SCOTUS Hears Arguments in Federal Preemption Case
The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments yesterday in Wyeth v. Levine, No. 06-1249, which again presents the issue of federal preemption, this time in the context of state law claims resulting from allegedly defective pharmaceutical packaging.
Wyeth has generated an enormous amount of discussion and analysis. Here is the transcript of the argument in Wyeth, and the two other cases argued yesterday. For background, here are SCOTUSBLOG's post from yesterday, which had previewed the argument, and The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog's analysis of the argument. News coverage of the case today includes Jess Bravin's article in The Wall Street Journal and David G. Savage's article in the Los Angeles Times.
Kimberly A. Krawolec, who blogs at The UCL Practitioner, posted today about the case. And The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog questions how the outcome of the presidential election might affect the Court's decision.
The Supreme Court will decide Wyeth against the backdrop of its decision earlier this year in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 128 S.Ct. 999, 169 L.Ed.2d 892 (2008), in which the Court held that state common-law claims challenging the safety or effectiveness of a medical device marketed in a form that received premarket approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration were barred by the applicable federal law’s preemption clause.
