J&J Unit Mentor Worldwide Defeats Appeal in Breast Implant Suit

Johnson & Johnson’s unit Mentor Worldwide LLC defeated an appeal in a lawsuit by two women who link its MemoryGel silicone breast implants to a slew of health problems, as the Tenth Circuit affirmed Tuesday that federal law blocks some claims and the rest weren’t adequately pleaded.

Federal medical device law preempts most claims against makers of medical devices, like the MemoryGel implants, that went through the Food and Drug Administration’s premarket approval process.

Claims based on state-law duties that “parallel” federal obligations can survive preemption, but successful pleading “requires navigating a legal quagmire that has consumed unwary legal professionals ...