The Sixth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit against Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), ruling that the companies have no liability for faxes sent by a third party without their knowledge, even though the faxes contained advertisements for their products. Shook Partner Becky Schwartz represented Pfizer in the district court win, and successfully defended it on appeal with Of Counsel Molly Carella.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by plaintiffs in the Mirena® multidistrict litigation, effectively ending litigation in federal courts that involved more than 1,300 plaintiffs and lasted more than five years.

A Shook team has obtained their third win in a year for Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. LLC (Pharmacia), the maker of the corticosteroid drug Depo-Medrol® (methylprednisone acetate). Partners Jennise Stubbs, Paul La Scalaand Associate Sonila Themeli represent Pharmacia.

Shook teams have obtained back-to-back wins for Medtronic, manufacturer of surgical and medical devices, persuading federal courts in Michigan and Texas to dismiss product liability claims against the company.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the makers and marketers of the biologic drug Enbrel, finding that the plaintiffs’ injury claims were barred by the learned intermediary doctrine and that the direct “patient labeling requirement” in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medication guidelines did not preempt application of the doctrine. Shook Partner Dan Rogers, with co-counsel Hogan Lovells, represented pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Pfizer and Wyeth on appeal; Partner Bill Geraghty and Associate Iain Kennedy, with co-counsel Hogan Lovells, represented defendants in the district court.