Scianneaux v. St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc.

961 F. Supp. 2d 808, 2013 WL 4417455, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117081
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedAugust 19, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 13-684
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 961 F. Supp. 2d 808 (Scianneaux v. St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scianneaux v. St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc., 961 F. Supp. 2d 808, 2013 WL 4417455, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117081 (E.D. La. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.

Defendant, St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc. (“St. Jude”), filed a motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint. Plaintiff Jeanne Scianneaux opposes the motion.1 For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion.

1. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff alleges that she was injured by medical devices that were manufactured and sold by defendant St. Jude. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that she had a defibrillator implanted in her chest and the leads connecting the device to her heart failed. Because the leads failed, she says she needed another surgery, which caused a debilitating stroke. The defendant moves to dismiss and argues that plaintiff has failed to state a claim for relief under Twombly.

A. Plaintiffs Specific Allegations

Plaintiff alleges that on or about May 27, 2010, a cardiologist surgically implanted in her chest a “Medtronic Defibrillator, which was manufactured and sold into the medical field by St. Jude.”2 She alleges that “[a]t that time Defendant had purposely withheld information that the leads were failing and defective from the nations [sic ] [810]*810physicians.”3 The complaint alleges that the Medtronic Defibrillator was recalled by the FDA because “the leads on the device could result in the device failing to deliver a shock or conversely shocking the patient unnecessarily.”4 Plaintiff also alleges that “St. Jude admitted to the FDA ... that defects and flaws with the leads on the Medtronic Defibrillator, were more prevalent than had been previously revealed by St. Jude.”5 She alleges that “the FDA classified the leads recall as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall and ordered St. Jude to conduct post market studies.”6 The complaint alleges that “St. Jude knew, before her implant on May 27, 2010, that the device and the leads were so defective, as to be life threatening.”7 Plaintiff alleges that St. Jude knew of the defects in 2009, before discontinuing the product in 2010, and “fraudulently failed to disclose the life threatening defects with intent to cover up, mislead[, and] continue to sell the defective device.”8 Plaintiff alleges that the leads failed and she underwent surgery “in order to survive.”9 She alleges that she needed a new defibrillator, and that the necessary surgical procedure caused her to suffer a stroke.10

In her Amended Complaint, plaintiff added allegations that St. Jude (1) failed to comply with FDA-approved specifications for the device; (2) failed to manufacture the device in compliance with FDA specifications; and (3) deviated from FDA requirements in connection with the sale of the device.11

Based on these events, the complaint avers that St. Jude is liable to plaintiff based on theories of negligence, breach of warranty, strict liability, and fraud. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages. St. Jude moves to dismiss plaintiffs claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).12

II. Legal Standard

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must plead “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 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). A claim is facially plausible when the plaintiff pleads facts that allow the court to “draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. A court must accept all well-pleaded facts as true, viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Gines v. D.R. Horton, Inc., 699 F.3d 812, 816 (5th Cir.2012) (quoting In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 495 F.3d 191, 205 (5th Cir.2007)). But a court is not bound to accept as true legal conclusions couched as factual allegations. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

A legally sufficient complaint must establish more than a “sheer possibility” that the plaintiffs claim is true. Id. It need not contain detailed factual allegations, but it must go beyond labels, legal [811]*811conclusions, or formulaic recitations of the elements of a cause of action. Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955). In other words, the face of the complaint must contain enough factual matter to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of each element of the plaintiffs claim. Lormand v. U.S. Unwired, Inc., 565 F.3d 228, 257 (5th Cir.2009). If there are insufficient factual allegations to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, or if it is apparent from the face of the complaint that there is an insuperable bar to relief, see Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 215, 127 S.Ct. 910, 166 L.Ed.2d 798 (2007); Carbe v. Lappin, 492 F.3d 325, 328 & n. 9 (5th Cir.2007), the claim must be dismissed.

III. Discussion

The Louisiana Products Liability Act (“LPLA”) provides the exclusive remedy against a manufacturer for damages caused by its product. La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.52. A plaintiff may not recover under any theory of liability that is not set forth in the LPLA. Id.; Stahl v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 283 F.3d 254, 261-62 (5th Cir.2002). The statute provides that a manufacturer “shall be liable to a claimant for damage proximately caused by a characteristic of the product that renders the product unreasonably dangerous when such damage arose from a reasonably anticipated use of the product by the claimant or another person or entity.” La.Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9:2800.54(A).

A product is unreasonably dangerous for the purposes of the statute' “if and only if’ it is unreasonably dangerous: (1) in construction or composition, (2) in design, (3) because of inadequate warning, or (4) because of nonconformity to an express warranty. Id. at § 2800.54(B)(l-4). Thus, the LPLA limits the plaintiff to four theories of recovery: manufacturing defect, design defect, inadequate labeling, and breach of express warranty.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
961 F. Supp. 2d 808, 2013 WL 4417455, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117081, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scianneaux-v-st-jude-medical-sc-inc-laed-2013.