Becton Dickinson Gets Early Win on Catheter Competition Claims

Medline Industries Inc. must face unfair competition litigation over its alleged scheme to gain a leg up in the market for Foley catheters by slinging mud at a rival, Beckton Dickinson & Co. unit C.R. Bard Inc., a federal judge in Newark, N.J., ruled.

Judge John Michael Vazquez let claims of trade libel, unfair competition, and breach of contract move forward in a ruling unsealed Thursday, saying it’s plausible Medline poached customers through a “disinformation campaign” involving false disparagement of C.R. Bard’s catheters.

Vazquez, writing for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, cited allegations of a ...