NJPLA Failure-To-Warn Claim Preempted, Judge Rules in Defibrillator Action

TRENTON, N.J. — A failure-to-warn claim brought against the makers of a defibrillator and leads under the New Jersey Products Liability Act is preempted because it seeks to impose regulations that are “different from, or in addition to” those imposed by the Food and Drug Administration, a federal judge has ruled.

In a Feb. 27 order, Judge Freda L. Wolfson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey further held that the plaintiff’s common law claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress are subsumed by the NJPLA and must be dismissed.

In May …