Court Opinion

ID: 9520215
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:33:37.264686+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:45:47.689720
License: Public Domain

MARTIN, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
While conceding that most of their arguments on appeal were disposed of by Mutual Pharm. Co., Inc. v. Bartlett, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2466, 186 L.Ed.2d 607 (2013), and Guarino v. Wyeth LLC, et al., 719 F.3d 1245 (11th Cir.2013), the Metzes *894asserted at oral argument that their negligent design claim against Wyeth and Schwarz survived. I write separately only to elaborate on the majority’s conclusion that Guarino also precludes that claim.
The holding in Guarino is clear: “Florida law does not recognize a claim against the brand manufacturer of a prescription drug when the plaintiff is known to have consumed only the generic form.” 719 F.3d at 1253. Because Mrs. Metz only consumed the generic form of metoelopram-ide, Guarino’s analysis bars any claims, including a negligent design claim, against Wyeth and Schwarz, the brand name manufacturers.
Also, contrary to the Metzes’ argument, Vincent v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 944 So.2d 1083 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006), does not alter our analysis. In that case, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal held that “a designer who defectively designs a product should not be shielded from liability for negligence because of the mere fact that there was an intervening manufacturer or distributor.” Id. at 1086. However, unlike Vincent, where the designer used a separate firm to manufacture its product and profited from that product’s sale, here Wyeth did not use Actavis to manufacture its drug and profit from Mrs. Metz’s purchase of the Actavis product. The relationships between the designer and the manufacturer and purchaser in Vincent are not analogous to the relationships between Wyeth and Actavis or Wyeth and Mrs. Metz. Tellingly, a number of the Florida cases on which Guarino relied for its holding were issued after Vincent. Guarino, 719 F.3d at 1250-52; see also, e.g., Howe v. Wyeth Inc., No. 8:09-CV-610-T-17AEP, 2010 WL 1708857, at *3 (M.D.Fla. April 26, 2010).