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03 December 2020 / Sarah Moore
Issue: 7913 / Categories: Features , Commercial
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Fairytale of New York: product liability law in the UK

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Now more than ever before, it is crucial that UK litigators find new ways to hold Big Pharma to account, argues Sarah Moore
  • A recent ‘forum non conveniens’ judgment in New York describes the UK as a hostile jurisdiction for claimants seeking to hold Big Pharma to account.
  • Many lawyers in the UK will recognise the accuracy of that description and the systemic issues that have prevented claimants being more successful against Big Pharma in the UK.
  • In the context of a global pandemic and an under-resourced NHS, UK litigators must find new ways to hold Big Pharma to account within the UK court system.

In the dog days of this year’s lockdown spring, when the ‘new normal’ still felt abnormal, a quiet revolution was beginning in the world of UK product liability. On 18 March 2020, a New York court ruled that a British woman, Mrs Fletcher, could litigate her product liability claim against New York-registered defendants, Estee Lauder Inc and Clinique Laboratories

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