Bard May Re-Litigate Failure-to-Warn Claim in IVC Filter MDL Case, Judge Rules

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge has refused to preclude C.R. Bard from litigating a negligent failure-to-warn claim in an IVC filter action based upon a jury verdict in a previous bellwether case, ruling that Arizona law applies to the issue and bars the offensive use of collateral estoppel.

On July 22, Judge Susan P. Watters of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s rule that for federal diversity cases, the reviewing district court must apply “the law that would be applied by state courts in the State in which the federal …