Walter Shuker v. Smith & Nephew PLC

885 F.3d 760
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMarch 1, 2018
Docket16-3785
StatusPublished
Cited by250 cases

This text of 885 F.3d 760 (Walter Shuker v. Smith & Nephew PLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walter Shuker v. Smith & Nephew PLC, 885 F.3d 760 (3d Cir. 2018).

Opinion

KRAUSE, Circuit Judge.

With the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, Congress added comprehensive medical device approval processes to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, prescribing tiers of federal requirements for certain devices corresponding to the device's inherent risk level. In exchange for compliance with the strictest federal mandates, Congress afforded manufacturers express preemption from state laws imposing different or additional "safety or effectiveness" requirements for those devices. 21 U.S.C. § 360k(a)(2). This case presents an issue of first impression among the Courts of Appeals: how courts should apply that express preemption provision to state law tort claims challenging the design and manufacture of a medical device comprised of multiple components, some of which are from "Class III" medical devices subject to federal requirements, Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc. , 552 U.S. 312 , 322-23, 128 S.Ct. 999 , 169 L.Ed.2d 892 (2008), and some of which are from medical devices that carry a different class designation and are not subject to those requirements, see Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr , 518 U.S. 470 , 475-78, 494-95, 116 S.Ct. 2240 , 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996).

Because the plaintiffs' negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty claims in their Second Amended Complaint are expressly preempted, we will affirm the District Court's ruling in that respect. But because the plaintiffs adequately pleaded other, non-preempted claims, and because jurisdictional discovery is warranted with respect to personal jurisdiction over one of the defendants, we will reverse the District Court's dismissal of some of the plaintiffs' claims in their Third Amended Complaint, vacate the District Court's personal jurisdiction ruling, and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background

After Walter Shuker underwent a hip replacement surgery that resulted in unexpected complications, he and his wife, Vivian Shuker, brought tort claims against Smith & Nephew, Inc. ("Smith & Nephew"), the manufacturer of his hip replacement system, and Smith & Nephew, PLC ("PLC"), the manufacturer's parent company. Before turning to the details of Mr. and Mrs. Shuker's dispute with Smith & Nephew and with PLC, we review the relevant statutory and regulatory scheme for context.

A. Statutory and Regulatory Context

For purposes of federal statutes governing medical devices, the term "device" is a broad one, encompassing instruments, machines, implants, and "other similar or related" articles, and "including any component, part, or accessory" of those articles. 21 U.S.C. § 321 (h). "Device" refers not just to "replacement heart valves, implanted cerebella stimulators, and pacemaker pulse generators," but also to "such devices as elastic bandages and examination gloves," as well as to the constituent parts of those items. Riegel , 552 U.S. at 316-17 , 128 S.Ct. 999 .

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act did not originally authorize federal regulation in connection with the introduction of new medical devices, but, over time, consumers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") began voicing "mounting ... concern" about the unexamined health risks of devices being introduced to the public. Lohr , 518 U.S. at 475-76 , 116 S.Ct. 2240 . Several states responded to those concerns by adopting regulatory measures, but Congress "stepped in" by enacting the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, "which swept back some state obligations and imposed a regime of detailed federal oversight." Riegel , 552 U.S. at 315-16 , 128 S.Ct. 999 . As explained in more detail below, Congress's approach here, as in other regulatory contexts, 1 was twofold: first, it established a system of federal regulation over the introduction of new devices, instituting tiered federal requirements calibrated to each device's risk level, and, second, it enacted a provision stating that federal medical device requirements supersede any different or additional state safety or effectiveness requirements. See Medical Device Amendments of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-295, sec. 2, §§ 513-516, 521, 90 Stat. 539 , 540-60, 562 (codified as amended at 21 U.S.C. §§ 360c - 360f, 360k ).

1. Medical Device Approval Procedures

Approval procedures for new medical devices under the Medical Device Amendments vary depending on a device's class designation. The statute divides devices into three classes "based on the risk that they pose to the public" and applies more rigorous prerequisites to devices that pose greater risks. Lohr , 518 U.S. at 476-77 , 116 S.Ct. 2240 ; see 21 U.S.C. §§ 360c(a)(1), 360d, 360e. Because Class I devices pose the least risks, Class II devices are "more harmful," and Class III devices pose the greatest risks, Lohr

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885 F.3d 760, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walter-shuker-v-smith-nephew-plc-ca3-2018.