First of all, in response to some comments on our last post, we wanted to close the loop on our dog show narrative. We liked the Wirehaired Fox Terrier, though we have no explanation for the inordinate number of times this breed has won Best in Show (twenty-two, we think we heard). Truth be told, once a dog has won over all of the other entries in its breed, and all of the other breed winners in its group, it is pretty hard for there to be a "wrong" choice. We will say that the Dachshund and the flashy Boxer bitch (featured, by the way, in Netflix's "7 Days Out" segment on Westminster) showed their hearts out, whereas the Wire seemed a little tired to us. But, unless there is a Standard Poodle (the breed of our heart) among the final seven, we are always happy for whichever gorgeous example of its breed takes the top honor.

In today's case, federal law takes the top honor. In the Eleventh Circuit's unpublished decision in Markland v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., — Fed. Appx. —. 2018 WL 6666385 (11th Cir. Dec. 19, 2018), the plaintiff's decedent died after being administered the defendant's pain medication for an allegedly off-label use. The plaintiff filed a wrongful death suit, asserting a single claim for "negligent marketing." The plaintiff alleged that the defendant engaged in "fraudulent" and "unlawful" marketing to convince doctors to prescribe the drug for off-label uses.

Explaining that, under the FDCA and Buckman, only the United States government may enforce the FDCA's provisions, the court emphasized that state law tort claims are preempted to the extent that they "seek to privately enforce a duty owed to the FDA." Markland, 2018 WL 6666385 at *2 (citation omitted).  While the plaintiff in Markland styled his claim as one for "negligent marketing," the court explained that that is not a recognized tort under Florida law. The plaintiff's complaint included the allegation that the defendants had "intentionally violated requirements imposed by the FDA" regarding the proper use of the drug.  Id.

The district court had held that the substance of the plaintiff's complaint was an allegation that the defendant had violated the FDCA, and the Eleventh Circuit agreed. The court held, "A critical premise of [the] complaint is that [the defendant's] promotion of off-label uses was improper, a proposition that can only be established by pointing to federal law."  Id.  Moreover the plaintiff did not "point[] to any traditional state-law duty owed by [the defendant] to [the plaintiff's decedent] that was breached by the company's marketing of [the drug] for off-label use."  The court concluded, "It is only because of the FDCA and FDA enforcement decisions that the promotion of off-label uses is prohibited.  Indeed, the very concept of a drug use being 'off-label' is derived from the FDCA and FDA policymaking decisions. . . . As with the Buckman plaintiffs, Markland seeks to enforce a duty that exists solely by virtue of the FDCA.  That kind of claim is preempted."  Id. (internal punctuation and citation to Buckman omitted).

Hornbook stuff, and we like it that way.

This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.