Trial Magazine
Justice in Motion
CALG Selects Winner of Annual Law Student Writing Competition
March 2018Connor Karen, a 2017 UC Davis School of Law graduate, won the second annual law student writing competition held by AAJ’s Class Action Litigation Group (CALG). The CALG writing competition challenges law students across the country to write about any topic related to class action jurisprudence at either the state or federal level.
“I was inspired to study class actions because I think no other legal avenue provides the same type of opportunity for justice,” said Karen. Karen’s article analyzes two Ninth Circuit medical device cases—Stengel v. Medtronic, Inc. (704 F.3d 1224 (9th Cir. 2013)) and McClellan v. I-Flow Corp. (776 F.3d 1035 (9th Cir. 2015))—which both held, with McClellan focused on the validity of jury instructions, that the Medical Device Amendments (MDA) to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act do not preempt a plaintiff’s failure-to-warn claim for alleged violations of a state law duty that parallels the federal law requirement. But rather than focus on the preemption implications, Karen suggested that these decisions may open the door for plaintiffs injured by FDA-regulated devices to bring class actions based on violations of state common law theories of liability, such as negligence per se.
“The committee selected Karen’s well-written article because it presents a novel argument regarding a theory of class action relief,” said competition cofounder and New York City attorney James Bilsborrow. “Karen analyzes developments in Ninth Circuit case law and proposes a new model of consumer class action litigation seeking to hold drug and device manufacturers liable for failure to adhere to state law reporting requirements.” Karen’s article can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ycet9ak9.
The AAJ CALG allows members to connect with attorneys handling similar cases across the country. CALG provides a secure list server and members-only document library, as well as meetings and education programs throughout the year. For more information, email litgroups@justice.org or call (800) 424-2725 or (202) 965-3500, ext. 8700.
