Failure-To-Warn, Manufacturing Defect Claims to Proceed Against St. Jude in Riata Lead Case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Failure-to-warn and manufacturing defect claims asserted against St. Jude Medical Inc. in connection with its Riata defibrillator lead are not federally preempted because the state and federal requirements at issue cannot be compared at this stage in the litigation, a Kentucky federal judge has held.

In a July 18 order, Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky added, however, that if plaintiffs cannot maintain these claims based on state requirements that parallel federal requirements after discovery is completed, the court will reevaluate the issue of preemption.

Shawn …