David JESSEN, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
MENTOR CORPORATION, Defendant and Respondent.
Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division Seven.
*716 Gary Rand & Suzanne E. Rand-Lewis and Suzanne E. Rand-Lewis, Van Nuys, for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Kalland & Romag and James J. Romag for Defendant and Respondent.
*715 PERLUSS, P.J.
David Jessen appeals from the judgment entered after the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Mentor Corporation in this product liability action. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On October 10, 2003 Jessen had a cancerous testicle removed and replaced with a testicular prosthesis, a Class III medical device, designed, manufactured, labeled and sold by Mentor as the Mentor Saline-Filled Testicular Prosthesis. The prosthesis, which had been shipped unfilled, was not filled with saline solution prior to implantation as directed in the enclosed instructions. The prosthesis became deformed, causing Jessen pain, and ultimately had to be replaced.
*717 On October 15, 2004 Jessen filed a form complaint against Mentor alleging causes of action for strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty.[1] The essence of Jessen's claims is that Mentor failed to include a warning on the outer packaging of the prosthesis that it must be filled prior to implantation.[2] On June 2, 2006 the trial court granted Mentor's motion for summary judgment on the ground Jessen's state law claims were preempted by federal law.[3]
CONTENTIONS
Jessen contends there is a triable issue of fact whether the testicular prosthesis is a Class III medical device subject to federal preemption and, even if it is, his claims are not preempted.
DISCUSSION
1. Standard of Review
We review the trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo and decide independently whether the parties have met their respective burdens and whether facts not subject to triable dispute warrant judgment for the moving party as a matter of law. (Intel Corp. v. Hamidi (2003)
When a defendant moves for summary judgment on the ground there is an affirmative defense to the action, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show there is one or more triable issues of material fact regarding the defense after the defendant meets the burden of establishing all the elements of the affirmative defense. (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subds. (o)(2) & (p)(2); Mirzada v. Department of Transportation (2003)
On review of an order granting summary judgment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the opposing party, liberally construing the opposing party's evidence and strictly scrutinizing the moving party's. (O'Riordan v. Federal Kemper Life Assurance (2005)
2. Law Governing Federal Preemption of State Law Claims Involving Medical Devices
The Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (21 U.S.C. § 360c et seq.) (MDA) to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) enacted "`to provide for the safety and effectiveness of medical devices intended for human use'" (Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr (1996)
"Before a new Class III device may be introduced to the market, the manufacturer must provide the [Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ] with a `reasonable assurance' that the device is both safe and effective. See 21 U.S.C. § 360e(d)(2). Despite its relatively innocuous phrasing, the process of establishing this `reasonable assurance,' which is known as the `premarket approval,' or `PMA' process, is a rigorous one. Manufacturers must submit detailed information regarding the safety and efficacy of their devices, which the *719 FDA then reviews, spending an average of 1,200 hours on each submission." (Medtronic, supra,
Once a product has received premarket approval, it may be marketed (Scott, supra,
The MDA includes an express preemption provision,[5] which "prohibits states from imposing `any requirement ... which is different from, or in addition to,' federal requirements relating to the safety or effectiveness of medical devices intended for human use. (21 U.S.C. § 360k)"[6] (Evraets v. Intermedics Intraocular, Inc. (1994)
A majority of California and federal courts have concluded all state common law claims relating to the safety or effectiveness of a device, other than those based on a violation of FDA requirements, are preempted.[8] (See, e.g., Blanco v. Baxter Healthcare Corp. (2008)
Notwithstanding the weight of authority, Jessen contends this court should follow Armstrong, supra,
3. The Trial Court Properly Granted Summary Judgment in Favor of Mentor
a. Jessen's common-law claims are subject to federal preemption
Recognizing that neither the United States nor the California Supreme Court has given a definitive answer to the question raised by this case,[10] we conclude our Third District colleagues in Steele, supra, *722
*723 b. The testicular prosthesis is a Class III medical device
As a threshold matter Jessen contends Mentor failed to establish the testicular prosthesis is a Class III medical device because it erroneously cited 21 Code of Federal Regulations part 878.3530(a), applicable to silicone inflatable breast prostheses, in its moving papersa mistake also made in a supporting declaration by Clarke Scherff, a Mentor vice president responsible for the management of new product development through the manufacturing process, including compliance with FDA regulations.[12] Mentor and Scherff's failure to properly cite 21 Code of Federal Regulations part 876.3750, which states "solid or gel-filled silicone rubber prostheses] that [are] implanted surgically to resemble a testicle" are Class III medical devices, does not create a triable issue of fact whether the Mentor Saline-Filled Testicular Prosthesis at issue in this case is in fact a Class III device.[13] Scherff set forth sufficient facts in his declaration, independent of the erroneous legal citation, describing the PMA process and establishing the testicular prosthesis is a Class III medical device: It could not be sold to the general public without premarket approval; on January 22, 2002 Mentor submitted a PMA application; and on July 19, 2002, after extensive review by the FDA, the prosthesis received approval and could thus be sold, but only in accordance with the design, manufacture and labeling specifications approved by the FDA. A declaration was submitted by Jeanne Wyatt, a former full-time employee retained by Mentor as a consultant to provide assistance in, among other things, the PMA process, stating essentially the same thing. (Cf. Goldsmith v. Mentor Corp., supra,
In the trial court Jessen also attempted to dispute the testicular prosthesis qualifies as a Class III medical device by noting Mentor had filed a supplement to its PMA, approved on July 28, 2004, to add a warning to the outer packaging that it should be filled with saline prior to implantation. Use of the supplement process, in fact, confirms the testicular prosthesis is a Class III medical device. Mentor would not have needed a premarket approval supplement unless it had previously received FDA authorization through the PMA process applicable to Class III medical devices. Indeed, Jessen himself conceded it is such a device, stating in his opposition brief to Mentor's motion for summary judgment, "Class III devices, of which Mentor's testicular implant is one, are devices that `present a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury.'" (Underlining in the original.)
c. There is no triable issue of fact whether the prosthesis complied with FDA labeling requirements imposed through the PMA process
To establish preemption, Mentor was required "to prove, by way of its statement of undisputed facts, that [the testicular implant] was designed, manufactured, and labeled according to the specifications approved by the FDA." (Steele, supra,
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed. Mentor Corporation is to recover its costs on appeal.
We concur: WOODS and ZELON, JJ.
NOTES
Notes
[1] Jessen and his wife, who was a plaintiff in the action as well, also alleged claims for negligence and loss of consortium against unnamed Doe defendants. Those claims are not at issue in this appeal, and we use "Jessen" in the singular to refer solely to David Jessen.
[2] According to Jessen, there is no significant difference in appearance or weight between an unfilled and filled implant, especially in the small size Jessen received.
[3] Mentor pleaded as an affirmative defense, "Recovery herein is barred, in whole or in part, based upon the doctrine of federal preemption and/or pre-emption by the Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act." Mentor was not, as Jessen contends (admittedly without authority), required to plead a specific code section to raise preemption as a defense to Jessen's claims. (See Hata v. Los Angeles County Harbor/UCLA Medical Center (1995)
[4] Class I devices, which pose little or no public health threat, include tongue depressors (21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(1)(A); 21 C.F.R. § 860.3(c)(1)); an example of a Class II device, which involves a higher degree of risk, is an oxygen mask. Unlike Class III devices, Class II devices can be marketed without advance approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but nonetheless must comply with performance regulations known as "special controls." (21 U.S.C. § 360c(a)(1)(B); 21 C.F.R. § 860.3(c)(2).)
[5] The United States Supreme Court has traditionally recognized three varieties of state law preemption by federal enactments pursuant to the supremacy clause (U.S. Const., art. VI, cl.2):(1) express preemption, (2) implied preemption and (3) conflict preemption. (English v. General Electric Co. (1990)
[6] Title 21 United States Code section 360k(a) states, "[N]o State or political subdivision of a State may establish or continue in effect with respect to a device intended for human use any requirement[¶] (1) which is different from, or in addition to, any requirement applicable under this Act [21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq.] to the device, and [¶] (2) which relates to the safety or effectiveness of the device or to any other matter included in a requirement applicable to the device under this Act."
[7] In Medtronic, supra,
[8] Preemption does not apply to a state tort claim based on a violation of FDA requirements because the state claim would not be seeking to impose a device-specific requirement not already imposed by the FDA. (21 C.F.R. § 808.1(d)(2) ["State or local requirements that are equal to, or substantially identical to, requirements imposed by or under the act" are not preempted]; Medtronic, supra,
[9] The cases summarized in In re Sulzer Hip Prosthesis and Knee Prosthesis, supra, 455 F.Supp.2d at pages 717 to 720 are Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., supra,
[10] Contrary to Jessen's contention, we are not bound by the contrary decision by Division One of this court in Armstrong, supra,
[11] Jessen incorrectly asserts Mentor's motion for summary judgment and separate statement of undisputed facts failed to address the breach of warranty claim: The moving papers clearly requested summary judgment "as to all causes of action based upon federal preemption." Also without merit is Jessen's argument that, even if federal preemption applies to his negligence and strict liability claims, it does not bar his breach of warranty claim because the exception to preemption in 21 C.F.R. § 808.1(d)(1) provides "the Uniform Commercial Code (warranty of fitness)" as an example of "[s]tate or local requirements of general applicability where the purpose of the requirement relates ... to other products in addition to devices." Whatever the reach of this exception to the general rule of preemption, implied warranty claims premised on inadequate warnings are preempted by the MDA. (See Scott, supra, 38 Cal.App.4th at pp. 323-324,
[12] In a second declaration filed in reply to Jessen's opposition, Scherff explained the erroneous citation was a scrivener's error.
[13] Jessen does not contend the fact the Mentor testicular prosthesis was to be filled with saline placed it outside the category of Class III medical devices.
[14] Jessen contends Scherff's and Wyatt's declarations were not credible and otherwise objectionable, and thus the trial court impermissibly relied on them. The trial court, however, overruled Jessen's evidentiary objections, and Jessen on appeal has failed to properly "identify the court's evidentiary rulings as a distinct assignment of error" and to carry his burden on appeal to demonstrate the trial court's error. (Roe v. McDonald's Corp. (2005)
[15] The declaration of Jessen's medical expert, Dr. Leslie Rand-Luby, was struck in its entirety as were significant portions of the declaration of Jessen's attorney, Suzanne E. Rand-Lewis, which the court characterized as "an end run around the 20-page limit [for opposition briefs]."
