Express Warranty Claim Dismissed, Design Defect Claims to Proceed

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A Tennessee federal judge has granted Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. summary judgment on an express warranty claim brought by a plaintiff who claims that her now-deceased husband's osteonecrosis of the jaw was caused by the cancer drug Zometa. In re Aredia and Zometa Products Liability Litigation, No. 06-1760 (M.D. Tenn.).

However, in the Aug. 13 order, Judge Todd J. Campbell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denied the drug maker's motion for summary judgment on claims of design defect, implied warranty and failure to warn.

Rhode Island resident Karleen Hogan sued Novartis, asserting …