Judge Refuses to Extend Mensing Preemption Ruling to Pinnacle Hip Implant Claims

SAN FRANCISCO — A California judge has rejected an attempt by DePuy Orthopaedics to keep a Pinnacle hip implant case in federal court, ruling that claims against non-diverse defendants named in the case are not preempted by the Supreme Court’s decision in Pliva Inc. v. Mensing.

In a Sept. 18 decision remanding the case to San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Percy Anderson held that Mensing’s preemption of failure-to-warn claims asserted against manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals does not extend to a doctor who played a role in designing and marketing the hip implant (131 S. Ct. 2567, 180 L. Ed. 2d …