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Sweet Home No More, Innovator Liability Leaves Alabama
Law360, New York (May 18, 2015, 12:47 PM ET) --
On May 1, 2015, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed into law a bill
to “provide that a manufacturer is not liable ... for damages resulting
from a product it did not design, manufacture, sell, or lease.”
Sponsored by state Sen. Cam Ward, the bill supersedes the Alabama
Supreme Court's controversial holding in Wyeth Inc. v. Weeks, 159
So.3d 649 (2014).[1]
Backdrop of Weeks
The Weeks case was originally decided by the Alabama Supreme
Court in January 2013, in response to a certified question from a
federal district court. Danny and Vicki Weeks had filed suit in federal
district court, alleging injury from long-term use of metoclopramide,
the generic form of Reglan. In addition to suing two brand-name
manufacturers, the Weeks sued two brand-name manufacturers
even though they never alleged Danny Weeks ingested the brand-
name drug. Instead, they sued on a theory that the brand-name
manufacturers had a duty to warn all users of the drug based on
federal requirements that all generic labels be identical to the brand-
name label. This theory is founded on the premise that the label designed by the brand-name
manufacturer is the one health care practitioners would rely on in prescribing the drug, regardless of
whether the brand-name or generic was prescribed.
To resolve this question in light of conflicting precedent, the district court certified the question to the
Supreme Court of Alabama:
Under Alabama law, may a drug company be held liable for fraud or misrepresentation (by
misstatement or omission), based on statements it made in connection with the manufacture or
distribution of a brand-name drug, by a plaintiff claiming physical injury from a generic drug
manufactured and distributed by a different company?
The Alabama Supreme Court answered in the affirmative, joining a small group of courts to do so.
Wyeth Inc. v. Weeks, No. 1101397 (Ala. Jan. 11, 2013), reargument granted (June 13, 2013), opinion
James W. Huston
