Phares v. Actavis-Elizabeth LLC

892 F. Supp. 2d 835, 2012 WL 3779227, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123858
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 30, 2012
DocketCivil No. B:11-63
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 892 F. Supp. 2d 835 (Phares v. Actavis-Elizabeth LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Phares v. Actavis-Elizabeth LLC, 892 F. Supp. 2d 835, 2012 WL 3779227, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123858 (S.D. Tex. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

HILDA G. TAGLE, District Judge.

BE IT REMEMBERED, that on August SO, 2012, the Court considered Defen[837]*837dants Actavis, Inc. and Actavis-Elizabeth, LLC’s (collectively “Actavis”) Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. No. 25, and Defendants Wyeth, Inc. and Schwarz Pharma, Inc.’s (collectively “Brand Defendants”) Motion for Summary Judgment, Dkt. No. 56, and all responses and replies hereto. After reviewing the record, the applicable law, and the arguments of the parties, the Court GRANTS Actavis’s Motion to Dismiss and GRANTS Brand Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. Background

Sometime in 2002, Plaintiff Elidía Phares’s (“Plaintiff’) doctor prescribed to her the prescription drug Reglan, its generic equivalent (“metoclopramide”), or both, for the treatment of gastritis.1 Following her physician’s recommendation, Plaintiff regularly ingested a ten milligram dosage of the medication three to four times daily for eight years, up until the end of 2010. Although the precise date is not clear, Plaintiff states that after “ingesting Reglan/metoclopramide for several years, [she] began exhibiting abnormal movements, which have very recently been diagnosed as [t]ardive [d]yskinesia.” Dkt. No. 20 at 12. Plaintiff alleges that Reglan and metoclopramide are the cause of her tardive dyskinesia, a neurological movement disorder.

On April 1, 2011, Plaintiff initiated this products liability action arising under Texas law against Defendants Actavis, Inc. and Actavis-Elizabeth, LLC, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Wyeth, Inc., and Schwarz Pharma, Inc., all manufacturers of brand-name or generic Reglan. The Court has jurisdiction over this case involving diverse parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on August 26, 2011. See Dkt. No. 20. Plaintiffs claims include negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, suppression of evidence, strict liability, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of warranty for a particular purpose, and deceptive trade practices. Plaintiff essentially argues that Defendants were aware of Reglan’s adverse side effects and should have labeled their Reglan and metoclopramide products accordingly, thereby alerting consumers to those risks. Actavis, as a manufacturer of generic Reglan, moves to dismiss the amended complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and 12(c). Brand Defendants move for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.

II. Applicable Law

A. Motion to Dismiss Standard

To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)); see also In re Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC, 624 F.3d 201, 210 (5th Cir.2010). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. When performing a Rule 12(b)(6) analysis, all well-pleaded facts in the complaint must be accepted as true, and the complaint must be construed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. SEC v. Cuban, 620 F.3d 551, 553 (5th Cir.2010); [838]*838In re Great Lakes, 624 F.3d at 210 (citing Doe v. MySpace, Inc., 528 F.3d 413, 418 (5th Cir.2008)). However, “conclusory allegations, unwarranted factual inferences, [and] legal conclusions” need not be accepted as true. Ferrer v. Chevron Corp., 484 F.3d 776, 780 (5th Cir.2007) (quoting Plotkin v. IP Axess Inc., 407 F.3d 690, 696 (5th Cir.2005)); accord Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 664, 129 S.Ct. 1937; In re Great Lakes, 624 F.3d at 210. Additionally, “Rule 12(b)(6) decisions appropriately guide the application of Rule 12(c) because the standards for deciding motions under both rules are the same.” Great Plains Trust Co. v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., 313 F.3d 305, 313 n. 8 (5th Cir.2002).

Plaintiffs fraud claims are subject to the heightened pleading standard of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b), which requires that a plaintiff “state with particularity the circumstances constituting the fraud.” “Put simply, Rule 9(b) requires ‘the who, what, when, where, and how to be laid out.” Benchmark Electronics, Inc. v. J.M. Huber Corp., 343 F.3d 719, 724 (5th Cir.2003) (quoting Williams v. WMX Techs., Inc., 112 F.3d 175, 179 (5th Cir.1997)).

B. Motion for Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when the movant has established that the pleadings, affidavits, and other evidence available to the Court demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and the movant is thus entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Piazza’s Seafood World, LLC v. Odom, 448 F.3d 744, 752 (5th Cir.2006); Lockett v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 337 F.Supp.2d 887, 891 (E.D.Tex.2004). “A genuine issue of material fact exists when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-movant.” Piazza’s Seafood World, 448 F.3d at 752 (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). “ ‘[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial’ and ‘mandates the entry of summary judgment for the moving party.’ ” U.S. ex rel. Farmer v. City of Houston, 523 F.3d 333, 337 (5th Cir.2008) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). The Court must view all evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Piazza’s Seafood World, 448 F.3d at 752; Lockett, 337 F.Supp.2d at 891.

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892 F. Supp. 2d 835, 2012 WL 3779227, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phares-v-actavis-elizabeth-llc-txsd-2012.