Herron v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.

7 F. Supp. 3d 1043, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38752, 2014 WL 1232224
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 24, 2014
DocketNo. Civ. S-12-3052 LKK/KJN
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 7 F. Supp. 3d 1043 (Herron v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Herron v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., 7 F. Supp. 3d 1043, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38752, 2014 WL 1232224 (E.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

LAWRENCE K. KARLTON, Senior District Judge.

Defendant moves to dismiss the amended complaint, asserting that it is preempted by federal law, and that it fails to state a claim. For the reasons that follow, the amended complaint will be dismissed with leave to amend.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant, Smith & Nephew, Inc., is the manufacturer of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System (“BHR System”), a medical device.1 FAC ¶ 6. Defendant sought pre-market approval (“PMA”) of the device, which was granted, with conditions, on May 9, 2006. FAC ¶ 8. See Approval Letter (ECF No. 29-3), Exhibit A to the Declaration of Litsa Georgantopoulous in support of Defendant’s motion to dismiss.2 “Pre-Market Approval” is part of a federal regulatory process created by the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (“MDA”), 21 U.S.C. § 360c et seq.3

The Approval Letter states that “[f]ail-ure to comply with any postapproval requirement constitutes a ground for withdrawal of approval of a PMA,” and that “[cjommercial distribution of a device that is not in compliance with these conditions is a violation” of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Approval Letter at 7.

On July 11, 2009, plaintiff underwent surgery to replace a BHR System. FAC ¶ 10. Unbeknownst to plaintiff at the time, the BHR System leaks metal ions into the tissues, causing various types of serious injury. FAC ¶ 14. As a result, plaintiff suffered pain and symptoms of cobalt poisoning.4 Id. On May 10, 2012, [1046]*1046plaintiffs BHR System was removed, and he was told that the device had failed. FAC ¶ 12. On June 1, 2012, a component of the BHR System (the “acetabular component”) was - subject to a market recall. FAC ¶ 13.

On June 20, 2012, plaintiff filed a complaint in state court alleging that defendant was strictly liable for the BHR System, under a “Product Liability” cause of action. ECF No. 1 at 15-16 (original complaint). Defendant answered, asserting, among other things, that the complaint was preempted by the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (“MDA”) to the Federal Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “Act”), 21 U.S.C. § 321 et seq., and federal regulations. Id., at 59-60.

Defendant removed the action to this court on December 19, 2012. Id., at 1. After defendant moved to dismiss the case based upon federal preemption, plaintiff amended his complaint. The amended complaint contains two common-law claims. The first claim alleges “Negligence,” asserting that the device was designed or manufactured in violation of the MDA and its implementing regulations. The second claim alleges “Strict Products Liability,” asserting, in addition to the negligence claims, that the device was “defective” and “unreasonably dangerous” when it entered the stream of commerce, due to defendant’s alleged failures to comply with the MDA and regulations.

Defendant now moves to dismiss the amended complaint based upon preemption, and failure to state a claim.

II. STANDARDS

A. Dismissal.

A dismissal motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) challenges a complaint’s compliance with the federal pleading requirements. Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” The complaint must give the defendant “ ‘fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)).

To meet this requirement, the complaint must be supported by factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Moreover, this court “must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007).5

“While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint,” neither legal conclusions nor conclusory statements are themselves sufficient, and such statements are not entitled to a presumption of truth. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Iqbal and Twombly therefore prescribe a two-step process for evaluation of motions to dismiss. The court first identifies the nonconclusory factual allegations, and then determines whether these allegations, taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, “plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679,129 S.Ct. 1937.

[1047]*1047“Plausibility,” as it is used in Twombly and Iqbal, does not refer to the likelihood that a pleader will succeed in proving the allegations. Instead, it refers to whether the nonconclusory factual allegations, when assumed to be true, “allow[ ] the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is hable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955).6 A complaint may fail to show a right to relief either by lacking a cognizable legal theory or by lacking sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1990).

B. Preemption.

“There is a presumption against federal preemption of state laws that operate in traditional state domains.” Stengel v. Medtronic Inc., 704 F.3d 1224, 1227 (9th Cir.2013) (en banc).7 Preemption of fields traditionally occupied by the States will not be found “unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.” Id. (quoting Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996)). Parties seeking to invalidate a state law claim based on preemption “bear the considerable burden of overcoming ‘the starting presumption that Congress does not intend to supplant state law.’ ” Id. (quoting De Buono v. NYSA-ILA Med. & Clinical Servs. Fund,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 F. Supp. 3d 1043, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38752, 2014 WL 1232224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herron-v-smith-nephew-inc-caed-2014.