Lawsuit Targeting Torax's GERD Device Survives Preemption Analysis

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A Missouri federal magistrate judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit targeting Torax Medical Inc.’s LINX gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) device, ruling that the plaintiff’s allegations that the device was not manufactured in conformity with federal premarket approval specifications escape preemption.

On July 7, Magistrate Judge Abbie Crites-Leoni of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri explained that “the plaintiff was basing claims on allegations that [Torax] failed to meet the FDA’s requirements and not anything else, and that a jury could find that [Torax] breached the duty of care it owed by …