N.Y. Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss St. Jude Riata Lead Complaint, Says Claims Not Preempted

St. Jude Riata Lead

ALBANY, N.Y. — Claims that St. Jude Medical Inc. defectively manufactured its Riata Lead and failed to warn doctors and patients of its risks are not expressly preempted because the plaintiff pled a parallel state law claim by alleging that the manufacturer violated a particular federal specification referring to the device, a New York federal judge has ruled.

On Aug. 28, Senior Judge Lawrence E. Kahn of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York further held that the plaintiff’s claim that St. Jude failed to file certain reports with the Food and …