Design Defect, Express Warranty Claims Survive Motion to Dismiss in Eliquis Action

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge has refused to dismiss design defect and breach of express warranty claims in an Eliquis action, finding the plaintiff plausibly alleged there is a safer alternative design of the drug and that defendants made false representations in marketing materials.

In an Oct. 18 order, Judge Lance M. Africk of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana also allowed the plaintiff to amend her failure-to-warn claim to allege that the decedent’s doctor would not have prescribed Eliquis had a stronger warning been provided.

Karen Macaluso, as the personal representative of the …