A Medical Device Daily

Medtronic ’s (Minneapolis) motion for summary judgment on grounds of federal preemption in the Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) lawsuits pending in the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) in Minneapolis was denied. Medtronic believes it has meritorious defenses to the litigation and intends to seek court approval to appeal the order, it said.

Medtronic’s motion was filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota before Judge James Rosenbaum, the federal judge overseeing the Medtronic MDL. The ruling was the first of a series of procedural motions that the company has filed in this litigation.

In its motion, Medtronic said that the system Congress established to regulate vital medical devices allows companies to produce life-saving innovations under an umbrella of federal oversight, governed by the FDA. The FDA has said it is critical that its regulations pre-empt or supersede state law claims.

To date, there has been no confirmed serious injury or death due to the mechanism that was the subject of Medtronic’s February 2005 field action, the company said. Medtronic continues to test devices and report the findings to physicians and patients. It routinely provides updates on all of its pacemakers and ICDs via its Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) Product Performance Report, which is available online at www.medtronic.com.