Lee v. Richardson-Merrell, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 April 1992
• Docket Number: No. 91-5369,RICHARDSON-MERREL,INC,91-5369
• Citation: 961 F.2d 1577
• Parties: NOTICE: Sixth Circuit Rule 24(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Sixth Circuit. Ronnie LEE and Mackey Lee, Individually and as Parents and Natural Guardians of Michael Lee, a Minor, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v., A Delaware Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1577

961 F.2d 1577

NOTICE: Sixth Circuit Rule 24(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Sixth Circuit.

Ronnie LEE and Mackey Lee, Individually and as Parents and Natural Guardians of Michael Lee, a Minor, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. RICHARDSON-MERRELL, INC., A Delaware Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 91-5369.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

April 22, 1992.

Before BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR. and SUHRHEINRICH, Circuit Judges, and JOHN W. PECK, Senior Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal in a diversity action brought under Tennessee law by plaintiffs Ronnie and Mackey Lee on behalf of their minor child, Michael Lee, against defendant Richardson-Merrell, Inc. ("Merrell"). The Lees contend that Michael's birth defect, a limb reduction defect, was caused by his mother's ingestion during pregnancy of the Merrell product Bendectin. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Merrell. We affirm.

The plaintiffs allege that Mackey Lee ingested the anti-nausea drug Bendectin on or about September 21, 1973, when she was about seven weeks pregnant with Michael Lee. Michael was born on March 27, 1974, with various limb deformities characterized by shortness and webbing of his fingers and generalized smallness of his hands. The Lees assert that Mackey Lee ingested no other drugs during this period of time and that Michael's birth defects are not genetic. The plaintiffs submit that Mackey Lee's ingestion of Bendectin during the time that Michael's limbs were beginning to develop was the proximate cause of Michael's birth defects.

Merrell filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that all relevant epidemiological studies indicate that there is no statistically significant link between the use of Bendectin and the type of birth defects suffered by Michael Lee. Merrell asserted that these human epidemiological studies comprised the only competent evidence on the issue of whether Bendectin is a teratogen (a substance capable of causing birth defects).

The Lees submitted contrary scientific testimony which concluded that Bendectin was a teratogen based on (1) chemical structure analyses of Bendectin's antihistamine component, doxylamine succinate; (2) in vitro (test tube) studies; (3) in vivo (animal) studies; and (4) criticism and reanalysis of various epidemiological studies submitted by Merrell. The Lees argued that their scientists possessed the requisite "knowledge, skill, training, education, and experience" to qualify as experts and that their opinions were based on "the type of data generally and reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field."

After a thorough review of the proffered testimony, the district court determined that the Lees had not produced sufficient evidence of causation to preclude summary judgment. This appeal followed.

The Lees offered the opinion of seven experts to establish that Bendectin was a teratogen and that Mackey Lee's ingestion of Bendectin caused Michael Lee's birth defects. These scientists possess expertise in fields ranging from developmental biology and reproductive...