Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

The First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Vitamin Shoppe and ruling that the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) preempted Plaintiffs' state law tort claims, holding that Plaintiffs' state law claims were expressly preempted by the FDCA.Plaintiffs purchased three dietary supplements containing glutamine as a main ingredient. Plaintiffs brought this action against the products' manufacturers claiming that the labels on the supplements contained statements that were false and misleading under state law. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Vitamin Shoppe, holding that the FDCA preempted Plaintiffs' state law claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the statements on Vitamin Shoppe's labels were structure/function claims under 343(r)(6), and Vitamin Shoppe complied with the FDCA's requirements to make such claims; and (2) therefore, Plaintiffs' state law claims challenging the statements about glutamine were expressly preempted by the FDCA. View "Ferrari v. Vitamin Shoppe Industries LLC" on Justia Law

In this medical malpractice action brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671-2680, the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of the government, holding that any error committed by the district court was harmless.Plaintiff, as the administrator of her father's estate, brought this action under the FTCA alleging that a suture used by medical providers on her father migrated from its intended location, leading to complications that ultimately caused her father's death. The district court found against Plaintiff on her claims. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that the district court erred by failing to strike expert witness testimony that allegedly fell outside the scope of the expert's pretrial disclosures. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that any ostensible error in the admission of the expert testimony did not "substantially sway" the judgment. View "Duval v. U.S. Dep't of Veterans Affairs" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the district court's default judgment in a tort action brought against the owner of a boat that Plaintiff was working on at the time of his injury, holding that the district court did not err in granting default judgment and denying Appellant's request for leave to file a late claim under Supplemental Rule F of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.Appellant, a commercial fisherman, filed a complaint in a Massachusetts state court alleging that he was injured while working on a vessel owned by G&J Fisheries, Inc. and that G&J was liable for unseaworthiness and negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. 30104. G&J filed a complaint in the federal district court seeking exoneration from liability under 46 U.S.C. 30501-12 and Supplemental Rule F. The district court enjoined all other lawsuits against G&J pursuant to Supplemental Rule F(3) and then granted default judgment for G&J on the grounds that Appellant failed to file a claim as required under the rule. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in granting default judgment and in denying Appellant's request to file a late claim under Supplemental Rule F(4). View "G&J Fisheries, Inc. v. Costa" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for false arrest, false imprisonment, and violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (MCRA), holding that the district court incorrectly determined that 8 U.S.C. 1252(g) deprived it of jurisdiction.In his complaint, Plaintiff argued that, for the purpose of his repatriation to Cambodia, he was improperly arrested and detained by federal immigration officers. At issue was whether section 1252(g)'s bar on judicial review of claims "arising from" the government's decision to "execute removal orders" precludes jurisdiction over challenges to the legality of the detention at issue in this case. The district court granted the government's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The First Circuit reversed, holding that section 1252(g) did not bar judicial review of Plaintiff's challenge to the lawfulness of his detention. View "Kong v. United States" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court entering a partial judgment dismissing Plaintiffs' claims against Defendants, holding that Plaintiffs were not entitled to relief on their claims of error.Nathalie Nicole-Rivera-Aponte (Rivera) was raped while she was a student at Ponce Paramedical College in Ponce, Puerto Rico by the driver of the bus operated by Gomez Bus Line, Inc., (GBL), a company who contracted with the College to provide transportation services to students. Plaintiffs, Rivera and her mother, sued GBL and the College (together, Defendants), alleging negligence. The district court granted Defendants' motions for summary judgment and dismissed the claims against them. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Plaintiffs' claims of error were unavailing. View "Rivera-Aponte v. Gomez Bus Line, Inc." on Justia Law

In this dispute over indemnification arising from an underlying negligence case, the First Circuit vacated the decision of the district court as to a contractual crossclaim for indemnification, holding that the district court erred.John Caruso was staying at the Omni Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island when he tripped and fell on a curb separating the hotel's valet from its main entrance. Caruso brought this complaint against the both the hotel's valet operator and its owner, claiming that Defendants negligently maintained the premises and had a duty to warn him of an unreasonably safe condition, causing his injuries. The hotel owner filed crossclaims against the valet in the action, seeking indemnification for its litigation costs. As to the indemnification crossclaims the district court held that Omni was not entitled to relief. The First Circuit vacated the judgment for the valet and directed the district court on remand to enter judgment for the hotel owner, holding that the district court's rejection to the hotel owner's right to contractual indemnification was premised on an incorrect view of both Rhode Island law and the language of the parties' contractual agreement. View "Omni Hotels Management Corp. v. Ultimate Parking, LLC" on Justia Law

In this appeal arising out of a multidistrict litigation concerning the pharmaceutical drug ondansetron hydrochloride, better known as Zofran, the First Circuit affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.Various plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits alleging that the use of Zofran during pregnancy caused birth defects and that GSK engaged in an intentionally misleading plan to market Zofran for pregnancy in violation of state law. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of GSK, holding that federal law preempted Plaintiffs' state law claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that federal law preempted Plaintiffs' state law claims that GSK should have warned both prescribing doctors and pregnant people that "animal studies showed harm to the fetus when Zofran was ingested during pregnancy." View "Perham v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC" on Justia Law

The First Circuit vacated the judgment of the district court substituting the United States as a defendant in the place of the physician that Plaintiff originally sued for wrongful death and vacated the district court's subsequent grant of the Government's motion to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim, holding that gaps in the evidentiary record must be filled by further proceedings in the district court.Plaintiff brought a wrongful death action in state court alleging medical malpractice against a physician who worked for a federally-funded health center. Plaintiff's decedent, the patient, was unaffiliated with the health center. When the United States removed the action to federal court it sought to substitute itself for the physician as a defendant. The district court invoked the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988 (the Westfall Act), 28 U.S.C. 2679, made the substitution, and dismissed the complaint. The First Circuit vacated the judgment below, holding that because the district court repudiated its earlier reliance on the Waterfall Act, new issues that have emerged must now be resolved. View "O'Brien v. United States" on Justia Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss this action for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, holding that Plaintiffs did not plausibly allege defamation under principles of the First Amendment and that there was otherwise no error.Dana Cheng and Epoch Group sued Dan Neumann and Maine People's Alliance in Maine federal court alleging defamation based on statements in an article written by Neumann and published by Maine People's Alliance entitled "Maine GOP hosts speaker present at Jan. 6 Capitol assault." The district court granted Defendants' motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) and New York's anti-SLAPP statute. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the challenged statements were non-actionable opinions and that Plaintiffs' remaining challenges were waived. View "Cheng v. Neumann" on Justia Law

The First Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' denial of their pre-discovery motions for summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity, holding that Appellants were entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law.Appellants - two members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force - shot and killed a suspected terrorist. Plaintiff, the representative of the decedent's estate, brought this action alleging that Appellants' actions violated the decedent's Fourth Amendment rights and asserting state law tort claims. The district court denied Appellants' motions for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity. The First Circuit reversed, holding that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity under each aspect of the "clearly established" prong of the defense. View "Estate of Rahim v. Doe 1" on Justia Law