Warranty Claims To Proceed In Valsartan MDL

Warranty Claims To Proceed In Valsartan MDL

Introduction

Last week, Judge Robert B. Kugler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, overseeing the blood pressure drug valsartan MDL, rejected bids from the defendants over the dismissal of warranty claims.

According to the January 22 order, Judge Kugler upheld a breach of express warranty claims against the manufacturers. However, the judge tossed those claims against the wholesalers and pharmacies.

The opinion noted that the claims are viable against the manufacturers as they marketed their products as "valsartan or valsartan‐containing, and all three sets of defendants should face certain breach of implied warranty claims. The manufacturers include Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The judge reasoned that for prescription drugs, which are identified and marketed as the generic equivalent to a branded pharmaceutical listed in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) Orange Book and then selling that generic equivalent when it contains a contaminant not included in the Orange Book listing constitutes a breach of express warranty.

The judge said that manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacies escaped claims for alleged violations of the Magnuson‐Moss Warranty Act because the plaintiffs failed to present to any defendant that the drug was contaminated. Breach of implied warranty claims against manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacies arising under certain state laws was also tossed because the plaintiffs failed to plead the requisite privity element.

A couple of weeks ago, Judge Kugler issued an order stating that the consumers involved in the MDL cannot bring claims under the laws of states in which they don't reside. The plaintiffs were given a deadline of today to amend their complaints if they brought the claims in states where they neither reside nor were injured.

Currently, at least 650 cases are pending in the litigation docket, each raising similar allegations that long-term exposure to recalled valsartan drug results in stomach cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other injuries.

The lawsuits are consolidated under MDL No. 2875 in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, presided by Judge Robert B. Kugler, U.S.D.J and Hon. Joel Schneider, U.S.M.J.