5th Cir. Panel Upholds Dismissal of Action Targeting DePuy Knee Device, Bone Cement

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appellate panel has upheld dismissal of an action alleging a DePuy knee replacement device and bone cement were defective, ruling that the plaintiffs’ redhibition claim fails because they failed to identify a specific defect in the products.

In an April 14 opinion, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that they were not required to identify a defect, adding that they needed to proffer evidence of a specific defect that is “a characteristic or component of the thing sold, rather than the entire thing itself.”

Linda Phillips, then 70, underwent …