Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses Despain In Wake of Reigel v. Medtronic
The Arkansas Supreme Court reversed itself in light of a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Despain v. Bradburn, No. 07-714. The Court held in an earlier decision that "that the Medical Device Amendment (MDA) to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act did not preempt a state-law tort claim filed against the manufacturer of a medical device."
Today, recognizing that the United States Supreme Court held "precisely the opposite" in its recent decision, Riegel v. Medtronic, the Court reversed itself on a petition for rehearing filed by Soundtec, one of the defendants in the case. Justice Glaze, who wrote the Court's original Despain opinion wrote today's decision.
