ERISA Does Not Preempt Plan Administrator’s Claims Against PPI Makers, Del. Judge Rules

WILMINGTON, Del. - The judge overseeing Delaware's proton pump inhibitor MDL has refused to dismiss a lawsuit in which a group benefit plan administrator has accused manufacturers of failing to warn that their products can cause chronic kidney disease, ruling the claims are not preempted by ERISA.

In an Aug. 11 order, Judge Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court further ruled that the claims were pled with the sufficiency required by Rule 12(b)(1).

LHC Group, a Louisiana plan administrator, sued Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, alleging their PPI products were …