Calif. Federal Judge Asks Parties to Brief Issue of Post-Mensing Preemption in Propoxyphene Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge has ordered the parties in various propoxyphene cases to brief the issue of whether, after PLIVA Inc. v. Mensing, state law failure-to-warn claims are "completely preempted" and if so, whether Congress explicitly authorized a private right of action regarding the labeling of manufacturers of generic drugs or whether one is implied by law.

On March 19, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California also asked the parties to address the question of how, if at all, the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending decision in Bartlett v. Mutual …