Strict Liability, Warranty Claims Trimmed from Pa. Federal St. Jude Pacemaker Case

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania federal judge has trimmed strict liability, negligence and breach of implied warranty claims from a St. Jude pacemaker action, agreeing with a magistrate judge that they are preempted by federal law because they seek to impose state law requirements that are “different from, or in addition to” federal regulations.

In a Sept. 23 order, Judge Karoline Mehalchick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania also adopted the magistrate judge’s finding that the strict liability claims fall within the “unavoidably unsafe product” exemption in comment k of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. …