Warnings Claim Based on Woman's Exposure to Talcum Powder Not Preempted by FDCA, Judge Rules

NEW YORK - Recent changes to the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act do not preempt state law, failure to warn claims asserted by a woman who developed mesothelioma more than 20 years after using asbestos-containing talcum powder, a state court judge in New York has ruled. Feinberg v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., et al., No. 190070/11 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty.).

New York County Supreme Court Justice Sherry Klein Heitler said March 22 that the preemption clause added to the FDCA in 1997 cannot be applied retroactively to asbestos claims based on exposure that occurred decades before the clause was enacted. …