Jeffrey Connell v. Lima Corporate

988 F.3d 1089
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 17, 2021
Docket19-35797
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 988 F.3d 1089 (Jeffrey Connell v. Lima Corporate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jeffrey Connell v. Lima Corporate, 988 F.3d 1089 (9th Cir. 2021).

Opinion

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

JEFFREY D. CONNELL; JANET No. 19-35797 CONNELL, Plaintiffs-Appellants, D.C. No. 1:16-cv-00456- v. CWD

LIMA CORPORATE; LIMA USA, INC., an Indiana corporation, OPINION Defendants-Appellees,

DJO GLOBAL, INC., a Delaware corporation; ENCORE MEDICAL LP, a Delaware corporation, Defendants-Intervenors.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Idaho Candy W. Dale, Magistrate Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted August 10, 2020 Anchorage, Alaska

Filed February 17, 2021

Before: Johnnie B. Rawlinson, Mary H. Murguia, and Ryan D. Nelson, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge R. Nelson 2 CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE

SUMMARY *

Biomaterials Access Assurance Act

The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Lima Corporate in a diversity action alleging product liability and negligence claims relating to a hip implant.

The panel held that in light of the statutory text, context, and stated purpose, Lima Corporate was a biomaterials supplier of its Hip Stem – a “component part” supplied “for use in the manufacture of an implant.” See the Biomaterials Access Assurance Act (“BAAA”), 21 U.S.C. § 1602(1)(A). The panel concluded that Lima Corporate was immune from liability under the BAAA and, under the circumstances of this case, could not be impleaded under 21 U.S.C. § 1606.

COUNSEL

Eric S. Rossman (argued) and Erica S. Phillips, Rossman Law Group PLLC, Boise, Idaho; George E. McLaughlin, Warshauer McLaughlin Law Group, Denver, Colorado; for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Stephen R. Thomas (argued) and Andrew J. Rosholt, Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley LLP, Boise, Idaho; Brian J. Hurst, Baker McKenzie, Dallas, Texas; for Defendants- Appellees.

* This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE 3

OPINION

R. NELSON, Circuit Judge:

We are presented with a question of first impression: who qualifies as a biomaterials supplier under the Biomaterials Access Assurance Act (“BAAA”), 21 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. We conclude, in light of the statutory text, context, and stated purpose, that Lima Corporate (“Lima”) is a biomaterials supplier of its Hip Stem—a “component part” supplied “for use in the manufacture of an implant.” See id. § 1602(1)(A). Therefore, Lima is immune from liability under the BAAA and, under the circumstances here, cannot be impleaded under § 1606.

I

A

Encore Medical L.P., doing business as DJO Surgical (“DJO”), manufactures and sells orthopedic hip, knee, and shoulder devices. DJO purchases medical devices from suppliers such as Lima, an Italian company, to sell in the United States. One of Lima’s products is a modular revision hip stem (“Hip Stem”) which consists of: (1) a femoral stem, which the surgeon inserts into a channel in the patient’s femoral canal; (2) an angled neck, also called a proximal body; and (3) a set screw, which holds the stem and neck together.

Lima supplied the Hip Stem to DJO for sale in the United States. The Supply Agreement between Lima and DJO described the Hip Stem (referred to as the “Revision Femoral Stem”) as comprising two parts—the stem and the neck— but included pictures of the screw holding them together. The Supply Agreement also mentioned compatible hip 4 CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE

implant product components not included in the Hip Stem, such as acetabular plates, acetabular cups, polyethylene liners, femoral heads, and bone screws. DJO agreed to obtain regulatory certifications permitting sale of the Hip Stem, such as the required United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) clearance letters and 510(k) notifications, in DJO’s name. Lima agreed to produce the Hip Stem according to DJO’s specifications.

Image 1. Image of the Hip Stem.

DJO submitted a 510(k) notification to the FDA seeking preclearance for the Hip Stem (calling it the “Modular Revision Hip Stem”). DJO described its methods for “steriliz[ing] and packaging” the Hip Stem before labeling and redistribution. DJO also developed and provided instructions for use of the Hip Stem. Lima had provided DJO with access to testing data and results from its European operations and a copy of Lima’s “Instructions for Use” for CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE 5

the Hip Stem used in other countries. Lima was not required by law to register or list the Hip Stem it sold to DJO. DJO obtained clearance from the FDA to market the Hip Stem in the United States.

The Hip Stem sold by DJO was essentially identical to the Hip Stem supplied by Lima. DJO’s 510(k) notification specified a list of separate “Compatible Components” previously cleared by the FDA, including various femoral heads, acetabular shells, and liners. DJO’s “Instructions for Use” noted the Hip Stem may be used with DJO’s “CoCr” brand of femoral heads or ceramic heads, separate pieces that could be paired with the Hip Stem but were not manufactured or supplied by Lima and approved under separate 510(k) notifications. DJO’s surgical technique specified that the Hip Stem cannot be implanted or function without a separate compatible femoral head. The surgeon was instructed to attach various component parts with the Hip Stem “in situ,” meaning inside the patient’s body during surgery.

B

In 2011, Jeffrey Connell underwent left hip revision surgery in Boise, Idaho. The orthopedic surgeon implanted a dual mobility acetabular shell, polyethylene liner, and a DJO CoCr metal femoral head connected to the Hip Stem. 6 CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE

Image 2. A dual mobility acetabular shell, liner, and ceramic femoral head.

Image 3. The Hip Stem attached to a shell, liner, and ceramic femoral head.

Three years after surgery, Mr. Connell had gained weight and the femoral stem portion of Mr. Connell’s implant fractured. The failed hip prosthesis was removed, discarded, and replaced. Because the explanted products were not returned, DJO did not determine a definitive root cause for the fracture.

Mr. Connell and his wife filed this action against DJO and Lima for product liability, negligence, breach of warranties, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. CONNELL V. LIMA CORPORATE 7

After discovery, DJO and the Connells settled and the district court dismissed the claims against DJO with prejudice on November 16, 2018.

Lima then moved for summary judgment as a “biomaterials supplier” entitled to immunity under the BAAA. The district court held the Connells’ claims against Lima were preempted by the BAAA and granted summary judgment on January 30, 2019. The district court reasoned that the pieces supplied by Lima were not ready for implantation when they arrived at DJO’s facility and thus were not an implant under the BAAA. The district court also noted, incorrectly as it turned out, that the screw used in the Hip Stem was not provided by Lima and, therefore, Lima supplied only two of the three pieces of the Hip Stem.

The Connells timely requested reconsideration under Rule 59(e) noting the district court’s misunderstanding that Lima did not provide the screw and arguing the district court erroneously interpreted the BAAA. The Connells separately sought to implead Lima back into the action pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 1606

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
988 F.3d 1089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeffrey-connell-v-lima-corporate-ca9-2021.