OPINION
Plaintiffs Lala Smith, Alice Wilson, and Dennis Morris developed tardive dyskinesia as a result of their use of generic metoclopramide, a drug prescribed for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease. They filed individual actions against various manufacturers of generic metoclopramide, alleging that the defendants *422 failed to include adequate information on product labels concerning the risks of taking the drug long-term and seeking damages under Kentucky state law for failure to warn. They also named as parties Wyeth, Inc., and Schwarz Pharma, Inc., the manufacturers of the name-brand form of metoclopramide, sold as Reglan, alleging fraud and tortious misrepresentation. The district court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against the generic defendants on federal preemption grounds, finding a conflict between their tort claims and the federal regulation of generic drugs. The district court also dismissed the plaintiffs’ action against the name-brand defendants because the plaintiffs did not allege that they had ingested Reglan, a threshold requirement for a products-liability action under Kentucky law. We find no error with regard to either ruling and affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
All three plaintiffs were originally prescribed Reglan to treat gastroesophageal reflux. The active ingredient in Reglan is metoclopramide, which is also available in generic form. Reglan, the name-brand form of metoclopramide, was manufactured by defendant Wyeth from 1989 to 2001 and by defendant Schwarz from 2001 to 2005 (collectively, the name-brand defendants). Kentucky, where the plaintiffs reside, has a generic-substitution law requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions with a lower-priced, therapeutically-equivalent generic drug unless the doctor or the purchaser explicitly instructs otherwise. See Ky.Rev.Stat. § 217.822(1) (2010). As a result, the plaintiffs’ pharmacies filled their prescriptions for Reglan with generic metoclopramide 1 manufactured and distributed by defendants Pliva, Barr Pharmaceuticals, Actavis, Teva Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, and Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals (collectively, the generic defendants). As a result of their long-term consumption of metoclopramide, all three plaintiffs allegedly developed tar-dive dyskinesia, a severe neurological disorder that resembles Parkinson’s disease.
Plaintiffs Wilson and Morris filed suit against the generic and name-brand defendants in federal court in 2007. Plaintiff Smith initially sued the same defendants in Kentucky state court, and the defendants removed the case to the federal district court in which the other suits were pending. Against the generic defendants, the plaintiffs asserted state-law failure-to-warn claims; against the name-brand defendants, they asserted state-law fraud, fraudulent concealment, and negligent misrepresentation, alleging that Reglan’s label and corresponding entry in the Physician’s Desk Reference falsely and misleadingly represented the risks associated with long-term use of metoclopramide.
The district court initially issued orders granting summary judgment to the name-brand defendants, dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims, and holding that Kentucky law does not permit a cause of action for misrepresentation about a product against anyone other than the product’s manufacturer or distributor. Subsequently, the district court granted summary judgment to the generic defendants on federal preemption grounds. After denying motions for reconsideration, the district court issued orders dismissing all claims and entered final judgment in favor of the defendants. This appeal followed.
*423 DISCUSSION
Federal Preemption
On appeal, the plaintiffs contend that the district court erred in concluding that their state-law failure-to-warn claims against the generic defendants were preempted by federal law. Their arguments must fail, however, given the recent decision of the Supreme Court in
PLIVA Inc. v. Mensing,
— U.S.-,
Kentucky Products Liability Law
On appeal, the plaintiffs also argue that the district court erred in granting the name-brand defendants’ motion for summary judgment on their state-law claims. The district court first concluded that plaintiffs’ tort claims were subject to Kentucky’s Products Liability Act, Ky.Rev. Stat. §§ 411.300-411.350 (2010). The court then held that the claims could not succeed because the plaintiffs alleged that generic metoclopramide, not the defendants’ name-brand product Reglan, caused their injuries. As a result, the action against the name-brand defendants was dismissed.
We review the district court’s dismissal
de novo,
construing the complaint in the plaintiffs’ favor and taking all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true.
See Beaudry v. TeleCheck Servs., Inc.,
A threshold requirement of any products-liability claim is that the plaintiff assert that the defendant’s product caused the plaintiffs injury.
See Holbrook v. Rose,
The plaintiffs’ argument — that the name-brand defendants’ liability stems from the fact that the regulatory structure governing name-brand and generic drugs makes it foreseeable that patients and their physicians will rely on the name-
*424
brand labels to use and prescribe generic drugs — has been rejected by all but one of the courts that have considered it. The leading case is
Foster v. American Home Products Corp.,
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set out above, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
Notes
. Although Smith and Wilson claim to have consumed only generic metoclopramide, plaintiff Morris does assert that he consumed some Reglan manufactured by Wyeth (but not Schwarz), a fact that Wyeth did not contest before the district court. Morris, however, has voluntarily dismissed his claims against Wyeth.