Printable FormatJudi Abbott Curry
Member
Ms. Curry is a member of the firm, co-leader of the Medical and Life Sciences Industry Team, practices in the Mass Torts and Industry-Wide Litigation Practice Group and serves on the Nanotechnology Industry Team and the e-info℠ Electronic Information Counseling and Management Team. Recognized inNew York Super Lawyers in the category of class action/mass torts, her practice concentrates in areas of mass tort and complex products liability litigation involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, implants, biologics, over-the-counter medications, solvents and other chemicals, mold, pesticides, cosmetics, food, commercial and consumer household goods.
Ms. Curry is a member of the litigation team serving as national counsel for several medical device companies involved in mass tort litigation arising out of the use of a pain pump to deliver medication to the shoulder following arthroscopic surgery. She was national coordinating counsel to four chemical suppliers in semi-conductor manufacturing chemical exposure litigation and served as regional counsel for Dow Corning in the silicone breast implant litigation responsible for managing the personal injury claims of over 1,000 plaintiffs and coordinating counsel for injectable silicone litigation pending nationwide. In her representation of leading hair dye and cosmetics manufacturers, Ms. Curry has successfully defended flagship products against claims of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), cancer, respiratory, and musculoskeletal diseases. In Coratti v. Wella Corporation, 56 A.D.3d 343, 867 N.Y.S.2d 421 (1st Dept. 2008), Ms. Curry achieved summary judgment on behalf of L’Oreal establishing that the scientific community has not generally accepted the theory that MCS can be caused by daily, occupational exposure to the chemicals contained in hair dyes.
Ms. Curry represents owners, contractors and material suppliers against claims of negligence, breach of contract and warranty and professional malpractice in multi-million dollar toxic mold and water intrusion construction defect matters alleging pecuniary losses including lost revenue and payments to tenants, and remediation, design and renovation costs in property damage and personal injury litigation.
In addition to her extensive experience defending over-the-counter and prescription drug, medical device, biologic, and implant products, Ms. Curry provides counseling advice to pharmaceutical, device and cosmetic companies concerning pre-litigation risk assessments; recalls and market withdrawals of FDA regulated products; company submissions to FDA including package inserts, patient package inserts, and other labeling, warnings and NDA filings; product brochures; direct-to-consumer advertising; website content; press materials and media kits; sales and training materials and programs; pharmacovigilance and the development and use of risk minimization action plans and RiskMAP.
Ms. Curry has represented clients against unconventional theories of liability and junk science in the context of industry-wide litigation, including:
- Firearms distributors sued by the NAACP for negligent marketing of handguns,
- Birth defect litigation alleging pre-conception and male-mediated chemical exposures,
- Gulf War I veterans and children alleging exposure to chemical weapons dispersed into the atmosphere when Iraqi ammunition dumps were destroyed.
Ms. Curry defends claims of birth defects, autoimmune disease, neurologic injuries, learning disabilities, cancer, severe burns and disfigurement, and multiple chemical sensitivities using epidemiology and expert disciplines of dysmorphology, teratology, toxicology, industrial hygiene, oncology and others. She utilizes cutting-edge litigation management technologies such as proprietary databases, document imaging and coding software and real-time transcription to manage complex litigation in an electronic environment.
Reported decisions of interest include:
- Krasnopolsky v. Warner-Lambert, Co., 799 F. Supp. 1342(United States District Court, Eastern District of New York 1992): pharmaceutical manufacturer discharged its duty to warn through Learned Intermediary;
- Warner v. American Fluoride, 204 A.D.2d 1, 616 N.Y.S.2d 534 (New York Appellate Division, Second Department 1994): FIFRA preemption of pesticide labeling claims and,
- Burger v. Union Carbide Corp., 304 A.D.2d 700 (New York Appellate Division, Second Department 2003): New York’s “toxic tort” statute of limitations.
Professional & Community Activities
Ms. Curry is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. She frequently lectures, chairs professional seminars and publishes articles on topics including federal preemption of labeling claims, Daubert issues, strategy in document-intensive mass tort litigation, and issues of law and science. Ms. Curry has made presentations on the following topics to various industry groups:The Impact of Nanotechnology on Human Health and the Environment, Consolidated and Bellwether Trials in Mass Tort Litigation, Toxic Torts 101: Introduction to Liability Theories and Defenses in Toxic Tort Litigation, Defending Tort Claims Against Drug Products and Medical Devices, and Navigating the FDA's Recent RiskMAP Guidance.
Ms. Curry has authored several Harris Beach Legal Alerts, including:
- “Federal Preemption: Supreme Court Finds Claims for Injuries from Generic Pharmaceuticals Barred by FDA Rules” August, 2011.
- “Supreme Court of the United States Applies Express Preemption to Medical Device Common Law Tort Claim,” March 2008.
- “Does Supreme Court’s Ruling in Favor of Big Tobacco Mean an End to Large-Dollar Jury Awards?”, March 2007.
- “Parker v. Mobil: New York High Court Articulates Standard for Causation in Low Dose Benzene Exposure Toxic Tort Action,” December 2006.
- “New York County Supreme Court Finds Scientific Evidence Related to Mold and Human Illness Does Not Meet the Frye General Acceptance Standard,” October 2006.
- “FDA Issues New Drug Labeling Rules Supporting Preemption of Warning Claims,” March 2006.
- “New York Appellate Court Bars Indemnity Claims by a Condominium Owner Where the Owner May Have Some Negligence in Not Remediating a Mold Condition,” February 2006.
- “New York Appellate Court Prevents Mass Tort Plaintiffs from Invoking Toxic Tort Statute of Limitations Tolling Provision Where Expert Affidavit Lacks Specificity,” November 2005.
She has also published several articles, including:
- “Weighing the Impact of Statistically Insignificant Information Against a Shareholder’s ‘Right to Know’ in Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., et al. v. Siracusano, et al.,” DRI The Voice, November, 2011.
- “Purchasing Company Assets Without Taking On Liabilities,”New York Law Journal, September 9, 2010.
- “The Federal Preemption Debate in Pharmaceutical Labeling Products Liability Actions,” 43 Tort Trial & Ins. Pract. L.J. 35 (2008).
- “Deference to the FDA’s Preamble,” 26(3) LJN’s Product Liability Law & Strategy (2007).
- "Navigating the FDA's Recent RiskMAP Guidance," 24(7) LJN’s Product Liability Law & Strategy (2006).
- "2004 Report on the Health Consequences of Smoking: Breathing Life into an Old Defense," DRI's For The Defense, October 2005.
- "Case Management Orders in Mass Tort Litigation" at http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/Legal_Articles (September 2005) by Judi Abbott Curry (revision of "Mass Tort Litigation: Using Case Management Orders”), For The Defense (DRI) (August 1999).
Recognized as a New York State Super Lawyer
