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The federal preemption of state tort law is an issue in several cases on the Supreme Court’s docket, including February 25 oral arguments in Warner-Lambert v. Kent. The Supreme Court also recently agreed to hear early next term appeals in the cases of Wyeth v. Levine, in which the federal government and pharmaceutical manufacturers argue that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of prescription drug labeling preempts state “failure-to-warn” litigation, and in Altria v. Good, in which tobacco manufacturers argue that Federal Trade Commission labeling requirements preempt the multibillion-dollar consumer fraud litigation over light cigarettes. Earlier in the term, in Riegel v. Medtronic, the Court heard arguments about whether federal regulations preempt product liability claims over preapproved medical devices.

How will the Supreme Court resolve these complicated questions? What is the appropriate relationship between federal regulation and state tort law? What are the pros and cons of preemption, and what impact will these cases have on product liability litigation and product safety? At this event, former FDA chief counsel Daniel Troy, New York University law professor Catherine Sharkey, and Brian Wolfman of Public Citizen  will join AEI’s Michael S. Greve to discuss these questions and more. AEI’s Theodore H. Frank will moderate.

This event is cosponsored by the AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest and the Federalist Society.

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