Perez v. Wyeth Laboratories Inc.

With disarming understatement, the majority opinion raises profound questions about the purpose of judicial opinions, the role of courts, and the separation of powers. In raising those questions, the majority rejects the Legislature’s endorsement of the learned intermediary doctrine as set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:58C-4. The majority opinion sustains itself only by ignoring the plain language of an unambiguous statute, the New Jersey Products Liability Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:58C-1 to -7 (NJPLA), and by substituting its own policy preference for that of the Legislature. Contrary to the majority opinion,…