Mendoza v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

District Court, N.D. California·Decided June 10, 2020·No. 5:18-cv-06414·Unknown

Opinion

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION

DONNA MENDOZA, Case No. 18-CV-06414-LHK

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S v. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Re: Dkt. No. 66 Defendant. Plaintiff Donna Mendoza (“Plaintiff”) brings this action against Defendant Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (“Defendant”) alleging negligence, products liability, and strict liability claims arising from alleged defects in Defendant’s da Vinci robotic surgery system. ECF No. 20 (“Am. Compl.”). Before the Court is Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.1 Having considered the parties’ briefs, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

1 Defendant’s motion for summary judgment contains a notice of motion that is separately paginated from the memorandum of points and authorities in support of the motion. See ECF No. 66 at i. Civil Local Rule 7-2(b) provides that the notice of motion and the points and authorities in support of the motion must be contained in one document with a combined limit of 25 pages. See Civ. Loc. R. 7-2(b). 1 I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background 1. The Parties Plaintiff Donna Mendoza is a citizen of Indiana who resides in Hammond, Indiana. Am. Compl. ¶ 3. Defendant Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in Sunnyvale, California. Id. ¶ 4. 2. The da Vinci System Defendant produces the da Vinci system, which is a robotic, “multi-armed, remote controlled, surgical device.” Id. ¶ 9. Defendant also produces “‘EndoWrist’ instruments for use in surgery by the [da Vinci system].” Id. ¶ 10. “The most commonly used EndoWrist instrument is the Hot Shears Monopolar Curved Scissors” (“MCS”). Id. ¶ 46. The MCS “allows doctors to both cut and cauterize tissue during surgical procedures,” and the MCS cauterizes “through the application of monopolar electricity.” Id. ¶ 47. The MCS requires use of a “tip cover accessory” (“TCA”) which covers the MCS and “insulate[s] the instrument’s metal parts” to “prevent the electricity from spreading to unwanted areas.” Id. The MCS “is used in virtually all da Vinci hysterectomies.” Id. ¶ 46. 3. Plaintiff’s Surgery and the MCS Recall On October 12, 2011, Plaintiff underwent a hysterectomy and the operating surgeon, Dr. Howard Marcus (“Marcus”), used a da Vinci system with an MCS and TCA. Id. ¶¶ 52, 56. At the outset of the procedure, Marcus encountered extensive adhesions that Marcus was required to remove before commencing the hysterectomy. ECF No. 74-25 at 6. Marcus used an “EndoShears” device to remove the adhesions, which took roughly thirty minutes. Id. Marcus then completed the hysterectomy using the da Vinci system, and Marcus did not note any injury to Plaintiff. Id. Plaintiff spent the night in the hospital and was discharged the following day in good condition. Id. at 2. However, on October 15, 2011, Plaintiff presented to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. ECF No. 76-2 (“Salsbury Decl.”) at 5. Plaintiff stated that Plaintiff could not walk or breathe due to the pain. Id. On October 16, 2011, Plaintiff was treated 2 with a bowel resection, which Plaintiff initially tolerated well. Id. Over the following months, however, Plaintiff returned to the hospital over the following months as a result of further pain. Id. On May 8, 2013, Defendant issued a notice that internal testing had revealed an issue in the MCS model used in Plaintiff’s surgery. ECF No. 73-10. Specifically, Defendant concluded that Defendant “identified the potential for micro-cracking of the main tube near the distal end of the shaft.” Id. at 1. Defendant indicated that “micro-cracking” of this nature produced the “potential for insulation failure, resulting in a pathway for electrosurgical energy to leak to tissue and potentially cause unintended burns.” Id. Defendant further noted that “the micro-cracks . . . are not visible to the naked eye and require magnification to visualize.” Id. at 4. On May 31, 2013, Defendant recalled the MCS model used during Plaintiff’s surgery. Am. Compl. ¶ 60; ECF No. 73-23. B. Procedural History On October 19, 2018, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant in this district and alleged various tort claims arising from injuries that Plaintiff allegedly suffered because of defects in Defendant’s da Vinci system. See ECF No. 1. On January 3, 2019, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint. ECF No. 11. However, on January 17, 2019, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint, Am. Compl., and on January 22, 2019, United States District Judge Beth Labson Freeman terminated Defendant’s motion to dismiss as moot. ECF No. 21. Defendant’s amended complaint alleges the following causes of action under California law: (1) negligence; (2) “products liability – design defect”; (3) “products liability – failure to warn”; (4) “strict liability – manufacturing defect”; and (5) punitive damages. Am Compl. ¶¶ 66–100. On January 28, 2019, the case was reassigned to the undersigned judge, ECF No. 24, and on the same day, the Court related the instant case to Trump v. Intuitive Surgical Inc., No. 5-18- CV-06413-LHK (N.D. Cal. filed Oct. 19, 2018), and to Bohannon v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc., No. 3 5-18-CV-02186-LHK (N.D. Cal. filed Apr. 12, 2018). ECF No. 23. On March 6, 2020, Defendant filed Daubert motions to exclude the expert opinions of Dr. Helen Salsbury (“Salsbury”) and Mr. Roger Odell (“Odell”). ECF Nos. 67, 69. On April 24, 2020, the Court denied both of Defendant’s Daubert motions. ECF No. 80. On March 6, 2020, Defendant also filed the instant motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 66 (“Mot.”). On March 27, 2020, Plaintiff filed an opposition, ECF No. 73-2 (“Opp’n”), and on April 3, 2020, Defendant filed a reply, ECF No. 78 (“Reply”). Summary judgment is proper where the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits show that there is “no genuine dispute as to any material fact and [that] the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of identifying those portions of the pleadings, discovery and affidavits that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). Once the moving party meets its initial burden, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and, by its own affidavits or discovery, “set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e). If the nonmoving party fails to make this showing, “the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323. At the summary judgment stage, the Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party: if evidence produced by the moving party conflicts with evidence produced by the nonmoving party, the judge must assume the truth of the evidence set forth by the nonmoving party with respect to that fact. See Leslie v. Grupo ICA, 198 F.3d 1152, 1158 (9th Cir. 1999). 4 III. DISCUSSION Defendant argues that Defendant is entitled to summary judgment because Plaintiff has failed to produce any evidence that a de

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