Perry v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Public Justice opposed the drug company Novartis’s federal preemption defense in this case involving the prescription drug Elidel. In its motion to dismiss, Novartis argued that the plaintiffs’ failure-to-warn claims were preempted because they conflicted with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug’s warning label. Novartis also relied on the preamble to the FDA’s labeling regulations, in which the agency stated that, in its view, failure-to-warn claims would conflict with its authority to regulate drug labels.

Public Justice joined the case to assist in briefing and arguing the preemption issue in the district court and on appeal. Lead counsel were Lou Bograd of CCL and Public Justice’s Leslie Brueckner. Public Justice’s Leslie Bailey was co-counsel; Larry Roth of Orlando, Fla., was plaintiffs’ trial counsel.