Breach of Express Warranty to Proceed in Boston Scientific COGNIS Defibrillator Action

AIKEN, S.C. — A claim for breach of express warranty asserted in a Boston Scientific Corp. defibrillator case is not federally preempted because it is not based on any statements made in an FDA-mandated document, a South Carolina federal judge has ruled.

However, in the Nov. 4 order, Judge J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina awarded BSC summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ negligence, strict liability and implied warranty claims, finding he failed to explain how the defibrillator deviated from federal requirements.

In January 2009, Jeffrey Hesik’s existing cardiac defibrillator was replaced with …