Riggins v. Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.

51 F. Supp. 3d 708, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144169, 2014 WL 5088118
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedOctober 9, 2014
DocketCase No. 3:12 oe 40002
StatusPublished

This text of 51 F. Supp. 3d 708 (Riggins v. Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Riggins v. Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., 51 F. Supp. 3d 708, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144169, 2014 WL 5088118 (N.D. Ohio 2014).

Opinion

[709]*709 MEMORANDUM OPINION,

KATZ, District Judge.

Diana Riggins sued Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. (now know as Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), Alza Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, LLC (now known as Janssen Research & Development, LLC), and Johnson & Johnson. Although a resident of California, Ms. Rig-gins was permitted to file her complaint directly with this Court pursuant to the Court’s Case Management Order No. 11 issued in this Multidistrict Litigation case. Ms. Riggins alleged that she had been preseribéd the Ortho Evra® birth control patch which allegedly caused her to experience bilateral pulmonary emboli.

This Court subsequently dismissed Ms. Riggins’s strict liability in tort-failure to warn, strict liability in tort-manufacturing defect, negligence, breach of implied warranty, breach of express warranty, and Cal. Stat. § 1750 et seq. claims. (Doc. Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13). The Defendants have now moved for summary judgment on Ms. Riggins’s claims alleging deceit by concealment — Cal. Stat. § 1709 and § 1710, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of California’s Business and Professions Code § 17200 and § 17500. (Doc. No. 14). Ms. Riggins has filed a response (Doc. No. 16), and the Defendants have filed a reply. (Doc. No. 17). On September 23, 2014, the Court heard oral argument on the pending motion for summary judgment in this case and several other cases concerning the Ortho Evra® birth control patch.

I. Facts

Ms. Riggins was first prescribed the Ortho Evra® birth control patch in December 2004, and continued using the patch until July 2008. Ms. Riggins experienced bilateral pulmonary emboli in July 2008.

II. Summary Judgment

In her response to the motion for summary judgment, Ms. Riggins states:

Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment ignores judicial efficacy and efficiency. It is unclear why Defendants brought another Motion for Summary Judgment based on the exact same issues they made on a prior Motion for Summary Judgment. This Court has already made its ruling, namely that Defendants are not entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiffs remaining claims which include breach of warranty and fraud claims. As already recognized by this Court, Defendants are not entitled to summary judgment.

(Doc. No. 16, p. 4).

However, the claims which are the subject to the pending motion for summary judgment were the subject of a motion for a judgment on the pleadings, hot for summary judgment. As this Court stated in Averhart v. Ortho-McNeil Pharm., Inc., No. 3:09 OE 40028, slip op. at 4, 2014 WL 3866026 (N.D.Ohio Aug. 6.2014):

Ms. Averhart asserts that the Defendants are not entitled to have their motion for summary judgment considered by the Court. The Court previously denied Defendants’ Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) motion regarding the issues that are the subject of the current summary judgment motion. (Doc. No. 28, pp. 8-10). Ms. Averhart argues that given the Court’s prior decision, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(g)(2), the Defendants are now prohibited from seeking summary judgment on the issues in question. Rule 12(g)(2) explicitly states that the prohibition in question only applies to motions under Rule 12. A motion for summary judgment is under Rule 56(a). Therefore, Rule 12(g)(2)’s restriction is inapplicable to [710]*710Rule 56(a). See Shrader v. Beam, 503 Fed.Appx. 650, 654 (10th Cir.2012); Ennenga v. Starns, 677 F.3d 766, 772-73 (7th Cir.2012); Conrad v. Phone Directories Co., 585 F.3d 1376, 1383 n. 2 (10th Cir.2009).

Because the claims in question were not subject to the previous motion for summary judgment, the Defendants are free to seek summary judgment on these claims.

Summary judgment is proper where “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact” and the moving party “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). A party asserting a genuine issue of material fact must support the argument either by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record” or by “showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1). The Court views the facts in the record and reasonable inferences that can be drawn from those facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The Court does not weigh the evidence or determines the truth of any matter in dispute. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The party requesting summary judgment bears an initial burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists, which the party must discharge by producing evidence to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact or “by showing ... that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted). If the moving party satisfies this burden, the nonmoving party “may not rest upon its ... pleadings, but rather must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Moldowan v. City of Warren, 578 F.3d 351, 374 (6th Cir.2009) (citing Rule 56 and Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348). The party opposing the summary judgment motion must present sufficient probative evidence supporting its claim that disputes over material facts remain; evidence that is “merely colorable” or “not significantly probative” is insufficient. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. Fraud and Concealment

Ms. Riggins alleged that the Defendants committed deceit by concealment in violation of Cal. Stat. § 1709 and § 1710, made negligent misrepresentations, and engaged in fraudulent business practices in violation of Cal. Stat. § 17200 and § 17500. In response to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, Ms. Riggins does not discuss applicable California law. To the contrary, her response to the motion is based on Illinois case law. (Doc. No. 16, p. 7). As Ms.

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Bluebook (online)
51 F. Supp. 3d 708, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144169, 2014 WL 5088118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/riggins-v-ortho-mcneil-pharmaceutical-inc-ohnd-2014.