Rose

Plaintiff Manny Rose appeals the dismissal of class-action allegations in his suit for damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by the defective manufacture of a cardiac pacemaker.

Rose’s first amended complaint makes the following allegations: In 1975 his physician surgically implanted in Rose a cardiac pacemaker manufactured by defendant Medtronics, Inc. In October 1977 Medtronics notified physicians throughout the country that certain of its pacemakers, whose specific models and serial numbers were enumerated, contained a potential defect in one of its components. In turn, Rose’s physician notified him that his pacemaker was one of the potentially defective models and should be replaced. In November 1977 Rose had his pacemaker surgically replaced.

In April 1978 Rose instituted the action at bench on behalf of himself and a class of approximately 4,000 others for injuries caused and damages suffered as a result of Medtronics’ “medical negligence.” The class was allegedly composed of those individuals who were “required to undergo a second operation for the implantation of a cardiac pacemaker, due to the fact that a previously inserted cardiac pacemaker…