Kanter

Plaintiffs Susan Kanter and Sharlon Plunk sued defendants Warner-Lambert Company, Pfizer Inc., and Care Technologies, Inc., the manufacturers of NIX, RID, and CLEAR, over-the-counter drugs for the treatment of head lice. Framed as a class action, the complaint alleged that the product labels contain false and misleading statements about the effectiveness of the drugs. The complaint contained several state law claims, including breach of express warranty and false advertising, and a claim for breach of written warranty under the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Plaintiffs sought refunds of the purchase price of the drugs, an order banning their sale in their current formulations or requiring their relabeling, and other related relief.

The question in this appeal is not whether the allegations of plaintiffs’ complaint have merit, but whether their claims are preempted by federal law. The trial court granted summary judgment for defendants on the ground that the claims were expressly preempted by title 21 of the United States Code section 379r(a), a provision of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) ( Pub.L. No. 105-115 (Nov. 21, 1997) 111…