Researching Your Case: When Hard Work Pays Off (For the Other Side)

During the course of discovery in product liability matters, a key liability theme is often whether the defendant company complied with its regulatory obligations in connection with the product at issue. For example, in product liability litigation concerning chemical compounds, the focus might be on whether the company properly registered the compound with the EPA or with state environmental agencies. Likewise, in a pharmaceutical or medical device product liability case, plaintiffs will often focus on whether the product complied with FDA regulatory requirements. Plaintiffs' approach to such liability issues will often result in depositions that focus on whether, how, and when the defendant company informed the appropriate regulatory agencies of any risks potentially associated with use of the product at issue. Did the company submit the requisite scientific data; did it properly report known adverse events associated with the product at issue, and did it seek appropriate approval from the regulatory agency regarding the nature of its warnings to users and consumers? To that end, plaintiffs will often notice depositions of fact witnesses whom they think can provide testimony on the company's regulatory compliance or they may seek depositions pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(B)(6) of witnesses "with knowledge" of the company's regulatory compliance.