Smith & Nephew can’t slip metal-on-metal hip implant MDL

A Maryland federal judge yesterday shot down a bid from Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) to dismiss negligence, failure to warn and breach of warranty claims in a multi-district litigation case concerning the company’s Birmingham hip resurfacing metal-on-metal hip implant.

London-based Smith & Nephew were looking to dismiss the case, stating that claims in the MDL were pre-empted by the FDA’s statutory framework, either expressly or impliedly, and claims that were neither expressly or impliedly preempted had not been sufficiently pleaded.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake concluded that two liability claims from the plaintiffs were pre-empted, but that the six remaining claims survived pre-emption and had been sufficiently pleaded.

“The plaintiffs’ six remaining claims survive express and implied preemption. Each claim imposes a traditional state duty that predates and parallels federal requirements. All but one of those claims has been sufficiently pleaded. The MACC contains pages of factually supported allegations that, if taken as true, plausibly state a claim for relief,” Judge Blake wrote, according to court documents.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Smith & Nephew patent in a spat between the company and Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX).

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