Author: Justin Lane

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was struck down yesterday; the Supreme Court has passed two decisions that have devastating effects for consumers. The first of these decisions was Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett. The second was Shelby County v. Holder. Throughout the past decade attorneys across the nation have been pursuing pharmaceutical companies for their aggressive attack on patients taking generic medications. In Mutual, the Supreme Court decided that patients injured by generic drugs cannot pursue litigation against the generic drug manufacturer for the faulty design of the drug. Mutual closed the door on many of the litigations...

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States, in an unfortunate and regrettable misstep, has chosen to dissolve the power and efficacy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Before the Court today was the case of Shelby County v. Holder. The Court struck down section 4 of the Voting Rights Act but has left in place the requirements of section 5. Delivering the opinion of the Court was none other than GOP poster-boy, Justice John C. Roberts. Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act established that states, counties and towns are subject to evaluative criteria. To determine whether...

Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against Sage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company has been accused of distributing misbranded and unapproved medications. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants, including Sage’s president, Dr. Jivn-Ren Chen, and Director of Corporate Quality, Charles L. Thomas, violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) when they manufactured and distributed unapproved and misbranded drugs. The FDCA requires that all drug companies seeking to sell a new drug apply for approval from the FDA and receive that approval before selling the drug. “The...

The Supreme Court has given a major injury to the American consumer with its decision in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett. Deciding that federal law preempts defect design claims for generic drug manufacturers, the Justices have again displayed their allegiance to American and Big Pharma corporations. For those unaware of the circumstances surrounding the Bartlett decision, a legal war has been waging over whether generic drug manufacturers can be held responsible for injuries caused by the use of their product. Until Bartlett, it had been held that generic drug manufacturers were granted indemnity against civil action resulting from...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of the dietary supplements Oxyphen, Phentalene, Phen FX, and Red Vipers. According to the release from the FDA, the drugs carried with them the risk of elevating blood pressure which can lead to other cardiovascular problems. Initiated on January 15, 2013, the recall applies to certain drugs containing dimethylamylamine (“DMAA”). In its release, the FDA warned that DMAA is a commonly-used stimulant that is potentially dangerous to an individual’s health. Further, the FDA announced that DMAA is not an ingredient recognized to be included in dietary supplements and therefore the...