“No evidence” reversal in high-profile products case

While outside the usual coverage of this blog, the high-profile products liability case of Johnson & Johnson v. Batiste provides a powerful illustration of “no evidence” review. The plaintiff alleged personal injuries from defective vaginal mesh, the jury found for her, and the Dallas Court reversed:

“It is undisputed the implantation of a [product] for the treatment of [urinary incontinence] can cause a number of complications, including erosion of the mesh into the vagina and urethral, pelvic, and groin pain. It is also undisputed that Batiste suffered from these complications. However, ‘[t]he law of products liability does not guarantee that a product will be risk free.’  Rather, to recover on her product liability claim based on an alleged design defect in the [product], Batiste was required to prove a specific defect in the [product], and not simply the device itself, was the producing cause of her injuries. . . . Although Batiste alleged the [product] was defective based on its use of mechanically cut, heavyweight, small-pore mesh that was subject to degradation and particle loss, she failed to produce more than a scintilla of evidence that any of these alleged defects caused her injuries. Accordingly, the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury’s verdict.”

No. 05-14-00864-CV (Nov. 5, 2015, mem. op.)  (citations omitted).  Coverage of the case has recently appeared in the Dallas Observer and Dallas Morning News.