Medtronic Cannot ‘Claw Back’ FDA Document in Stapler Case, Judge Rules

PHOENIX — Defendants in an action targeting Covidien Holding Inc.’s single-use surgical stapler cannot claw back an FDA document produced during discovery because it was not prepared in anticipation of litigation and therefore not subject to work-product privilege, an Arizona federal judge has ruled.

On Jan. 23, Magistrate Judge Kimberly Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas rejected defendants’ argument that the document was “inadvertently produced based on counsel’s fact gathering process during the course of discovery.”

Janet Adams and her husband sued Covidien and its parent company Medtronic, alleging that Janet was injured …