Eric Alexander
Washington, D.C.
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Part II: Recent Changes In Jury Dynamics And How To Prepare Your Expert Accordingly (Podcast)
Holland & Knight are most popular: within Criminal Law topic(s) In the second part of this special guest episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small is once again joined by Partner Eric Alexander, who leads Holland & Knight's Product Liability – Life Sciences Team.
Podcast - Part I: Going From Young Associate To Veteran Lawyer
In the first part of this special guest episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small is joined by Partner Eric Alexander, who leads the firm's Product Liability – Life Sciences Team. Mr. Small talks with Mr. Alexander about the transition from being in the back row of a trial team to having a stand-up role.
Podcast - Part I: Going from Baby Associate to Veteran Lawyer | JD Supra
In the first part of this special guest episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small is joined by Partner Eric Alexander, who leads the firm's Product Liability – Life Sciences Team. Mr. Small talks with Mr. Alexander about the transition from being in the back row of a trial team to having a stand-up role.
The Fourth Circuit Rejects Attempts To Avoid And Invalidate The Vaccine Act
As we have riffed on before, staying apolitical when discussing the science and law implicated by our posts can be harder than one might expect. That has become increasingly true with regard to litigation over alleged injuries from vaccines, to say nothing of vaccine mandates for public health.
This is from the non-Dechert and non-RS side of the Blog. We recently attended a successful Ph.D. thesis defense on the seemingly narrow issue of trap states in quantum dots. This was held in a dark wood-paneled room in a large science building on the campus of a research institution generally known by a short acronym. In our work world, this is the sort of place we like to see on the resumes of our experts.
A Not-So-Brotherly Shove
Four weeks ago, we posted concerning an MDL judge’s decision not to sanction a plaintiff lawyer for false representations concerning diversity jurisdiction. We disputed that acting in the client’s “best interest” was a good excuse and questioned whether MDL courts cut plaintiff lawyers more slack than they should. We also had a bit of a tie-in to the then-on-ongoing NFL playoffs.
Questionable California Cough Medicine Consumer Class Lingers
We have seen a number of consumer fraud class action cases brought over a range of fairly ticky tacky issues about OTC drugs and consumer products.
The State of State of Mind Testimony by Experts
The issue of the state of mind or intent of a party can play out a number of ways based on the nature of the case. In the criminal context, proof of the mens rea of the defendant is typically an element in the statutory definition of the crime. In a civil contract case, whether the parties had a meeting of the minds and how one party actually interpreted disputed provisions can be central issues to decide.
California Federal Court Holds Onto Purported Class To Dismiss It Under The PREP Act
Much like the placement of a comma, differences in capitalization can affect meaning quite a bit. Take PrEP and PREP. The former refers to the use of certain antiviral medications for pre-exposure prophylaxis to HIV, which has been hailed as a paradigm shift in treating HIV. We recall that FDA was so impressed with the first published studies supporting PrEP that it asked the manufacturer of the study drugs—a three-in-one pill—to apply for the novel indication.
Sell or Don't Sell: Liability May Await Either Way
For many years, even before the Supreme Court picked up the ball, we have been arguing that “stop selling” theories of liability for alleged injuries from prescription drugs should not be viable. This is not just a preemption issue. Basic product liability principles do not square easily with liability contingent on developing one drug instead of another or no other. See here and here for two of many posts.
Double Shot Thursday: “The More Things Change” And “Of Puppets And Standing”
As insightful and modest as the Blog can be, we are not infallible. Every once in a while, two posts get written on the same decision, sometimes because we try to make sure a new post goes up every non-holiday weekday of the year. Because of the aforementioned modesty, however, we are hesitant to deprive our readers of our insights. So, we present two posts in one, the latter of which overlaps some with a prior post by a new Blog contributor.
Federal Officer Removal Fails In California
It is a simple fact that product liability plaintiffs almost always prefer state court and product liability defendants almost always prefer federal court. This is a major reason why removal fights, sometimes intertwined with personal jurisdiction fights, happen so often in these types of cases.
The Expanding Breadth Of Nexus
Back in 2020, we noted the possible broad implications of a Buckman preemption decision in a somewhat unusual economic loss case that turned on whether a compounded pharmaceutical needed FDA approval through an NDA. When that case, Nexus Pharms., Inc. v. Cent. Admixture Pharm. Servs., Inc., 48 F.4th 1040 (9th Cir. 2022), was affirmed in the Ninth Circuit, we bestowed on the decision to distinct honor of being our third best decision of 2022.
Will Anti-TPP Litigation Become A Thing? | JD Supra
We have been reporting on third party payer/payor (“TPP”) litigation for a long time. This category covers a range of causes of action and allegations but boils down to boils down to insurance companies or other entities trying to recover amounts they paid for patients to receive medical products because the manufacturers or sellers allegedly did something wrong (e.g., promoted off-label, failed to warn).
NPP, DCC, And FDA-Regulated Medical Products | JD Supra
Politics makes strange bedfellows. So does the law. Weird cases also make weird law. The Supreme Court decision in National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, No. 21–468, — S. Ct. — , 2023 WL 3356528 (U.S. May 11, 2023) (“NPP”), evidences each of those old saws. Deciphering just what the Supreme Court held entails interpreting a 3-D Rorschach image by touch. Charting which justices joined which opinions on which issues looks like a psilocybin-induced Venn diagram.
Pretty Potent Mix In A Prescription Painkiller Preemption Decision | JD Supra
If we have said it once, we have said it a hundred times: medical product manufacturers are not insurers of their products. Almost as frequently uttered would be that strict liability is not the same thing as absolute liability. In the show position might be that the temporal relationship between a new medical condition and the use of a drug or medical device does not, without more, prove causation.
Wrinkles In Time In The Acetaminophen ASD-ADHD MDL | JD Supra
Last November, we offered well-deserved criticisms of a really bad MDL-wide preemption decision in In re Acetaminophen − ASD-ADHD Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3043, 2022 WL 17348351 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2022) (“ASD-ADHD I”). One of its huge gaffes was not citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, 587 U.S. __, 139 S. Ct. 1668 (2019), which sets out the current standard for evaluating the preemption of drug warnings claims.
One Step Closer To Having Unanimity On The Learned Intermediary Doctrine | JD Supra
April 11, 2023 To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: For much of the sixteen and a half years of this Blog, we have been tracking the acceptance and rejection of the learned intermediary doctrine. The first year that we compiled a worst decisions of the year list it was topped by a case that still holds the title for worst, most thinly veiled legislation by a court, outcome-driven decisions on the subject.
Not An Early April Fools’ Day Joke: State Still Pushes Its Dumb Ivermectin Law
About two months ago, we marveled at the notion that challenges to facially neutral state and local government vaccine requirements were still percolating through the legal system. We probably should not have been surprised by the persistence of frivolous litigation. After all, our day job entails defending litigations that can last years longer than they should after the science and merits have been pretty clearly decided, at least in our defense hack eyes.
Pro Se Plaintiff Tries and Fails To Plead Claims For Failure To Withdraw And Failure To Warn | JD Supra
We have made no secret of our long-held views that “failure to withdraw” or “stop selling” theories of liability for FDA-authorized medical products are unwarranted perversions of state design defect law and preempted anyway. When we say long-held, we mean it, because we had a few of the first cases where this theory was put forward in earnest.
Stretching Specific Personal Jurisdiction And Shrinking Preemption At The Pleadings Stage | JD Supra
When we started seeing a smattering of cases over long-term contraceptive devices used in connection with tubal ligation surgery, we were not surprised. Plaintiff lawyers have targeted a wide range of contraceptive drugs and devices for decades. Commentators beyond this Blog have described how this bent affects contraceptive choice and public health.
Litigation Over COVID-19 Policies Continues | JD Supra
If we had forgotten that there continue to be abundant U.S. cases of COVID-19, then there was plenty around us to remind us. Public mask usage seems to have increased. We heard how the “tripledemic” of viruses had made hospital beds scarce. We have had colleagues out of commission instead of completing our assignments. The CDC data show more than 100,000 new cases in the last two weeks.
Criticizing FDA Reporting Systems Should Not Be Enough To Plead A Warnings Claim | JD Supra
Two weeks ago, we decried the pattern that some courts follow in allowing shifting slates of boilerplate allegations to cases to discovery. The decision in Corrigan v. Covidien LP, No. 22-cv-10220, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210296 (D. Mass. Nov. 21, 2022), reminded us of another of our post-TwIqbal pet peeves: when courts treat sweeping legal conclusions as if they were plausible factual assertions.
Five Strikes Needed To Dismiss A Questionable Case | JD Supra
Drug manufacturers are not insurers against injury from or while taking medications. Neither are distributors or pharmacies. Just because a patient experiences a complication while taking a medication, including the very condition the medication is supposed to help prevent, does not mean that some person or entity should be liable to the patient for her injuries. Sometimes, there is no fault or liability to be found.
Protecting A Veterinarian’s Speech: A Model For Communications On Off-Label Use?
Way before we were lawyers, we read a good chunk of the writings of James Herriot, the nom de plume of a rural English veterinarian who chronicled his exploits in helping All Creatures Great and Small (the title of a movie and TV series about him). The veneration of his seemingly altruistic and tireless work made sense in a house with a range of critters. We did not become vets, though; we became lawyers, specifically lawyers who represent drug and device companies.
Differential Diagnosis At Its Worst In Vaccine Litigation
Recently, when we have spoken of vaccine litigation, it has mostly been about challenges to public health policies requiring vaccination against COVID-19 for healthcare workers, students at public universities, etc. We have been pleased to report that these challenges have been failing without lingering too long at the trial court level, like here, here, and here. There was a time when lawsuits against the manufacturers of a number of different vaccines were prevalent and fiercely litigated.
Unintended Consequences for Software Liability?
We have been following the issue of potential product liability for software, including in connection with medical devices, for a while. Much of our attention, predictably, has been on FDA regulation of device software, including issues related to resistance to hacking to obtain information or cause harm. Like here, here, here, and here. We (well, Bexis and a colleague) have also taken a dive into the legal implications of the brave new world of 3D Printing.
Panama v Canada boxscore
Powered by Overview Preview Overview Play by Play Boxscore Team Comparison Shot Chart Photos Videos 50 - 106 Q4 | 00:00 End of game 50 - 106 Q4 | 00:00 End of period 50 - 106 Q4 | 00:21 Jean-Victor Mukama 2nd of 2 free throws made 50 - 105 Q4 | 00:21 Jean-Victor Mukama 1st of 2 free throws made 50 - 104 Q4 | 00:21 Jean-Victor Mukama foul drawn 50 - 104 Q4 | 00:21 Eric Alexander Romero James personal foul; 2 free throws awarded 50 - 104 Q4 | 00:31 Jean-Victor Mukama defensive rebound 50 - 104...
Discovery Rule Does Not Save Plaintiff From Her Lack Of Diligence
We tend not to post much on appellate statute of limitations decisions. There are a few reasons for that. First, they are often very fact-specific, rarely delivering holdings with clear applications to other cases. Second, because they can be fact-specific and plaintiffs are known to plead around defenses, good decisions on motions to dismiss are also the exception.
RICO Claims Whacked In Another Zantac Ruling
It has been a while since we saw a movie in a theater. That is one aspect of the oft-discussed return to normality that appeals to us. When we saw a trailer recently for The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to old HBO mainstay The Sopranos, it piqued our interest. It even made us return to the original series, which began more than twenty years ago, something we knew but still have a little trouble grasping.
Bid To Impose Liability On Trade Association Fails
In the movie Thank You for Smoking, lobbyists for the tobacco, alcohol, and firearm industries got together periodically at a DC watering hole to swap stories about the challenges of representing unpopular clients under increasing scrutiny by the federal government. Hilarity ensued, along with some other stuff we do not remember very well. Of course, there are many trade associations in DC focused on a variety of industries, some of which are not terribly popular.
Homeopathic Drama Comes To A Climax?
First of all, get your minds out of the gutter. Second, remember two weeks ago when we noted how rarely we discuss lawsuits against FDA? We are doing it again. Third, although we have talked about the strange regulatory shadowland in which homeopathic drugs have resided, they have not seen much action in litigation. When they have, the level of historic FDA oversight has generally not resulted in preemption of state law claims. Things with homeopathic drugs, an arguably oxymoronic term, are changing.
Gaming The System To Pursue Claims Against Generic Manufacturers
There are some basic rules for medical product liability litigation, at least as we—and the vast majority of courts—see it. One is that the manufacturer of the medical product that the plaintiff used and allegedly injured her is typically the right defendant. Part of what a potential plaintiff is supposed to do during the statute of limitations period after her alleged injury is figure out who made the product she took.
Spoliation Is A Two-Way Street, Or Should Be
We are careful when discussing discovery sanctions, particularly spoliation, for a simple reason. The companies we represent that make medical products tend to have allegations about failing to produce discoverable information in the course of the litigation against them.
A Mixed R&R From The Abilify MDL
United States: A Mixed R&R From The Abilify MDL 31 March 2021 Reed Smith Your LinkedIn Connections with the authors To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Outside of the law, if you hear "R&R," you might think of "rest and relaxation" or the original military term "rest and recuperation." For many of us, the last year has had plenty of rest, but maybe not much true relaxation or recuperation.
A Mixed R&R From The Abilify MDL
Outside of the law, if you hear “R&R,” you might think of “rest and relaxation” or the original military term “rest and recuperation.” For many of us, the last year has had plenty of rest, but maybe not much true relaxation or recuperation. As in-person trials are set and the world inches toward a “return to normality” (or the Hardingesque “normalcy”), many of us may not really be ready to rock and roll or rush and return just yet.
Vermont Learned Intermediary Law Prediction And Quirky Application In Pelvic Mesh Remand Case
United States: Vermont Learned Intermediary Law Prediction And Quirky Application In Pelvic Mesh Remand Case 19 March 2021 Reed Smith Your LinkedIn Connections with the authors To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. In addition to having Green Mountains, maple syrup, lake houses, an ice cream company run by summer camp buddies, a mitten wearing Senator, and a history of low COVID rates, Vermont has a history of being a legal outlier.
Vermont Learned Intermediary Law Prediction And Quirky Application In Pelvic Mesh Remand Case
In addition to having Green Mountains, maple syrup, lake houses, an ice cream company run by summer camp buddies, a mitten wearing Senator, and a history of low COVID rates, Vermont has a history of being a legal outlier. Some of its positions might be considered progressive or regressive. The legislation discussed here is a (bad) example of the former. The latter is exemplified by its position on the learned intermediary doctrine.
Generic Drug Claims Chopped Up With Great Efficiency
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. It is starting to feel like spring. For those with a poetic or philosophical bent, spring may bring thoughts of renewal and the cyclical rhythms of the planet, among other things. For those interested in more practical things, perhaps the need to do a spring cleaning or plan for some plantings outside.
Generic Drug Claims Chopped Up With Great Efficiency
It is starting to feel like spring. For those with a poetic or philosophical bent, spring may bring thoughts of renewal and the cyclical rhythms of the planet, among other things. For those interested in more practical things, perhaps the need to do a spring cleaning or plan for some plantings outside. Clutter does have a way of accumulating throughout the year and it helps to, well, de-clutter if you can muster the energy and attention. Gardening is similar.
Eighth Circuit Affirms Refusal To Create A Contraceptive Exception To Nebraska's Learned Intermediary Doctrine
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Given the events of the last eleven months or so, we give ourselves and other legal commentators a preemptive pass for the following situation: you read a case, you think about how you would describe it, and you see that you have described similar cases in a similar way more than once.
Eighth Circuit Affirms Refusal To Create A Contraceptive Exception To Nebraska’s Learned Intermediary Doctrine
Given the events of the last eleven months or so, we give ourselves and other legal commentators a preemptive pass for the following situation: you read a case, you think about how you would describe it, and you see that you have described similar cases in a similar way more than once. This could be due to low batteries in our déjà vu detector or that there is so much repetition from day to day to week to month that it interferes with the detector.
Pleading Preemption As A Defense In A Privacy Class Action
Critics have been known to accuse us of being too hard on product liability plaintiffs and too forgiving of defendants who develop medical products. We all have our biases, especially after many collective decades of representing the latter group, but we do think the table is often tilted in favor of the former group. One area where plaintiffs and defendants tend to get very different treatment is written discovery.
Design Claims Fail Under Consumer Expectations Test With An Adequate Warning
United States: Design Claims Fail Under Consumer Expectations Test With An Adequate Warning 18 January 2021 Reed Smith Your LinkedIn Connections with the authors To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Plaintiffs tend to assert a bunch of different claims.
Design Claims Fail Under Consumer Expectations Test With An Adequate Warning
Plaintiffs tend to assert a bunch of different claims. For prescription medical device cases, setting aside preemption, our experience is that plaintiffs do best—that is, avoid summary judgment and directed verdict—with design defect (strict liability or negligence) claims. One reason for that is that it tends not to be hard to make up some theory, working backwards from the alleged injury, of how the design posed a risk and it could have been made better.
A New Year And An Old Issue: Warnings Claims Based On A Known Acceptable Risk Fail
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. In very general terms, posts on specific court opinions fall into three categories: 1) ones we think are correct, 2) ones we think are incorrect, and 3) ones we think are mixed bags. Not terribly profound. Digging a bit deeper, we sometimes pick cases to discuss because we feel the need to vent about the poor reasoning the opinion displayed or how we think the case speaks to a larger issue that bears highlighting.
A New Year And An Old Issue: Warnings Claims Based On A Known Acceptable Risk Fail
In very general terms, posts on specific court opinions fall into three categories: 1) ones we think are correct, 2) ones we think are incorrect, and 3) ones we think are mixed bags. Not terribly profound. Digging a bit deeper, we sometimes pick cases to discuss because we feel the need to vent about the poor reasoning the opinion displayed or how we think the case speaks to a larger issue that bears highlighting. In other words, sometimes a rant needs to be unleashed.
Real Estate Transfers
Real Estate Transfers Grantee Contact Info VAN METER, ERIC ALEXANDER 6850 MILLER RD BRECKSVILLE OH, 44141 Grantor EMERINE, NATALIE & BETKER, SEAN Grantee VAN METER, ERIC ALEXANDER Sale Date Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Amount Sold for $255,000.00 Parcel Number 313-27-056 Type of Deed WARRANTY D Real Estate Values Label Value Land $32,800.00 Property $126,300.00 Total $159,100.00 Sold Property 1627 ROSEWOOD AVE LAKEWOOD OH, 44107 0.00000000 0.00000000 About your information and the public record.
Real Estate Transfers
Real Estate Transfers Grantee Contact Info POHL, ERIC ALEXANDER 9111 HILLSIDE RD INDEPENDENCE OH, 44131 Grantor BONNESS, ELIZABETH A. (TRUSTEE) Grantee POHL, ERIC ALEXANDER Sale Date Thursday, November 12, 2020 Amount Sold for $350,000.00 Parcel Number 564-16-014 Type of Deed FIDUCIARY Real Estate Values Label Value Land $45,800.00 Property $135,600.00 Total $181,400.00 Sold Property 9111 HILLSIDE RD INDEPENDENCE OH, 44131 380.00000000 0.00000000 About your information and the public record.
Foreseeing Risks With Off-Label Use
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. A long time ago in a law school relatively far away, we took torts as a first year law student. Many of the cases about which we learned (or were supposed to have learned) were from even longer ago and we had no idea how much some of those old cases would inform our practice.
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