Judi Abbott Curry is a partner of Harris Beach PLLC in the firm’s New York City office and serves as co-leader of the Medical and Life Sciences Industry Team. She represents manufacturers, distributors, contract manufacturing organizations (CMO), retailers, chemical, component and raw ingredient suppliers and company or independent sales representatives in the life science industry. Judi concentrates in areas of mass tort and complex product liability litigation involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, implants, compounded medicines, biologics, over-the-counter drugs, solvents and other chemicals, mold, pesticides, cosmetics, food, commercial and consumer household goods. She is recognized in New York Super Lawyers in the category of class action/mass torts.
Judi has a broad range of experience in representing the industry throughout a product’s life cycle, from clinical trials, pre market and launch risk assessment and batch manufacturing, through product liability matters involving labeling, packaging and distribution, including black box warnings, off-label use and state of the art label changes, post-recall events and commercial disputes where manufacturing, packaging or servicing results in financial loss, including expenses associated with a recall.
Judi has particular experience in the defense of pharmaceutical and medical device products impacting women’s health, including oral, patch and implantable contraceptives, breast implants, prenatal nutritional supplements and medical foods, hair dyes and bleaches, cosmetics, hand-held laser hair removal devices and other products. Judi is a member of the litigation team currently serving as national coordinating counsel for New England Compounding Pharmacy in the compounding pharmacy fungal contamination mass tort and the national counsel team 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, Judi has successfully defended flagship products against claims of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), cancer, respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases.
Additionally, Judi defends over-the-counter and prescription drug, medical device, biologic and implant products. She 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 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies.
Judi defends claims of birth defects, autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia, orthopedic and 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, rheumatology, neurology and others. She utilizes cutting-edge litigation management technologies such as proprietary databases, document processing, imaging and predictive coding software to manage complex litigation in an electronic environment.
Judi is a member of the Defense Research Institute, the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and is an Officer and Secretary of the New York State Bar Association’s Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Section. She is also certified in Legal Project Management, and frequently lectures, chairs professional seminars and publishes articles on topics including pre-litigation risk assessment, federal preemption of pharmaceutical labeling claims, defense of 501(k) medical devices, Daubert issues, strategy in document-intensive mass tort litigation, and other issues where law and science intersect.
Practice Areas:
Class Action/Mass Torts, Complex Product Liability, Defense of:
FDA Regulated Products:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Medical Devices
- Cosmetics
- Pharmaceuticals and Devices Impacting Women
- Implants
- Compounded Medicines
- Biologics
- Dietary Supplements
- Medical Foods
Non FDA Regulated Products:
- Over the Counter
- Consumer and Commercial Products
