinney v. Fairchild Intern., Inc., 199 W.Va. 718, 487 S.E.2d 913, 922 (1997) (“Traditionally, West Virginia courts apply the lex loci delicti choice-of-law rule; that is, the substantive rights between the parties are determined by the law of the place of injury.”); Paul v. Nat’l Life, 177 W.Va. 427, 352 S.E.2d 550, 555, 555 n. 13 (1986) (noting that “[l]ex loci delicti has long been the cornerstone of our conflict of laws doctrine” and collecting cases).

It is true that on a handful of occasions the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has invoked the most-significant-relationship test in the tort context. See, e.g., Oakes v. Oxygen Therapy Servs., 178 W.Va. 543, 363 S.E.2d 130, 131 (1987) (noting that the court has used the most-significant-relationship test to resolve “particularly thorny conflicts problems”).

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Bluebook (online)
51 F. Supp. 3d 638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143658, 2014 WL 5033263, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hendricks-v-boston-scientific-corp-wvsd-2014.