Moldoveanu

Susanna practices in the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group and focuses her practice on product liability law, drug and medical devices, and appellate matters.  She has served as a lead motion coordinator in two of the largest MDLs in history, overseeing the preparation of thousands of briefs within a short time frame. She was selected as one of Law360’s 2022 Rising Stars (Life Sciences) and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America®. She has successfully defended drug and medical device companies in appeals in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. Susanna also serves as embedded appellate counsel at trial.

• Drug & Device Litigation
• Appellate & Written Advocacy
• Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation

Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare

Susanna has served as a national motions coordinator for some of the largest MDLs in history, including In re: Ethicon Pelvic Repair Sys. Prods. Liab. Litig. This included coordination of “wave” motions practice, which required the filing of thousands of summary judgment motions, Daubert motions, and choice of law motions in a short time frame. 

Susanna also has an active appellate practice. She has represented clients in dozens of appeals in federal courts of appeals across the country. She recently obtained a ruling in a pelvic mesh case affirming summary judgment on a failure to warn claim and rejecting an exception to the learned intermediary doctrine in Salinero v. Johnson & Johnson, 995 F.3d 959 (11th Cir. 2021), a ruling named one of “The Ten Best Prescription Drug/Medical Device Decisions of 2021.” See also “No ‘Financial Bias’ Exception to Learned Intermediary Rule in Florida – or Anywhere Else,” Drug and Device Law Blog, May 7, 2021. 

She also serves as embedded appellate counsel at trials. In 2022 and 2023, Susanna has served as trial appellate counsel at four federal pelvic mesh trials, all of which resulted in defense verdicts.

Susanna is active in the Products Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) and Defense Research Institute (DRI), as well as a number of national and state bar associations. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at Mississippi College School of Law (2009-2010).

She frequently writes and speaks about product liability litigation. For example, in 2020, she co-authored “Mass Torts in the United States,” Chapter 6 – Management of Mass Torts by the Judiciary, American Bar Association.  She also has authored a number of articles for Butler Snow’s publication for the pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare industries, Pro Te: Solutio, and she is a contributor to the award-winning Drug & Device Law Blog. 

Susanna obtained her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Mississippi and her B.A. from Yale University.  Following law school, she clerked for Judge Southwick of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She is admitted to practice in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and New York.

• Led motions team in Pelvic Mesh Products Liability Litigation, including In re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327 (United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia) and In re: Pelvic Mesh/Gynecare multicounty litigation (New Jersey)
• Led motions team in Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, including In re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2782 (United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia) and In re: Proceed Mesh multicounty litigation (New Jersey)
• Susanna also serves as embedded appellate counsel at trial, most recently:
  • McBroom v. Ethicon (D. Ariz. 2022) – defense verdict. See “Johnson and Johnson Wins Third Ethicon Pelvic Mesh Trial This Year,” Law.com, July 6, 2022.
  • Jarrett v. Ethicon (E.D. Ark. 2022) – defense verdict. See “J&J Ethicon Unit Prevails In 2 Pelvic Mesh Trials,” Law360, Oct 13, 2022
  • Hudspeth v. Ethicon, et al. (M.D. Fla. 2023) – defense verdict.
  • Dandy v. Ethicon et al. (D.N.J. 2023) – defense verdict. See NJ Jury Sides With J&J Unit In Pelvic Mesh Injury Suit,” Law360, May 2, 2023.  
• Susanna has successfully defended drug and medical device companies in appeals in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal, including:
  • Cates v. Zeltiq Aesthetics, Inc., 73 F.4th 1342 (11th Cir. 2023) (affirming summary judgment on failure to warn and design defect in CoolSculpting® case under Florida law). See “11th Circ. Freezes CoolSculpting User’s Product Liability Suit,” Law360, July 24, 2023.
  • Donalds v. Ethicon, Inc. et al., 2023 WL 2446703 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2023) (affirming summary judgment in pelvic mesh case for insufficient proof of causation). See “Ethicon And J&J Snag 4th Circ. Win In Pelvic Mesh Appeal,” Law360, March 10, 2023
  • Bond v. Johnson & Johnson, et al., 2022 WL 4594185 (3rd Cir. Sept. 30, 2022) (affirming summary judgment in hernia mesh case under North Carolina’s statute of repose). See “NC Man’s J&J Mesh Suit Was Filed Too Late,” 3rd Circ. Rules,” Law360, October 3, 2022
  • Perciballi v. Ethicon, Inc, 2022 WL 3147781 (2d Cir. Aug. 8, 2022) (affirming summary judgment in favor of device manufacturer under New York statute of limitations). See “2nd Circuit Affirms Symptoms Triggered Time Bar For Pelvic Mesh Claim,” Mealey’s Drugs & Devices, August 11, 2022
  • Donaldson v. Johnson & Johnson, 37 F.4th 400 (7th Cir. 2022) (affirming summary judgment in a pelvic mesh case for insufficient proof of causation). See “J&J Keeps Victory Over Defective Mesh Claims At 7th Circ.,” Law360, June 15, 2022
  • Salinero v. Johnson & Johnson, 995 F.3d 959 (11th Cir. 2021) (affirming summary judgment on failure to warn claim and rejecting exception to learned intermediary doctrine). See “The Ten Best Prescription Drug/Medical Device Decisions of 2021.” Drug & Device Law Blog, Dec. 30, 2021.
  • Kelly v. Ethicon, Inc., No. 21-1769, 2021 WL 4998930 (8th Cir. 2021) (affirming summary judgment under Iowa statute of limitations)
  • Clabo v. Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc. et al.,982 F.3d 989 (6th Cir. 2020) (affirming summary judgment on the basis of statute of repose). See, "J&J Prevails In Tenn. Woman's Pelvic Mesh Suit At 6th Circ.," Law360, Dec. 14, 2020.
  • Nwatulegwu v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharms., Inc., 2016 WL 4443600 (7th Cir. Aug. 22, 2016) (affirming dismissal for failure to comply with discovery order)
  • Weer v. Ethicon, Inc., 2016 WL 1359129 (4th Cir. Apr. 6, 2016) (affirming dismissal for failure to effect service)
  • Flores v. Ethicon, Inc.et al., 563 F. App’x 266 (4th Cir. 2014) (affirming dismissal for failure to comply with pretrial orders and denial of motion to remand)
  • Huston v. Ethicon, Inc., 585 F. App’x 165 (4th Cir. 2014) (affirming dismissal for failure to comply with pretrial orders)
  • Bryant v. Wyeth, Inc., 487 F. App’x 207 (5th Cir. 2012) (affirming summary judgment in favor of drug manufacturer under Mississippi statute of limitations)

• Law360
  • Rising Star – Life Sciences, 2022
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Ones to Watch, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2021-2025
• The Legal 500 US
  • Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2023
• Adjunct Professor, Mississippi College School of Law, 2009-2010
• Drug & Device Law Blog, Blogging Team Member

• Arkansas, 2022
• Mississippi, 2011
• Tennessee, 2011
• Louisiana, 2011
• New York, 2010
• U.S. District Courts
• Arkansas: Eastern
• Louisiana: Eastern, Middle, Western
• Tennessee: Western, Eastern
• Mississippi: Northern, Southern
• U.S. Court of Appeals
• 1st Circuit
• 2nd Circuit
• 3rd Circuit
• 4th Circuit
• 5th Circuit
• 6th Circuit
• 7th Circuit
• 8th Circuit
• 9th Circuit
• 11th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

• University of Mississippi, J.D., magna cum laude, 2009
  • Editor-in-Chief, Mississippi Law Journal, 2008-2009
  • Moot Court Board Member
• Yale University, B.A., English, 2006

• Clerkship, Honorable Leslie H. Southwick, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009-2010

• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Products Liability Advisory Council (PLAC)
  • Sustaining Member
• American Bar Association
• Mississippi Bar Association
• Tennessee Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• Louisiana State Bar Association
• Memphis Bar Association

• Author, "Subpoenaed Remote Testimony from Anywhere and Everywhere? Ninth Circuit Says No," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 17, No. 1, May 2024.
• Panelist, "Expanding Product Liability Law? Gilead Science and the Duty to Innovate," PLAC Spring Conference, Nashville, TN, April 5, 2024.
• Co-Author, "The Wearable Revolution: How to Use Personal Health Device Data in Litigation," 2024 Litigation Update: Navigating Emerging Trends and Technology, March 2024.
• Co-Author, "Time on Your Side: Bifurcated Trials on the Statute of Limitations," American Bar Association, Mass Torts Litigation, Volume 21, Issue 3, Spring 2023.
• Panelist, "Drug and Medical Device Litigator Think-Tank: What I Wish Was Done Differently During the Regulatory Approval Process," American Conference Institute Drug and Medical Device Litigation Seminar, New York, NY, December 6, 2022.
• Co-Author, "The Wearable Witness: Utilizing Apple Watch Data in Civil Litigation," DRI For the Defense, October 2022.
• Co-Author, "Out of Time: Bifurcating the Statute of Limitations," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 14, No. 4, December 2021.
• Co-Author, "Mass Torts in the United States," Chapter 6 - Management of Mass Torts by the Judiciary, American Bar Association, 2020.
• Co-Author, “Time Flies? A Look Back at the Ten Key FDA Initiatives Over the Past Decade,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 11 No. 1, July 2018.
• Speaker, “Personal Jurisdiction Post-Daimler: State of Law and Strategy,” International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Mid-Year Meeting, La Quinta, CA, February 11, 2018.
• Author, “A Jurisdictional Trifecta: The Supreme Court Restores Order on Venue and Jurisdiction," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 10 No. 3, October 2017.
• Author, “Norfolk Southern Ry. Co. v. Dolan: The End to Litigation Tourism in the City of St. Louis?” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 10 No. 2, July 2017.
• Co-Author, “Personal Jurisdiction Post-Daimler – As Plaintiffs Test Exceptions to Daimler’s Narrow Path, All Eyes on Appellate Courts,” 84 Def. Couns. J. ___ (2017).
• Speaker, “Learning from the Law: Then & Now,” Mississippi Bar’s Women in the Profession Committee’s 23rd Annual Evelyn Gandy Lecture Series, Feb. 20, 2015.
• Author, “2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: What You Need to Know,” Pro Te Solutio, Fall 2015.
• Author, “Product Defense and FDA Compliance,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 7 No. 1, 13-19, March 2014.
• Author, “When a Facebook Like Comes Back to Bite: The FDA’s Approach to Social Media,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 6 No. 2, May 2013.
• Author, “Communication To Your Public Relations Firm: Privileged or Not?” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 5 No. 3, August 2012.
• Author, "The Challenge of Internet Anonymity: Protecting John Doe on the Internet,” 26 J. MARSHALL J. OF COMPUTERS & INFO. L. 469 (2010).