Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corp.

175 F.R.D. 520, 39 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1368, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14049, 1997 WL 580687
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 26, 1997
DocketNo. 94-1227
StatusPublished

This text of 175 F.R.D. 520 (Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 175 F.R.D. 520, 39 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1368, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14049, 1997 WL 580687 (C.D. Ill. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

MIHM, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs Motion to Vacate Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) and Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to Amend Amended Complaint. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiffs Motion to Vacate Judgment [# 42] is DENIED, and the Motion for Leave to Amend Amended Complaint [# 45] is also DENIED.

Background

Plaintiff, Lynnbrook Farms, originally presented this Court with an Amended Complaint against Defendants, Smithkline Beeeham and Norden Laboratories, in which Plaintiff claimed that it sustained a loss when vaccines manufactured by Defendants allegedly failed to perform as intended. On March 30, 1995, the Court granted Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment in this matter on grounds that Plaintiffs claims against them were preempted as a matter of law. Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 887 F.Supp. 1100 (C.D.Ill.1995). This ruling was affirmed on appeal to the Seventh Circuit on March 21, 1996. See Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corp., 79 F.3d 620 (7th Cir.1996). On April 3, 1 996, Plaintiff moved for rehearing en banc, which was summarily denied on April 22, 1996. Plaintiffs Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court was denied on October 7,1996.

On December 30, 1996, Plaintiff filed the present Motion to Vacate Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6), contending that subsequent changes in feder[521]*521al law governing the preemption of state common law claims justify relief from the Judgment of this Court. Plaintiffs Motion was accompanied by a Motion for Leave to Amend Amended Complaint. Defendants respond that Plaintiffs attempt to rehash previously-rejected or waived arguments is frivolous and move for sanctions.

Discussion

Plaintiff argues that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6) authorizes this Court to grant relief from judgment. Rule 60(b) provides in relevant part:

On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party’s legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons ... (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment. The motion shall be made within a reasonable time....

Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(6). Relief from judgment is appropriately granted under Rule 60(b)(6) “only in ‘the most extraordinary of circumstances.’ ” Provident Savings Bank v. Popovich, 71 F.3d 696, 700 (7th Cir.1995).

The district judge must weigh ineommensurables — the value of finality, the probability that an error affected the outcome of the proceeding, the probability that a second go-round would produce a “better” outcome, the costs of that second proceeding to the parties (and ultimately to society as the finality of judgments is undercut).

Metlyn Realty Corp. v. Esmark, Inc., 763 F.2d 826, 831 (7th Cir.1985).

Plaintiff argues that the Seventh Circuit, in deciding the appeal in this case, articulated an exception to general preemption for common law actions for damages arising from noncomplianee with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards. While acknowledging that it had not specifically alleged noncompliance in its Amended Complaint, Plaintiff contends that it could not have foreseen the necessity of alleging noncompliance with greater specificity and should now be permitted to reopen this case to pursue whether the vaccines at issue were in full compliance with Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (“VSTA”) and USDA regulations. Additionally, Plaintiff argues that the Supreme Court’s decision in Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996), undermines the basis for a broad presumption of preemption under VSTA and permits suit to the extent that the action does not challenge the actual formula approved by the USDA or the adequacy of applicable federal regulations. In sum, Plaintiff argues that Medtronic and subsequent district court opinions constitute a significant change in the law, which should allow Plaintiff to avail itself of Rule 60(b) relief.

First, Plaintiffs contention that there has been a change in federal law as a result of Medtronic is incorrect. While Medtronic does clarify the scope of preemption of state law actions, the decision actually reaffirms the Seventh Circuit’s position that state law actions for damages based on noncompliance with federal regulations are not preempted because they do not, impose requirements that are additional or different from those imposed by federal regulators. — U.S. at -, 116 S.Ct. at 2255. Accordingly, Medtronic does not merit vacating this Court’s judgment. Moreover, Plaintiffs argument ignores the Seventh Circuit’s express, finding that this case does not involve noncompliance. Lynnbrook, 79 F.3d at 630. Likewise, Plaintiffs reliance on Gresham v. Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Inc., 1996 WL 751126 (N.D.Ga. August 7, 1996), and Garretts v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 943 F.Supp. 1023 (N.D.Iowa 1996), is misplaced. The plaintiff in Gresham was allowed to go forward with a damages action because his noncompliance argument was “made clear” in opposing summary judgment. 1996 WL 751126 at *3. Unlike the case at bar, Gresham contains no apparent indication that the plaintiff failed to rebut or otherwise offer additional facts to challenge an assertion of compliance by the defendant. Garretts, on the other hand, does not support Plaintiffs position because that case involved an action for damages as a result of human injury and was not a “bad batch” or noncompliance claim. 943 F.Supp. at 1072.1

[522]*522Furthermore, contrary to Plaintiffs strident assertions, the Court finds that the vaccines’ compliance with federal standards has been addressed in this matter. In response to Plaintiffs vague allegations that the vaccines were worthless, harmful, etc., Defendants produced the Affidavit of Cyril G. Gay, D.V.M., Ph.D. (“Dr.Gay”) in support of their Motion for Summary Judgment before this Court. In his Affidavit, Dr. Gay stated:

Each of the SBC vaccines involved in this litigation, through the licensure process and through post-licensure testing and evaluation, has been determined by APHIS to satisfy all requirements for purity, safety, potency, and efficacy contained in the APHIS standards. Each has been designed, manufactured and tested pursuant to APHIS standards; and of necessity APHIS approved the content and sufficiency of all design, manufacturing and testing data submitted prior to licensure of each vaccine.

Affidavit of Cyril G. Gay, D.V.M., Ph.D. at 4. Thus, Defendants themselves raised the issue of compliance with applicable standards.

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Related

Allen v. McCurry
449 U.S. 90 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp.
456 U.S. 461 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr
518 U.S. 470 (Supreme Court, 1996)
Provident Savings Bank v. Nick Popovich
71 F.3d 696 (Seventh Circuit, 1995)
Lynnbrook Farms v. Smithkline Beecham Corporation
79 F.3d 620 (Seventh Circuit, 1996)
Lynnbrook Farms v. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
887 F. Supp. 1100 (C.D. Illinois, 1995)
Garrelts v. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
943 F. Supp. 1023 (N.D. Iowa, 1996)
Metlyn Realty Corp. v. Esmark, Inc.
763 F.2d 826 (Seventh Circuit, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
175 F.R.D. 520, 39 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1368, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14049, 1997 WL 580687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lynnbrook-farms-v-smithkline-beecham-corp-ilcd-1997.